I loved this article! I think there needs to be more people with this outlook in athletics! As women's sports grow more and more, they are no longer a force to be reckoned with. Women have gotten to the point where they put in the same amount of time - possibly more! - then men in their respective sport, but they are under-appreciated. One of the women in the article states that playing against men makes a woman play harder, but what is the difference really? Regardless of gender, players should be on their A-game to play. Gender is just an arbitrary difference in the scheme of the sport.
my thoughts on your question about; why women playing against men makes a woman play harder? I think it is just like a rival between men and women just like between two teams. Women want to play because they want to win. Years ago it was a big deal when a woman beat a man. Because Women are realizing they can compete with men and sports are not as gender dominated as they use to be. I think they have realized they can compete, and win against a man, this makes everyone want to play harder. Because when you know you have a shot to beat team or player that is suppose to be better than you; don't your play harder?
I too see this situation as another opportunity for rivalry. However, I don't know exactly about the fairness of the situation being as that statistically men are known to be bigger/ faster/stronger than most women. But, like all things there are exceptions. I think this would be an interesting match and I would like to know more about if there are others doing the same type of thing. I also think that at first the men would think this is a joke, but once they realize if/when that the female counterparts can in fact compete, then they will play harder and it will bring out the better competition of everyone involved.
I have four older brothers and our neighborhood also had a lot of other boys in it. So I grew up playing with the boys at backyard basketball, football, soccer, etc. It was always fun, but I did spend a lot of time getting knocked down because I was the smallest player. So my opinion is that if the men and women are roughly the same size as far as weight and height goes then maybe this league will work out just fine, if not it will be like mixing the weight classes in boxing, and it will be a lot harder for smaller class to participate fully in the sport.
You have point with the varying sizes etc., but I also think that it is the player's choice to participate in the league. If they are smaller and they join the league, then they know what they are up against, so let them do what they want.
You have an excellent point on the varying sizes. The choice of playing in this league is a difficult one to make considering how you view this league. The only problem I have with this league is there is a difference in a set of skills between men and women when it comes to basketball which is why there should be a trial run of this league for a year or two.
I like this article in a sense that it can bring the best of both worlds and the competitiveness within each gender. Also it brings relationships between athletes closer together and a chance to creative a respect for both men and women of different sports. My cousin is a tomboy and she loves to compete with the guys to show off her skills. If this were to become wide spread I would definitely be apart of something like this.
I think that it was a great article and an example of s success story mixing genders within sports but do not think that this would ever take an solid ground in the realm of professional sports. Men are just physically to superior to women that it would not be a challenge for them and the best male athletes would shine. Although I do believe this would be something interesting to try recreationally just as maybe co-ed indoor soccer leagues work.
Sounds like feminists should sit this one out.. This will never happen for obvious reasons and even so rules would be changed and it would no longer be the same... I played on a coed soccer team and the rule says you cannot even score unless a girl touches the ball.. In effect, it ruins the free-flow of soccer and when I play it is hard because you can't play the same way... coed sports are cool and all to play with different people and to have FUN but lets be real.. not at a professional level.. call me sexist all you wish
I think Dexter has a good point. Many coed efforts require minimal womens requirements to keep things even. This often gets in the way of how you play. However, Howard has evidently put years of effort into creating a fair game without hindering the level of play. By changing the rules to adapt to women playing instead of adding nuances that are difficult to adhere to without practice, Howard has hopefully allowed for enhanced competition. I think changes like these are important in the sports world. Women are not able to play professional football unless they want to wear lingerie. They are obviously not appreciated for their talent. Encouragement to play together in competition should only help both the women and men achieve success. I hope Howard's model is successful so that other sports can use it as a model.
