About five minutes before the halftime whistle sounded during the Women’s World Cup championship game, I realized what I was doing. My family was all sitting in the living room, everyone was wearing red, white and blue, and I realized that I was 100% entrenched in the game. For all of the US women’s previous games, I was pretty “in to” the games, but not like this one. I was on the edge of my recliner, biting my fingernails, and my right leg was nervously going up and down. Now granted, the United States women were up a comfortable 4-1, but this was the World Cup Final! This was a chance to show the world that we do have a say in the world of international soccer. Heck, this really wasn’t about soccer at all. This was about America. And by george, we are the best nation in the world!
Usually, the feelings that I was experiencing only show up on Saturdays in the fall as I sit in front of my TV watching my Georgia Bulldogs. I know people get excited for college football, but the University of Georgia is my alma mata. It is where I spent some of the best years of my life. Athens is where I met many of my closest friends and this is where I became the man I am today. I live and breath with the Dawgs. It is a great week at my house when we beat our arch rivals (especially Auburn), and it’s like a morgue around here when we lose to a rival. Two Sundays ago, I found myself having these feeling for a Woman’s soccer game…. and I liked it!
I woke up the next morning after the US women won the World Cup trophy and still had a smile on my face. I couldn’t wait to watch Sportscenter and Fox Sports to see all the stories and segments that they would be doing on the girls. I watched for most of the morning and loved every second of it. That evening I decided to go for a jog. I loaded up a podcast on my phone and took off for a few miles.
I was listening to ESPN’s Colin Cowherd as he started the show discussing the women’s championship win. He was discussing the huge numbers of viewers for the game and how this wasn’t just a win for women’s soccer but a win for all of women’s sports. While I made the midway turn on my jog, I started thinking. This WAS a huge win for women’s sports. I began to think about all the women who are involved in sports and how they don’t get the credit that they deserve. Right then I told myself that the next time I was asked to write a column, this would be my focus. Women play such a huge role in sports, this would be the least that I could do!
First, I thought about the “Sports Mom”. I sat down to figure out how many miles my mom drove taking me, my brother and my two sisters all around the Southeast to our games and our competitions. She spent so many hours driving us to practices and games for soccer, baseball, football, golf, basketball and my sister’s cheerleading competitions. My mind was blown! No way I could count the thousands and thousands of miles that she has traveled!
I then told myself I would try to do the same math for my wife. I mean she only has TWO kids. I starting trying to figure out the number of soccer tournaments, golf matches, and volleyball games that she has driven to for our kids, even the numbers of hours and miles she has drove around to watch me coach my Upson Lee teams. I was floored that I couldn’t even come close to a figure. I was actually impressed! What’s even more impressive is watching my wife get red dirt stains out of white game jerseys, making sure everyone has enough gatorades to stay hydrated, checking to see that no one forgets their shin guards or game shorts. I guess growing up, I didn’t get to see all that happens “behind the scenes” from a sports mom. Maybe I should not call my wife, my mom and all you other moms “sports moms”, but “super moms!” So to all of you sports moms out there, I’m sure I speak for all guys when I say THANK YOU! Us guys definitely could NOT do what you do! You make sports happen for kids every single day!
Second on my list of females in sports are the women athletes. I got in a discussion with some buddies while playing pick-up basketball last week. The discussion led us to talking about how good of athletes the U.S. Women's soccer team are. Women do not get the credit that they deserve for the time and the effort they put in to sports. A great example is the World Cup MVP, Carli Lloyd. I read an article about how she had dedicated the last 12 years of her life for one reason, to be a World Cup champion.
Go to most of our Upson Lee girls sports programs and see how hard they work. Their hard work and dedication to their sport and their team is second to no guy! They work just as hard as any boy that has played for me. I’ve even said in the past few years, while watching our Upson Lee girls athletes, things like “I’d take her as my goalkeeper any day!” or “I love how hard she plays, I wish my guys would play that hard!” I also know first hand as a coach because I coached middle and high school basketball for 9 years and had tremendously hard-working girls on my teams. We do not give women athletes the credit that they deserve. This must change, these girls deserve it!
The last group of women in the sports world that deserve a ‘shout out’ are the women sports fans. Guys, go ahead and admit it, when you hear a women talk about sports, you usually tune her out. But I’m here to tell you, you better start listening! I was watching the NFL network a few weeks ago and was more impressed with what the woman analyst was saying than what the three guys at the table were saying about the upcoming season. Now granted, most women can’t tell you what technique the defensive tackle is lined up in, but let’s be honest, most “know-it-all” men sports fans can’t either!
Women love sports! They love watching sports! My favorite person to watch Georgia Football with isn’t my brother-in-law or one of my friends, it’s my step-daughter. She knows her Dawgs! She loves her Dawgs and I love watching the Dawgs with her! Come on guys, how many times has a women won the March Madness pool that you entered? How many times has a women beat you at Fantasy Football or can name more of the 2015 Atlanta Braves than you can? Let’s be honest, women also deserve to be treated as equal sports fans!
I’m sure this article has ruffled some feathers. I’m sure there are some people who didn’t even make it past the first paragraph because they thought it was an article about women’s soccer. I’m sure there are a ton of you who are still saying there is no room for women in or around sports. But I am here to tell you that you need to wake up! Women deserve to be involved in sports! They deserve to be treated like equals! So, thank you United States Women’s National team. Thank you for opening my eyes a little more and helping me realize that women might just help make the sports world go ‘round.
