I have spent a lot of my life, particularly of late, watching, playing, and loving soccer. But, the older I get the more I notice the disparate coverage of women and men soccer. In watching the highlights show that they put together every day, I feel like I get about 15 minutes of highlights (much of which includes fans and dancing after goals) and 35 minutes of "why you should like the women who play soccer". When I watched the men's world cup (which is actually just called the world cup...), the highlights show was actual highlights, analysis of the style of play, and consideration of the soccer implications of players and plays. I find it is very frustrating because it is highly reflective of the reason why women's soccer does not get the support around the world; women aren't athletes they are something less than athletic. We have to tell the stories of how they are mothers or interview them about their tattoos instead of their soccer careers. There is no equivalence in the sports coverage. And that completely ignores the fact that most of the world fails to invest in their women's programs and then are surprised when they fail.
Just grrr.
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