I enjoyed this article because i agree that anyone can reach success no matter what gender. I also do not think that mixing genders in sports is realistic. playing on a coed team is usually not as competitive as much as it is just for fun. Women are great competitors and they can reach just as much success as much as men can. my varsity basketball team played the boys jv team in highschool and we did not do as well as we thought. we weren't bad at all but the boys are just faster and stronger than any of us. Mixing genders in the same league would not sit well and would not be realistic.
i dont like agreeing with dexter of course. but absolutely correct. It cannot be considered professional because the best guys in the world would absolutely dominate the best girls in the world. I think in just about any sport this isnt possible. I wouldnt consider it sexist it is just a whole different ball game. girls on average just arent as big, fast, or strong like guys. It would be a great recreational league but i wouldnt pay to see it and it isnt professional.
This article is something i have never seen before or even thought was possible. The idea of the MGBA actually working at it becoming a successful professional league is very unlikely but it does make me believe that it is at least possible. inspiring. As matt said this is very difficult for this too work unless they change the rules in some way. This movement though has made an effort at change and change is always inspiring
I agree that there is no way this would work, especially in basketball. There is a huge difference in the style of play. Also the size and strength of professional men basketball players can in no way be compared to a girls. Like many others said for this to even be possible there would be a big change in the rules which I believe would take away from the game.
I agree that this co ed league would not work at all. You have to look at the size difference between men and women in basketball. You can take the best female basketball star and though she puts in just the same amount of time and effort in practice and games, you can compare her to a professional male basketball player. The difference in size and strenght alone would make it impossible.
Yea a coed league would never work. The difference in speed, size, strength, and just pure athleticism between men and women is just to great. The playing styles are also completely different. The only way this would be somewhat possible is to change the rule. This would completely ruin the game.
I enjoyed reading this article because it has potential to go somewhere- whether it comes up to elite standards like the professional men's leagues or not, a co-ed team could be the budding of a completely different sector of sports. A lot of the athletes that were interviewed in the article came from all backgrounds and levels of experience, whether they were a stand out player or not. The one female athlete played in a co-ed league with her husband for amusement and to keep her skills sharp, whereas some had college and even professional experience. So far everyone has said that there isn't a way for a co-ed league to work, but look at the recreational leagues- there are a lot of co-ed leagues that are successful in just running because people want to play. Even if a professional co-ed league started, it is pretty likely that these athletes will have a life outside of their sport- like the NFL and NBA used to be back in the day, the athletes had other jobs besides being a member of a professional sports.
Yes, it is true that men are bigger/faster/stronger/etc than women, but according to those women in the article, they didn't seem to mind playing on the same team as men. In fact, they seemed to prefer it because of the challenges that it presented. In high school, I was one of only two female discus and shot put competitors, where as there were five or six males. We all practiced together and we challenged ourselves with each other. If one of my male counterparts threw his discus 70 feet, I would aim to throw even just a foot further than him. I would use the male shot put during practice because it was eight pounds heavier than the female shot put. I threw farther than I did when I just practiced with the female shot put only.
There would be rule changes, such as the four point rule that exists in the MGBA. Some of these rules might suck at first because it is not what we are used to in the sport. Like Dexter said, if a female has to touch the ball before it can be scored in soccer, that does disrupt the flow of play, but these players who are in the co-ed league are accustomed to these rules, therefore it is a non-issue to them. I don't think it would ruin the game of basketball, or any other sport for that fact, but it would just cause it to expand and evolve. Men and women already play basketball at all levels, why shouldn't they play the game together?
I really love this article, but I don't know if it would work. I really hope it does work though because it would be awesome to see men and women come together and put their gender problems aside and work together as a team. Also, like Chris said if you change the rule of the game to make give women an equally status in the game then it's changing the rules of game and therefore changing the game itself.
This definitely has a sense of rivalry in it. I found it fascinating. I mean times are changing, and so are sports. Women and men competing is a great concept. However, if we change the rules of a game like Chris said it will not be the same game. That in a sense makes it unfair to those who have played the game before. Changing the rules could mess up the sanctity of records that we discussed the other day in class.
You are most definitely correct the level of play is just not the same. The sports have to remain separate to maintain a playing field that is optimal for the both men and women. The only way men and women could get together and play sports would be in a recreational setting .
