Women's Sports Coverage

While men and women are deemed equal in today’s world, this is still not true in the world of sports. Professional women sports are not given the coverage that professional men’s sports are given. The blog, “Keeping Score: The media and women’s sports” address the problems women face in the exposure in women team sports. The author of Keeping Score says that professional women sports do not receive the attention the deserve from both the public and the media. Furthermore, she says the media has a responsibility to increase the popularity of female sports. The author of the article stated, “If a media outlet ignores a local women’s sports team because they think no one cares, then many people will not care because they will see that the media outlet isn’t bothering to cover it” (Keeping Score, 1). The author continues on to discuss how the media has an obligation to report and garner interest in women’s team sports.

I disagree with this due to the fact that the reason women’s sports are not covered as much as men sports are is due to the fact that there is no interest in them. The media does not have a responsibility to increase the popularity of women’s sports, but has a responsibility to report what the masses are interested in. The media is a business, and it is their job to sell the most papers, get the best ratings, and make the most money. The author goes on to say about women’s sports, “No one will care if you suck. (Keeping Score, 1)” Yes, that is very true, because no one cares if you win either.

Women’s sports whether it is fair or unfair have an uphill battle to be even mentioned in the mainstream media. As an outsider, it may seem unfair that female sports is trumped by male sports in the media, however it is fair based on the popularity of each. When male sports started, it took years to garner the popularity that they boast right now. It is only fair that female sports undergo the same hardships. Society likes to watch the most talented athletes in the world, which is what male sports gives to the public.

This is not to take away from women’s sports (especially at the High School and College levels) as they are of high quality and are very competitive. However, professional women’s sports have an uphill battle to fight to garner not only the respect but also success in mainstream society. The current state of the economy also hurts the expansion of female sports. In fact, the Houston Comets, the most successful team in WNBA history have recently dissolved and are no longer a team due to the economic crunch. That would be like the Yankees or Lakers seizing to exist, which would not help their respectable sports.

It’s very sad that the most collegiate or professional women’s sports have been discussed about in the past few years was during the Don Imus and Rutgers Women’s basketball team incident. Is that what the author of this article wants, more negative publicity? I mean there is the idea that negative publicity is good publicity, and I’m sure after the Don Imus’ comments, a few more people tuned into a women’s basketball game.

Let the game evolve by itself, which is what every other professional sports organization has had to undergo. If the quality of the product is good enough, the masses will become interested. For example, the MMA has become a huge sport after starting with such a small fan base. The sports media does not have an obligation to progress the sport and they should only present information that the public will find interesting or what the public demands to hear. I hope that professional women’s sports become more popular in the future, however it will be a tough journey.

Jewish

The following poem deals with the experiences that the typical Jew experience throughout the year. I add in personal experiences and opinions on my Jewish heritage. The poem has a relatively serious tone to it due to the importance of Judaism in my life. At times while I may disagree or not want to follow the traditions that come with being Jewish, it is important to me that I follow them. Just like there are rules to being Christian and Muslim, this poem presents the "rules" of being Jewish. The poem takes the format of Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" which has a unique, long winded, writing style. The poem outlines the qualities or beliefs that may or may not be found in the lives of an average Jewish person, because like we have been discussing, who is to determine how an individual acts, even if that person is a member of a particular group, sect, or religion.



Observe the Sabbath every Saturday; no driving; no lights; light the candles every Saturday night; use your weekly day of rest; go to temple; this is how you read the torah; no talking, no talking at all; all cell phones off, no chewing gum; listen to the haftorah service. Go to temple for Rosh Hashanah when all of your Christian friends are off from school; suck it up; this is how you put your tallit on; I hate wearing a tallit; listen to the shofar blow; this is how the cantors face gets bright red; Rosh Hashanah’s over, Yom Kippur is next; no food; no food at all; go to temple with your stomach grumbling; this is how you get through temple; open the sidor and follow the Hebrew, service will go faster; read the English out loud to show your paying attention; this is how you kiss the torah when it passes; watch your friends read from the torah; listen to the shofar blow, again; go home and sleep, watch a movie, preferably with a Jew in it; this is how you get through the day; at night when you can eat; eat until you throw up. Channukah is the festival of lights; this is how you recite the words to Adam Sandler’s Channukah song; we have 8 crazy nights; this is how you light the candles, right to left; don’t blow the candles out under any circumstances; it is bad luck; this is how you sing the Channukah songs; this is how you spin the dreidel, your dreidel is not made out of clay. Passover, is a holiday that celebrates G-d sparing the Jews when he killed the first born of Egypt; I hate Passover; during Passover you can eat no leavened bread or any kind of food with yeast; this is what matzah is, an unleavened piece of “bread”; I hate matzah; Passover is one of those holidays that you hate when it comes but must celebrate. This is what a Bar Mitzvah is; it is the coming of age of a Jewish boy or girl at the age of 13; it is more then a big party which most people think it is; this is how to become a bar mitzvah; you must learn the prayers and learn the torah portion and recite them in front of hundreds of people; this is what the party is; a mini wedding; consisting of a band, a dj, fancy food, fancy dresses, open bars, and fun activities. This is what being Kosher is; food in accordance with the Jewish law; this is what non-kosher food is; food with the presence of ingredients derived form non-kosher animals; bacon, shrimp, cheeseburgers, lobster; all non-kosher; It’s hard I know; I keep Kosher in my house; separate dishes for meat and dairy; separate silverware for meat and dairy. This is what the holocaust did to Jews; 6 million Jews wiped off the planet; always remember the holocaust. I live with a dad who is very Jewish and follows lots of Jewish customs that the average Jew would not know or listen to; this is how you deal with it; while at times I may hate it; I know in the long run it will help mold me into the man I will become.