I would be quite remiss if I didn’t address the absolute walloping that the US Women’s Soccer Team unleashed on Thailand. In the group stage where goal differential can make or break you, a 13-nil score is like Christmas and your birthday all rolled into one. Our nation’s ladies showed incredible depth in their lineup…the 13 goals were scored by seven different women. For three of them it was their first ever World Cup goal. Incredible! There is no possible downside to this, right? Right??
Apparently, I am wrong.You see, even in their decisive victory, they still can’t win. Less than 24 hours later, the comments had flooded every social media platform and online newspaper. I’ve been reading things like “have some compassion!” and “they should’ve taken their foot off the gas.” “Don’t celebrate so much, you’re just rubbing it in!!” As if celebrating a record amount of goals being scored is such an evil thing. People crowing about “unwritten rules of sportsmanship” and how “this just isn’t the way things are done.” People declaring on behalf of sports fans everywhere that “people don’t like women’s sports,” and my personal favorite, “There is less interest because they put out an inferior product.” Many news outlets published pieces with headlines like “Did they go too far?” and “US Women’s team criticized.”
I did a little bit of research into other “over the top” celebrations done by men in professional sports and, for the most part, they were nowhere to be found. When Michael Phelps made a taunting gesture after winning the 200 fly race-a wagging finger gesture not unlike Dikembe Mutumbo’s “not in my house”- the New York Times said he “celebrated in style” and he was praised. Sports Illustrated published a ranked list of times Usain Bolt celebrated before his races were even finished and the author referred to it as “showmanship” (as if this is a dance recital rather than the Olympics) and called it “impressive.” Not a single article or editorial questioning whether their celebrations were “rubbing it in” or debating the sportsmanship of their jubilance.
What I don’t see being discussed with nearly as much fervor is this: the “compassion” that the armchair sports analysts are clamoring for? It happened. After the game was over, the American women comforted the Thai women. They shook their hands, hugged them. It went so far beyond your standard “good game” handshake line. There’s your compassion! Don’t decide it doesn’t count if it didn’t occur during gameplay.
Do you know what happens when you take your foot off the gas? When you get complacent or let your guard down for even a second? Ask the Atlanta Falcons who watched the Super Bowl get snatched out from under them in 2017. Ask the Toronto Raptors, who, just days ago, had a championship seconds away and then lost it. Ask the 1986 Boston Red Sox.
Anyway, I saved you all the emotional distress of having to swim in the cesspool that is internet comments and will provide you with some screenshots of some of the best and brightest of the World Wide Web.
I mean…what even is “lesbian street cred”? And imagine being so offended by the concept of equal pay that you want to boycott women’s sports entirely. Remember also, this “inferior product” that this person is claiming the women are scored more goals in one game than the men’s team did in over a year.
More to the point, why are we asking adult professionals to “play nice”? These are grown women who are some of the best athletes in the entire country. Did we ask Babe Ruth to hit less? Did we ask Wayne Gretsky to score less goals? NO! Why? Because that’s ridiculous. Claiming that it’s necessary for a professional athlete to hold back during an international competition to spare the feelings of their opponents is nothing short of absurd. I’ll bet nobody ever told Michael Phelps to swim slower so Ryan Lochte didn’t feel badly. Go ahead and ask Serena Williams to ease up during the US Open and see how it works out for you.
Also, sexism or not, “unwritten rules” are stupid. Why are we discouraging celebration? The world is an awful place sometimes (trust me, I know. I’ve been reading internet comments all day), we should be taking our happiness wherever we can get it. Let people flip their bats, pump their fists, leap into the stands and hug their teammates. People (like me) use sports as a form of escapism; how am I supposed to live vicariously through the accomplishments of other people if I can’t celebrate their successes and mourn their failures with them?
giveusatwirl.sport.blog 