Did you watch the AFLW Grand Final last weekend? I was glued to my TV for it. It was an incredible game by the Adelaide Crows, but I think the complete sportsmanship in the game won it for me.
If you need a catch up, there's a great article here summarising the sportsmanship and women's sport.
Just in case you don't know, 53 034 people attended the game in Adelaide.
The entry was free (I think from Twitter discussions) but I don't think that detracts from the fact that 53 000 people got off their backside and went to the game.
During the game, Erin Phillips, the best player in the AFLW competition, was injured. She's 33, so a serious injury (which this was, a knee, ACL) could mean that she wouldn't play again. She was taken on the ground in the Medi-Cart. But as this was occurring, not only did her Adelaide teammates come up to give her a pat on the back, a hug, or quiet word, the Carlton players did too.
I watch a lot of NRL and have done for years. When a player is down injured, very few players even acknowledge the injury. Often the other team walk away. I can think of a few players who check on someone, have called for a trainer, have held their shoulder, stayed with them. In 40 years of watching NRL, I can think of maybe a handful of players who've shown this level of care or concern for an injury - teammate or not. Even in lower grades, I don't see this in male footy. And with kids, I've see it discouraged because it doesn't seem 'manly' or 'it'll distract you from your game'.
Women do this. And they still go back and play the game with the same intensity they did before.
I love the sportsmanship.
In the article I linked to, Richard Hines speaks of young girls who chat while the ball is at the other end of the field. And this is my experience of female sport. I played a lot of different games and I always chatted in quiet times to my opponent. Often I was in trouble for this, but I'd shrug it off and do the same the next week. I mean, you're both standing there waiting, you may as well say hi!
I played mixed sport too, and I'd still chat. Some guys chatted back, some didn't. I used to always say that I played mixed sport to see the true calibre of a male. Some were pigs to play with - so I stood clear of them. Some were too gentle and condescending to female players - so avoid them too. Others were fair, took you as an equal even if they went a bit softer on you - I liked those guys.
In Long Game, my Women of W.A.R. book, I wanted to include this friendliness between competitors as a part of my story. So I linked to Nicola Marsh's character, Angie, through a friendly rivalry on the field. Cress and Angie marked each other, played tough games, but they also helped each other off the ground, chatted and swapped details after the game. This part of the story was really important to me.
And speaking of the Women of W.A.R. books, did you know that Amy Andrews' book Fair Game was nominated for a RITA Award? That's an award in the USA for books in the romance genre. It's fantastic that women's sports heroines are being recognised in a country other than our own. Fingers crossed for the ceremony in July!
If you need a catch up, there's a great article here summarising the sportsmanship and women's sport.
Just in case you don't know, 53 034 people attended the game in Adelaide.
The entry was free (I think from Twitter discussions) but I don't think that detracts from the fact that 53 000 people got off their backside and went to the game.
During the game, Erin Phillips, the best player in the AFLW competition, was injured. She's 33, so a serious injury (which this was, a knee, ACL) could mean that she wouldn't play again. She was taken on the ground in the Medi-Cart. But as this was occurring, not only did her Adelaide teammates come up to give her a pat on the back, a hug, or quiet word, the Carlton players did too.
I watch a lot of NRL and have done for years. When a player is down injured, very few players even acknowledge the injury. Often the other team walk away. I can think of a few players who check on someone, have called for a trainer, have held their shoulder, stayed with them. In 40 years of watching NRL, I can think of maybe a handful of players who've shown this level of care or concern for an injury - teammate or not. Even in lower grades, I don't see this in male footy. And with kids, I've see it discouraged because it doesn't seem 'manly' or 'it'll distract you from your game'.
Women do this. And they still go back and play the game with the same intensity they did before.
I love the sportsmanship.
In the article I linked to, Richard Hines speaks of young girls who chat while the ball is at the other end of the field. And this is my experience of female sport. I played a lot of different games and I always chatted in quiet times to my opponent. Often I was in trouble for this, but I'd shrug it off and do the same the next week. I mean, you're both standing there waiting, you may as well say hi!
I played mixed sport too, and I'd still chat. Some guys chatted back, some didn't. I used to always say that I played mixed sport to see the true calibre of a male. Some were pigs to play with - so I stood clear of them. Some were too gentle and condescending to female players - so avoid them too. Others were fair, took you as an equal even if they went a bit softer on you - I liked those guys. In Long Game, my Women of W.A.R. book, I wanted to include this friendliness between competitors as a part of my story. So I linked to Nicola Marsh's character, Angie, through a friendly rivalry on the field. Cress and Angie marked each other, played tough games, but they also helped each other off the ground, chatted and swapped details after the game. This part of the story was really important to me.
And speaking of the Women of W.A.R. books, did you know that Amy Andrews' book Fair Game was nominated for a RITA Award? That's an award in the USA for books in the romance genre. It's fantastic that women's sports heroines are being recognised in a country other than our own. Fingers crossed for the ceremony in July!
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