Since I have been completely busy during the school year and this summer, I feel like I should be posting more, but I feel this would be the perfect chance to write. As many of you know I recently volunteered to help out at the IIHF Women's World Hockey Tournament (stats post and experience) and that was probably one of my most memorable experiences during my college experience so far. I am currently interning for a women's National Pro Fastpitch Softball team, which I completely love and probably write about at the end of my experience and share some of my work. But, the one thing I notice from all the games I have attended that combine women's softball, hockey, and soccer matches is that they do not get the credit they deserve.
As I was growing up, I mostly only watched the men's professional team, as many others did. When I first signed up for my internship, I never even heard of the NPF or the team in general and they play less than an hour away from me. After attending the home opener and watching a couple of their games, these girls are outstanding and truly a team that cannot be beaten (at home at least). One day my dad and I were discussing who the team was and doing some research on them and we decided to look up the average salary for the girls, especially since the girls I write about are back-to-back champions in the league. The average salary in the league is $5,000-$6,000 (source) compared to the MLB where the average player makes $4 million (source). That's completely insane, these women work and train just as hard as the men teams do and they get paid that much less. Yes, they only play seven innings and they may not draw in over 100,000 fans (their stadium can barely fit over 1,200), but they barely make any money to help support themselves.
Another women's team that deserves more than the men's team, personally, is the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. This team has done more than the men's national team in the past ten years, yet the women still have to fight for an increase in their salary when they brought more championships and gold medal back to their country. Yes, the men's team is regaining a bit more strength, but again these women are making less to nothing to pay their bills and do not have time to get side jobs that fit their demanding schedule of training, games, and practices. As I am not a big fan of millions of dollars contracts in professional sports (that's a different post for a different day), I do support at least being paid to support your family and yourself where you don't need a second job
Another main reason as to why women's sports should be broadcasted a little more than they should is to show younger girls that they can make it into the big leagues as well. When I go to work I see all the little softball girls in their jerseys and hanging around with their softball team and the first thing they do when they get there is run straight to the bullpen. There they watch their every move and their dads will stand behind them telling them to watch her form and take some tips on how to make their game better. This shows girls they can make their dreams come true of playing the sport they love long after college. When I do my interviews after games, the number one response I get from players at the end of interviews or during some questions is to show girls they can fulfill their dreams of making it big. These girls are living breathing proof that it can happen and the more and more girls that know that the league can expand to be bigger and let more and more girls reach their goals.
Will women's sports ever reach the hype of men's, I honestly hope it does, but at this rate, probably not. If it can get the support and devotion it deserves, then it would be just as popular and create more girls to actually chase their dreams of playing the sport they love for the rest of their life.
As I was growing up, I mostly only watched the men's professional team, as many others did. When I first signed up for my internship, I never even heard of the NPF or the team in general and they play less than an hour away from me. After attending the home opener and watching a couple of their games, these girls are outstanding and truly a team that cannot be beaten (at home at least). One day my dad and I were discussing who the team was and doing some research on them and we decided to look up the average salary for the girls, especially since the girls I write about are back-to-back champions in the league. The average salary in the league is $5,000-$6,000 (source) compared to the MLB where the average player makes $4 million (source). That's completely insane, these women work and train just as hard as the men teams do and they get paid that much less. Yes, they only play seven innings and they may not draw in over 100,000 fans (their stadium can barely fit over 1,200), but they barely make any money to help support themselves.
Another women's team that deserves more than the men's team, personally, is the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. This team has done more than the men's national team in the past ten years, yet the women still have to fight for an increase in their salary when they brought more championships and gold medal back to their country. Yes, the men's team is regaining a bit more strength, but again these women are making less to nothing to pay their bills and do not have time to get side jobs that fit their demanding schedule of training, games, and practices. As I am not a big fan of millions of dollars contracts in professional sports (that's a different post for a different day), I do support at least being paid to support your family and yourself where you don't need a second job
Another main reason as to why women's sports should be broadcasted a little more than they should is to show younger girls that they can make it into the big leagues as well. When I go to work I see all the little softball girls in their jerseys and hanging around with their softball team and the first thing they do when they get there is run straight to the bullpen. There they watch their every move and their dads will stand behind them telling them to watch her form and take some tips on how to make their game better. This shows girls they can make their dreams come true of playing the sport they love long after college. When I do my interviews after games, the number one response I get from players at the end of interviews or during some questions is to show girls they can fulfill their dreams of making it big. These girls are living breathing proof that it can happen and the more and more girls that know that the league can expand to be bigger and let more and more girls reach their goals.
Will women's sports ever reach the hype of men's, I honestly hope it does, but at this rate, probably not. If it can get the support and devotion it deserves, then it would be just as popular and create more girls to actually chase their dreams of playing the sport they love for the rest of their life.
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