Look out everyone: there’s a new breed of females storming into sports bars and ballparks, and she wants to be taken very seriously. In conversation, she’ll casually mention the stats of her favorite Washington Nationals player Bryce Harper and then proceed to flaunt her latest outfit purchase from Forever 21. She’ll indulge in a six-pack of MGD while painting her fingers and toenails. She’ll watch Around the Horn, Pardon the Interruption, and SportsCenter just prior to turning on the newest weekly episode of The Vampire Diaires. She’ll embrace a peppy girl stereotype, yet she’ll still confidently wear her beloved collection of ESPN t-shirts and football jerseys to class. This new type of sporty girl is me.
You read that correctly. I’m a girl and I LOVE sports. It’s more of a passion really. I take pride in the fact that I can bake a triple-layered chocolate cookie cake while rattling off every reason why I’m obsessed with Duke freshman phenom Jabari Parker (I’ve literally been fan-girling over this kid for years now. He was even special enough to become the subject of my first tweet ever on Twitter…see below). The days of women staying quite and keeping their opinions to themselves are long extinct, my friends. The evolution of the modern woman has taken place, and the equality women seek is occurring in every realm, including sports. I thoroughly enjoy conversing with guys about sports, not as a way of flirtation but as a way to engage in a sort of intellectual sports debate. I find myself able to form strong relationships with new people because I comprehend and fully appreciate the enthusiasm they display for their admired teams and players. The sporting world brings me a sense of absolute joy in my life, and sports now take up a fundamental part of my heart. I find it incredibly uplifting to see that so many more women are embracing their true identities as sporty girls.
The business of sports used to be an extremely unbalanced industry in terms of gender. Men’s sports dominated sports coverage, and thus men were the predominant leaders in sports business and broadcasting. As women fought for more opportunities in society they truly changed the shape of various aspects in our world, especially sports. Today, women have an amazing opportunity to continue shifting the balance of the sports industry. Many females, such as Erin Andrews, Rachel Nichols, Samantha Ponder, and Notre Dame’s own Hannah Storm, have not only broken into the world of sports broadcasting, but are leaders and role models in their respective positions. If we take a look at sports business, women even occupy ranks of executive status. Heidi Ueberroth, President of the NBA International Business Operations, Katie Bayne, Chief Sports Marketing Officer for Coca-Cola, and Rosalyn Durant, Vice President of ESPNU and ESPNHS, are just a few women enjoying professional success in the sports industry. The businesses of the sporting world benefit enormously from the contributions of these female leaders’ innovative perspectives.
To all my collegiette ladies, I now offer you this challenge: Find the sporty girl inside of you, whether you’re a casual or extreme fan. Continue to embrace the power that we as women hold in the sporting world. Show all those boys around you that you don’t just cheer on Tom Brady for his ridiculously good looks, but because of what he accomplishes on the field. Enroll ina sports-business class, or even get involved with a sport statistics club on campus to get you on path for becoming the next Commissioner of the NBA. Purchase a yearly subscription to ESPN The Magazine or Sports Illustrated, or maybe just read the sports section of the USA Today daily. Whatever you do, you can prove to yourself and the rest of the world that you are a true renaissance woman by knowing sports and being a female. You will show that you are smart yet beautiful, athletic yet graceful, and passionate yet disciplined.
So what are you waiting for?