she shoots.... SHE SCORES!

My uncle, a great man.

my uncle died this weekend.

he was in a wheelchair, due to a spinal cord injury he suffered about 10 years ago when diving into a lake in about 5 feet of water.

He was a great, strong, and inspirational man. He raised an amazing son, Charlie, who is now a teenager, and is undoubtedly crushed by the loss of his father.

I know Charlie will "soldier on", but my heart is with him tonight. He has been through a lot for a boy to have to go through.

At least he will know that he had a truly inspirational father to look up to, and hopefully live up to.

Jeff Braunlich died this weekend after attending a Notre Dame football game with his family. He had had a lot of fun and laughs, but because he is paralyzed below the waist, he did not realize that when he whipped his wheelchair around a little too fast at one point, he broke his leg, and he began to have internal bleeding.

Family members say that the usually lively and vivacious Jeff was rather listless at the tailgating party. Not his usual self.

He went to sleep tired, but apparently fine... Saturday night I believe, I'll have to double check those facts.

He didn't wake up Sunday morning.

People always talk about Christopher Reeve, and in no way am I knocking Mr Reeve, he was an amazing man. But perhaps people should do some more talking about Jeff Braunlich and his family. He wasn't in movies, but he has inspired more people than you could possibly count, and he deserves to be honored, respected, and remembered for the "superman" that he was.

His funeral service will be later this week in Michigan somewhere. If I can scrounge up some money, I think I may make a road trip. Anyone with nothing to do and the itch for a trip is welcome to join me. I feel the need to pay my respects and see some family members that I haven't seen in way too long.

We used to all do every Christmas and summer together... for at least a few days, sometimes a week. (we being the WILDER family, and the offshoots).

The last few years that has slowed down.... we're too old, we have responsibilities, we're moving on, we have our "own lives to worry about".

To me thats bullshit. Our lives are our family. Our lives are each others lives.

Thats how it should be. And for that reason, I plan to find a way to get there, and hopefully recruit some followers in my quest to pay my respects to a man that truly deserves respect.

Jeff Braunlich

my paper on womens soccer- english summer course- 2004 i believe...

Heather Wilder

English 200- TR 530-645

Discovery Draft for Research Paper

I began the whole research paper process thinking I knew exactly what I was going to write about. I knew that I wanted to write about sports, more specifically women in sports. I have played sports since I was a little girl, and have always devoted a great deal of time to them, so it seemed like a logical choice. I know firsthand that women athletes are often not treated with the same respect and attention that men athletes receive. Playing for my high school’s varsity soccer team, I often saw the stands fill up for the boys’ games, while during our games few came to watch- mostly close friends and family members. It made me wonder; why didn’t people want to watch us play? We often had a better record than the guys team- but that did not seem to matter. The boys were the ones that brought in the fans, that got the glory, that had their pictures and names on the sports page of the local paper.

I did my best to brush this off; I thought of it as a challenge and not a curse. I looked up to the women athletes that achieved success in college and international competition. The women’s soccer team’s success was an inspiration- seeing the United States take victory in 1996- completely overshadowing the men’s performance in recent international events. I saw it as the beginning of a new era in women’s sports- people were finally going to recognize the value of women athletes. However, things didn’t change quite the way or the speed I expected. A major wakeup call for me came during the Women’s World Cup in 1998. Once again, the women’s soccer team dominated their opponents and made their way into the championship game. After an intense ninety minutes of regulation followed by an overtime period, the score remained tied and the teams went to penalty kicks. It came down to the last penalty kick, and Brandi Chastain made her shot, giving US the win. To everyone’s surprise, she celebrated by whipping off her jersey and running down the field in her sports bra. It was the culmination of years of hard work and dedication by the women on the team, and the moment would be captured in newspapers all over the world. I was excited to see women’s soccer getting so much press. However it became apparent that Brandi Chastain’s fame wasn’t based on her athletic ability or hard-fought championship game… but how great she looked in a sports bra. It disturbed me that when I asked my non-soccer-playing friends, the only thing they remembered about the World Cup was Brandi Chastain and her sports bra- they couldn’t tell me what position she played, or any of the other players’ names. What about Brianna Scurry, the US goalie who’s brilliant save in the fourth round of penalty kicks gave US the edge that allowed for Chastain’s kick to bring in the win? I didn’t hear anyone talking about her. It gave me the disconcerting impression that a women sports’ only draw is sex appeal. I began to think about the experience further, and I realized I had many questions that could be answered through research. I wanted to know the reasons behind women’s sports lack of popularity and press compared to men’s. I wanted to see if my earlier thought was correct; if women really were beginning to get more press and things would improve.

