Is it sexist not to care about women's sports?

[Tenshot13]

i was going to say, on the original topic, that at some level yes this is kind of sexist.

men don't watch women's sports because most men don't want their women to be represented like that. strong, tough, fast, insert whatever male performance adjective you want...

i think the same can be said for the reason why there are no open gay athletes in male sports. the male sports viewing public doesn't want to think of gay male athletes that can perform athletically at levels that they can't. the underlying current is definitely sexist in nature...

I've got to disagree with you here.  I have no issue with an openly gay athlete as long as he can play at the same level as all the other athletes.  If Jake Long came out and said he was gay, I'd still hold the same respect for him.  Gay or not, if an athlete preforms well on the field, and isn't a piece of shit (example:  T.O., Pacman Jones, Roger Clemons, ect.) they are good in my book. 

I'll lay out a scenario for you.  I don't like Tom Brady.  I think he's a shitty person. Don't ask why, this isn't what this is about, it's just my opinion.  As a football player, he has a bit of my respect.  If he came out and said he was gay, I'd have more respect for him and wouldn't rag on him as much because I'd be saying, "See!  I knew it all along!"  I kid, but seriously, I'd dislike that douche anyways...him being gay in this scenario has nothing to do with it.

Back to my point, I can't watch most women's sports because they can't perform on the same athletic level.  I will admit that some of the women's sports I do watch are because of sex appeal.  Beach volleyball and tennis.  When the Olympics come around I'd prefer to watch women's gymnastics over men's, even though the men might be athletically superior, although that can be argued because a lot of women in that sport have better balance and flexibility.  That instance comes down to "I don't want to see a dude in a unitard."

No, I'm saying both are garbage compared to the NBA, and refusing to watch the WNBA while lusting over March Madness is absurd.

I agree that both are garbage compared to the NBA talent wise.  I watch March Madness over WNBA because NCAA players are faster, stronger, can dunk, which is exciting to watch, and play more team ball vs. the NBA.  The only thing WNBA has in common is the team play.  NCAA is overall more exciting to watch than WNBA.

[bsmooth]

No, I'm saying both are garbage compared to the NBA, and refusing to watch the WNBA while lusting over March Madness is absurd.

March Madness is in its own league because it is a do or die tournament and people love to watch to see underdogs win because the upsets make the tournament.
Also it is also a platform to watch possible NBA draft picks shine. So as an NBA fan, you should enjoy the nature of the tournament and to get a glimpse of hom your team might draft.
What is absurd is that you are comparing amateur teams against professional teams. The WNBA is boring and slow paced with the very best of women athletes, which means that their NCAA games and tournaments is even worse.
I do not watch either womens NCAA nor the WNBA. But I do follow the NBA, so it would be foolish to not watch mens NCAA games to see the up and coming talent to the league.

[Phishfan]

i was going to say, on the original topic, that at some level yes this is kind of sexist.

men don't watch women's sports because most men don't want their women to be represented like that. strong, tough, fast, insert whatever male performance adjective you want...

i think the same can be said for the reason why there are no open gay athletes in male sports. the male sports viewing public doesn't want to think of gay male athletes that can perform athletically at levels that they can't. the underlying current is definitely sexist in nature...

I don't agree with either position. I think most males do enjoy an athletically fit woman who is still feminine as opposed to a fat slob of a woman.

Also, from interviews I have seen with former athletes who have come out, just about every one of them has said they stayed in the closet because of fear of the locker room reaction. Not from a fear of the reaction of the fans.

[Dave Gray]

I think that the wish fulfillment angle is probably the most accurate.  I watch pro sports, because on some level, I want to be like that, I guess.  ...I want those accomplishments, that physique, that fame, etc.

[fyo]

Since we're on the topic of gay athletes in pro sports, I'll use this opportunity to link to an article on one Hall of Fame footballer (Michael Irvin) on the cover of "Out" magazine:

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2011/07/michael-irvin-talks-about-his-gay-brother/1

[jtex316]

This reminds me of the time that Dave, Fau, Flo, Chuck and I played a few 5-on-5 pickup games against a college women's team (I think they were from Lynn University).

There were 6 of them that came out to practice on some night and someone talked them into playing against us. We are the typical average white dudes (on average, short with very little physical attributes) and we were playing against a highly conditioned, highly practiced, highly trained team of young women (they ran plays, had signals for pick and rolls, the whole bit).

We played 2 games to 15.

We beat the crap out of them.

Basically, it turned out that we were simply faster, stronger, more accurate, more vertical, and more physically athletic than they were, not only as a group but as individuals (I have a clear memory of Dave posting up their power forward and completely whooping her - and if you know anything about Dave, that's some funny shit right there).

We were able to have fast-breaks, open shots, and our defense was good enough to completely neutralize their efforts. They scored some points, but they did not have enough there to compete.