I loved this article! I think there needs to be more people with this outlook in athletics! As women's sports grow more and more, they are no longer a force to be reckoned with. Women have gotten to the point where they put in the same amount of time - possibly more! - then men in their respective sport, but they are under-appreciated. One of the women in the article states that playing against men makes a woman play harder, but what is the difference really? Regardless of gender, players should be on their A-game to play. Gender is just an arbitrary difference in the scheme of the sport.
ReplyDeletemy thoughts on your question about; why women playing against men makes a woman play harder? I think it is just like a rival between men and women just like between two teams. Women want to play because they want to win. Years ago it was a big deal when a woman beat a man. Because Women are realizing they can compete with men and sports are not as gender dominated as they use to be. I think they have realized they can compete, and win against a man, this makes everyone want to play harder. Because when you know you have a shot to beat team or player that is suppose to be better than you; don't your play harder?
DeleteI too see this situation as another opportunity for rivalry. However, I don't know exactly about the fairness of the situation being as that statistically men are known to be bigger/ faster/stronger than most women. But, like all things there are exceptions. I think this would be an interesting match and I would like to know more about if there are others doing the same type of thing. I also think that at first the men would think this is a joke, but once they realize if/when that the female counterparts can in fact compete, then they will play harder and it will bring out the better competition of everyone involved.
DeleteI have four older brothers and our neighborhood also had a lot of other boys in it. So I grew up playing with the boys at backyard basketball, football, soccer, etc. It was always fun, but I did spend a lot of time getting knocked down because I was the smallest player. So my opinion is that if the men and women are roughly the same size as far as weight and height goes then maybe this league will work out just fine, if not it will be like mixing the weight classes in boxing, and it will be a lot harder for smaller class to participate fully in the sport.
ReplyDeleteYou have point with the varying sizes etc., but I also think that it is the player's choice to participate in the league. If they are smaller and they join the league, then they know what they are up against, so let them do what they want.
DeleteYou have an excellent point on the varying sizes. The choice of playing in this league is a difficult one to make considering how you view this league. The only problem I have with this league is there is a difference in a set of skills between men and women when it comes to basketball which is why there should be a trial run of this league for a year or two.
DeleteI like this article in a sense that it can bring the best of both worlds and the competitiveness within each gender. Also it brings relationships between athletes closer together and a chance to creative a respect for both men and women of different sports. My cousin is a tomboy and she loves to compete with the guys to show off her skills. If this were to become wide spread I would definitely be apart of something like this.
ReplyDeleteI think that it was a great article and an example of s success story mixing genders within sports but do not think that this would ever take an solid ground in the realm of professional sports. Men are just physically to superior to women that it would not be a challenge for them and the best male athletes would shine. Although I do believe this would be something interesting to try recreationally just as maybe co-ed indoor soccer leagues work.
ReplyDeleteSounds like feminists should sit this one out.. This will never happen for obvious reasons and even so rules would be changed and it would no longer be the same... I played on a coed soccer team and the rule says you cannot even score unless a girl touches the ball.. In effect, it ruins the free-flow of soccer and when I play it is hard because you can't play the same way... coed sports are cool and all to play with different people and to have FUN but lets be real.. not at a professional level.. call me sexist all you wish
ReplyDeleteI think Dexter has a good point. Many coed efforts require minimal womens requirements to keep things even. This often gets in the way of how you play. However, Howard has evidently put years of effort into creating a fair game without hindering the level of play. By changing the rules to adapt to women playing instead of adding nuances that are difficult to adhere to without practice, Howard has hopefully allowed for enhanced competition. I think changes like these are important in the sports world. Women are not able to play professional football unless they want to wear lingerie. They are obviously not appreciated for their talent. Encouragement to play together in competition should only help both the women and men achieve success. I hope Howard's model is successful so that other sports can use it as a model.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this article because i agree that anyone can reach success no matter what gender. I also do not think that mixing genders in sports is realistic. playing on a coed team is usually not as competitive as much as it is just for fun. Women are great competitors and they can reach just as much success as much as men can. my varsity basketball team played the boys jv team in highschool and we did not do as well as we thought. we weren't bad at all but the boys are just faster and stronger than any of us. Mixing genders in the same league would not sit well and would not be realistic.
