Sunday, February 26, 2012

Women in Sports


Since as long as I can remember I have been a fan of women’s professional soccer and have followed its journey from World Cups to the creations of their own league. It was disheartening to hear the recent suspension of the fairly newly created Women’s Professional Soccer league.  The U.S. Women’s team had just won their qualifying tournament for the Olympics when the news came out.  Although it was only suspended, the WPS is planning to return in 2013. The suspension may just be a bump in the road that they well snap back from, but if not, national teams and players around the world will have to find new places to compete.  In the short run, having no league can be better for the U.S. national team as it prepares for the Olympics. This is because the players control their training, travel and preparation schedule. They don’t have to constantly travel between countries.  However, ultimately can potentially be a huge setback for women’s soccer.  As a result, many players will be forced to pursue careers that don't have soccer in the equation. The national player pool will diminish and the number of meaningful games will decrease. This is just one of the many examples of women struggling to make a name for themselves in such a male dominated world. Over the years, females have competed against the stereotype of being too fragile to play strenuous sports. They never seem to get enough attention and garner the same amount of hype as men do. I believed that women’s soccer was the key to break free of those stereotypes and create a new path for women’s sports. Hopefully, actions will be made to secure the presence of the Women’s Professional Soccer league.
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