Where to begin? Well, I suppose the best way to begin is to research and observe the present state of women’s sports, on the high school, college, and professional level. Title IX called for equality in men and women’s sports- giving women more opportunities. Are girls taking these opportunities; is participation in sports growing? In the past, there was a negative connotation connected to female athletes, especially at the child and adolescent level. Girls who played sports were tomboys, or “butch” (masculine). Do young girls today still feel that negative pressure? On the college level, how much coverage is given to female sporting events? What sports draw in the most crowds? It would be interesting to see what characteristics these popular sports have that leads to their popularity. Finally, on the professional level, what women’s sports are gaining popularity? For those leagues already in place, such as the WNBA and the WUSA, how are they faring? How much money and fans do they draw in, in comparison with their male counterparts- the NBA and MLS. What are the major women’s sports icons right now, and how did they become famous? What attributes enable a woman athlete to gain media attention?

Psychology and sociology scholars offer various answers to these questions. Certainly, many of women’s current barriers are the result of deep-seated stereotypes and a long sports history that-until this century, was only open to men. Just how deep-seated are these stereotypes- how much do traditional gender roles affect people’s willingness to watch a sport? Knowing that sport participation has always been seen as a masculine activity, do people believe that women are not cut out to be athletes- that they’re merely tagging along in the men’s arena? Clearly, women have come a long way in the last century- but has this pattern of change reached its limit? Will women’s sports continue to grow, or will they always be seen as a lesser alternative to men’s sports? Through my research of scholars in the media field, I am hoping to find their predictions for this century of female athletics.

Everyone knows that sex sells- it’s a primary belief in advertising and marketing. When it comes to popular culture, how does the media’s treatment of female athletes compare to its treatment of females in general? It seems that often, women draw upon sex appeal as a last resort- as a way to bring attention to themselves that the media refuses to give them based solely on their performance. This brings up new questions- is this new image of the female athlete- talented and beautiful- merely an extension of the unrealistic ideal that media portrays for all women? Where is the line of distinction between athlete and model? Is the emphasis on beauty- a feminine characteristic- an attempt to counteract the masculine stereotypes given to women athletes? Perhaps the media is not maliciously trying to exploit women athletes’ sexuality, but rather trying to find a way to give these athletes the spotlight in a way that fits into the general public’s existing prejudices and stereotypes. Are they trying to make a gradual change from concentrating on sex appeal to showing these women’s true ability? Or, are reporters and advertisers simply sticking to what makes money, regardless of possible negative affects on women; I wonder.

Looking at female sports icons like Mia Hamm, its easy to see my frustration. Hamm, who has achieved MVP honors and set scoring records on the college, professional, and international level, had quite a struggle to become the media figure she is today. Early on, the type of advertising spots she received were shampoo and hair dye ads- What does shampoo and hair dye have to do with soccer- very little. Big companies like Adidas ran commercials and ads that emphasized her struggle to gain recognition in a male dominated area-commercials showing her playing soccer and basketball against Michael Jordan, to the song “Anything you can do I can do better”. Other figures, such as Anna Kournikova, a tennis player, simply play into the sexual exploitation. Though Kournikova may not make much money off of her tournament winnings- which are few and far between- she rakes in plenty with her appearances in bikini calendars and music videos. When you ask almost any young male who their favorite tennis player is, they’ll say Anna Kournikova- but have they ever seen her actually play tennis- or just seen the pictures of her in her short tennis skirts? Clearly, women have a long way to go to be truly considered equal to men in sports fans’ eyes. Hopefully, as I continue my research, I will be able to see how far women still are, and what needs to change for them to catch up.

RESOURCES:

Clasen, Patricia R.W. “The female athlete: Dualisms and Paradox in practice. (female athletes and femininity)” Women and Language 24.2 (2001): 36-42.
“Coverage of women’s sports debated; media performance so-so, panelists say.” Media Report to Women 25.4 (1997): 4-12.
Donlon, Brian. “Women's sports struggling to reverse a losing streak.” Electronic Media 21.45 (2002): 5.
Hallmark, James R.; Armstrong, Richard N. “Gender Equity in Televised Sports: A Comparative Analysis of Men’s and Women’s NCAA Division I Basketball Championship Broadcasts, 1991-1995.” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 43 (1999): 222
Hardin, Marie, et al. “Olympic photo coverage fair to female athletes.” Newspaper Research Journal, (Spring-Summer 2002): 64-79.
James, Jeffrey D; Ridinger, Lynn L. “Female and male sport fans: A comparison of sport consumption motives.” Journal of Sport Behavior 25 (2002): 260-279.
Knight, Jennifer L.; Giuliano, Traci A. “He's a Laker; She's a "Looker": The consequences of Gender-Stereotypical portrayals of male and female athletes by the print media.” Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, (Aug 2001): 217-230.
Miller, Jessica L.; Heinrich, Myra. “Gender role conflict in middle school and college
female athletes and non-athletes.” Physical Educator 58.3 (2001): 24-34.
Motley, Mary L.; Lavine, Mary E. ““Century Marathon: A Race for Equality in Girls' and Women's Sports.” JOPERD--The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 72.6 (2001): 56.
“Women in Sports not covered seriously; beauty, sexiness part of the package.” Media Report to Women 30.1 (2002): 7-10.