ReplyDeletei dont like agreeing with dexter of course. but absolutely correct. It cannot be considered professional because the best guys in the world would absolutely dominate the best girls in the world. I think in just about any sport this isnt possible. I wouldnt consider it sexist it is just a whole different ball game. girls on average just arent as big, fast, or strong like guys. It would be a great recreational league but i wouldnt pay to see it and it isnt professional.
ReplyDeleteThis article is something i have never seen before or even thought was possible. The idea of the MGBA actually working at it becoming a successful professional league is very unlikely but it does make me believe that it is at least possible. inspiring. As matt said this is very difficult for this too work unless they change the rules in some way. This movement though has made an effort at change and change is always inspiring
ReplyDeleteI agree that there is no way this would work, especially in basketball. There is a huge difference in the style of play. Also the size and strength of professional men basketball players can in no way be compared to a girls. Like many others said for this to even be possible there would be a big change in the rules which I believe would take away from the game.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this co ed league would not work at all. You have to look at the size difference between men and women in basketball. You can take the best female basketball star and though she puts in just the same amount of time and effort in practice and games, you can compare her to a professional male basketball player. The difference in size and strenght alone would make it impossible.
ReplyDeleteYea a coed league would never work. The difference in speed, size, strength, and just pure athleticism between men and women is just to great. The playing styles are also completely different. The only way this would be somewhat possible is to change the rule. This would completely ruin the game.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this article because it has potential to go somewhere- whether it comes up to elite standards like the professional men's leagues or not, a co-ed team could be the budding of a completely different sector of sports. A lot of the athletes that were interviewed in the article came from all backgrounds and levels of experience, whether they were a stand out player or not. The one female athlete played in a co-ed league with her husband for amusement and to keep her skills sharp, whereas some had college and even professional experience. So far everyone has said that there isn't a way for a co-ed league to work, but look at the recreational leagues- there are a lot of co-ed leagues that are successful in just running because people want to play. Even if a professional co-ed league started, it is pretty likely that these athletes will have a life outside of their sport- like the NFL and NBA used to be back in the day, the athletes had other jobs besides being a member of a professional sports.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is true that men are bigger/faster/stronger/etc than women, but according to those women in the article, they didn't seem to mind playing on the same team as men. In fact, they seemed to prefer it because of the challenges that it presented. In high school, I was one of only two female discus and shot put competitors, where as there were five or six males. We all practiced together and we challenged ourselves with each other. If one of my male counterparts threw his discus 70 feet, I would aim to throw even just a foot further than him. I would use the male shot put during practice because it was eight pounds heavier than the female shot put. I threw farther than I did when I just practiced with the female shot put only.
There would be rule changes, such as the four point rule that exists in the MGBA. Some of these rules might suck at first because it is not what we are used to in the sport. Like Dexter said, if a female has to touch the ball before it can be scored in soccer, that does disrupt the flow of play, but these players who are in the co-ed league are accustomed to these rules, therefore it is a non-issue to them. I don't think it would ruin the game of basketball, or any other sport for that fact, but it would just cause it to expand and evolve. Men and women already play basketball at all levels, why shouldn't they play the game together?
I really love this article, but I don't know if it would work. I really hope it does work though because it would be awesome to see men and women come together and put their gender problems aside and work together as a team. Also, like Chris said if you change the rule of the game to make give women an equally status in the game then it's changing the rules of game and therefore changing the game itself.
ReplyDeleteThis definitely has a sense of rivalry in it. I found it fascinating. I mean times are changing, and so are sports. Women and men competing is a great concept. However, if we change the rules of a game like Chris said it will not be the same game. That in a sense makes it unfair to those who have played the game before. Changing the rules could mess up the sanctity of records that we discussed the other day in class.
ReplyDeleteYou are most definitely correct the level of play is just not the same. The sports have to remain separate to maintain a playing field that is optimal for the both men and women. The only way men and women could get together and play sports would be in a recreational setting .
ReplyDelete