This is a good example because our comparative skill levels are close enough to be fair (We weren't playing against a WNBA team - we played against a local college women's team, and we're no men's team other than we were 5 dudes playing disorganized pick-up basketball once a week).

There is no way in the hell that the worst NBA team (The Clippers?) would not totally beat the crap out of the all-time WNBA team all in their primes.

[Pappy13]

^^I'd like to see how you'd do against a Division II women's soccer team in a full 90 minute scrimmage or possibly against a Division II fast pitch womens softball team. Not all sports are created equal.

[bsmooth]

^^I'd like to see how you'd do against a Division II women's soccer team in a full 90 minute scrimmage or possibly against a Division II fast pitch womens softball team. Not all sports are created equal.

Sure put them against a mens league soccer or mens league fast pitch softball team and I would not be surprised at the outcome.

[jtex316]

^^I'd like to see how you'd do against a Division II women's soccer team in a full 90 minute scrimmage or possibly against a Division II fast pitch womens softball team. Not all sports are created equal.

If we spent the same amount of time playing pick-up scrimage soccer matches or pick-up fast-pich softball games as we did playing pick-up basketball, we would whoop the crap out of them in those sports as well. There's just no question about it.

[Dave Gray]

I never ever play soccer, so I don't think that's a fair comparison.  I think Joe is right.  At a certain point, strength is strength, speed is speed, height is height.  You can get out-finessed, sure, but that only goes so far.

For us to be able to compete (much less beat, and even much less whoop) against a practiced team of girls when we, ourselves are a pretty pathetic bunch, it speaks volumes.  I'm in no way saying that women are lesser, but they just don't have the physical tools to compete against men.  I don't expect them to win, because it isn't an even playing field.

[Sunstroke]

Saying that I'm sexist because I don't care about women's sports is kind of like saying I hate dogs because I don't watch the Iditarod.  I'm neither sexist, nor a dog-hater...I just have clearly defined personal parameters for "boring things to watch."

[Pappy13]

If we spent the same amount of time playing pick-up scrimage soccer matches or pick-up fast-pich softball games as we did playing pick-up basketball, we would whoop the crap out of them in those sports as well. There's just no question about it.

I don't agree. Basketball is a sport that lends itself to athleticism more than some other sports.  Being able to jump higher, run faster, fight for position for rebounds better is a definate advantage in basketball, moreso than soccer or softball where skill can negate those attributes to a larger degree.

[Pappy13]

I think Joe is right.  At a certain point, strength is strength, speed is speed, height is height.

You don't think that for certain sports speed, strength and height are more important?  There's a very good reason that most professional Basketball players are tall, lean and quick or strong.  There's also a reason that baseball players and soccer players don't always seem to have those same traits.  Height especially isn't all that important. Doesn't matter how tall you are, everyone's feet are on the ground.

You can get out-finessed, sure, but that only goes so far.

I'm not talking about finesse, I'm talking about skill.  An NCAA division II Womens soccer player is just more skilled at soccer than you. You can't make up for that with speed, strength and size for the most part. Granted that if you were just as skilled as them and were bigger and faster and stronger, you'd be better, but at what point?  At what point does speed, strength and size overcome a lack of skill?  I think that point is different for different sports and Basketball is one that height especially has a distinct advantage.

You did only play 2 games to 15. Did you play half court or full court?  Do you think things would have changed if you played 4 12 minute quarters on a full court? Would conditioning begun to have taken it's toll on you?

[Sunstroke]

I'd just like to point out that if a bunch of male nobodies was playing a pick-up soccer game, and it was showing on TV...I wouldn't watch that either.

It's a quality of play issue, not a plumbing issue.

[bsmooth]

I don't agree. Basketball is a sport that lends itself to athleticism more than some other sports.  Being able to jump higher, run faster, fight for position for rebounds better is a definate advantage in basketball, moreso than soccer or softball where skill can negate those attributes to a larger degree.

You are crazy if you do not think size, speed and height give you an advantage in soccer. All the skill in the world is meaningless if the person on the other team can outrun you to the goal, outjump you for a pass or shrug off your attempts at a body check or tackle due to size and strength.
You are committing the same fallacy that all the proponents of women's sports make time and time again, that skill set alone can somehow overcome an across the board lack of speed, strength, height, and size.
If skill alone gave a decided advantage over the other intangibles, then woman's teams should be able to compete against mens teams of the same level i.e college vs college, pro vs pro. The fact that people keep defending woman"s sports by comparing higher level woman against lower level mens teams destroys their arguements.
Womens sports are slower and boring as they lack the same pysical atributes that make mens sports exciting.
Hell even in sports that require skill alone and it is more of an even playing field, the top females are still behind their male counterparts, just look at Danica Patrick. She is hyped as this great driver, but has one career victory.