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There was a song that played at the end of the women’s basketball championship game called \”Fly\” by Nicki Minaj and Rihanna that has stuck with me. These two powerful women, in their own industry, are singing about success, as they state “I came to win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive…I came to fly”. I couldn’t help but think that this is the perfect song for this past week. There have been so many positive moves forward for women’s sports this past week and this song is so applicable to the women athletes and the people who support their mission to achieve dreams.

Sometimes I joke about “livin’ the dream”, since I somewhat feel like I’m not there yet. It’s a struggle (i.e. like everything I describe below). This weekend, however, made me realize that I am on the right track; I’m getting there, I just have to keep fighting. The situation I am in right now is allowing me to attend all of these fabulous events in women’s athletics. I get to be a part of this following of people who are getting female athletes and women’s sports to be heard in the media. This weekend, in particular, I was in my favorite world; the world of women’s sports. I was surrounded by women and men who share my passion. It was more than fabulous! It just confirmed even more my dream of continuing to work for this goal – to work for all those female athletes.

I was surrounded by amazing and influential people who, truthfully, scared the crap out of me. I felt like I was hanging out with celebrities (these people are a big deal to me lol). Throughout my nervousness, I kept telling myself how I felt when I would get to the line of races, feeling like I was not as talented as everyone else. Eventually, I got over that feeling and dominated. It’s a natural progression of things, that I know will happen as I spend more time in my favorite world. The fact that I have this experience to relate to my every day life solidifies even more the importance for women to be in sport. Men, for ages, have been able to apply their sports lessons into their lives, and we’ve watched them succeed. Now, we are seeing the same things from many of the women that I have met this past weekend. These women are confident, able, and totally kick ass.

This opportunity allowed me to be one block away from the two games that (I believe) officially changed the game of women’s basketball. The two upsets (UConn and Stanford) will change the way people view women’s basketball. There is no longer one totally dominant team. People will not be able to so easily fill out their brackets next year. People are going to have to WATCH to find out what happens. People were disappointed. As we walked out of the bar where we were watched the games, we followed the somber crowd down the street. There was no cheering. It was almost silent. “How bizarre”, I thought! I realize that everyone wants their team to win, but if we think of the big picture, it could not have worked out better. This is going to open up so many opportunities for those girls in high school who are hoping to play basketball in college. There is no longer the one most dominant team followed by the three that have a shot. These young women are going to have a larger pick of teams and it won’t be a reach for them to believe they can be #1. When we see the underdog see success, other underdogs follow. It seems possible. (ex. once one person broke the four minute mile, dozens followed). I can’t wait to see what happens next year!

Another step forward in women’s sports was made yesterday when it was announced that women’s ski jumping would be in the 2014 winter Olympics. It is hard to believe that it has taken this long for the governing body to decide it is appropriate. Instead of being disappointed (which I am), I am focusing on how great it is for the women who have wanted to jump but never got the chance. Could people have really thought in this day and age that ski jumping isn’t suitable for women because of how dangerous it can be? Apparently so.

The ski jumping situation reminds me of the documentary, “The Spirit of the Marathon” where they discussed how officials didn’t want women to run the marathon because of the stress it would put on their bodies (i.e. it would hurt their reproductive organs…or so they thought). I am shocked that 40 years later we are still dealing with this! The positive thing is that this is one big step forward. I hope that 40 years from today people won’t have to write blogs about women getting their first shot at any sport…I hope that instead they will be writing about the amazing women in all different sports that are making headlines because they are leaders and idols or because of the record numbers of people who are watching them dominate.

Although it seems like all of these steps should have happened years ago, I’m glad that it is finally happening. We get to be a part of it. The athletes, the women I’ve met this past weekend, and I are proving that we have come to “win, to fight, to conquer, to thrive”. Let’s keep at it!

Feel the passion.

Use the passion.

~Stephanie

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