Comments on: Ball State basketball team addicted to dudes

By: SallySea

SallySea — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 16:33:18 +0000

Here’s a frame changing event for those involved that I can relate. I started working out with my womanfriend about a year ago. We started the classes but mainly do weights now. I do feel a bit super these days. My first thrill was doing my first chin-up. Jan is an inch taller, has athletic genes and strong spirit. She lifts more than me. Plus she’s developed these Popeye like biceps.

Recently I met my manfriend after the gym in a cafe. He’s teasing me about whether I’m strong yet and playfully challenges me to an arm-wrestle. Let me say he is about 3-4 inches taller but does not work out. I put up a fight but he won as he expected. I wanted to do better and he was smug.

Well I saw Jan and called her over. I tell her what happened and ask Jason to flex, hoping to goad Jan to challenge him. Jason has an ok lean bicep. Jan gives her famous, “not bad for a boy” comment. No bite so I had to initiate Jason to take Jan on. I wanted to know our training was not in vain. This is where it gets interesting. I said go and Jan locks her steely stare on him. After a few seconds of feeling each other’s strength I saw a small smirk cross Jan’s face and she started slowly but steadily taking his straining arm down. His knuckles kissed the benchtop and his face was red. In contrast Jan was looking very cocky.

“Show him your guns”, I prompted her. She removed her sweat top and proudly flexed her victorious bicep. Jason sat staring trying to process the swollen bulge on her arm that put his untrained muscle to shame. She relaxed the tension and her muscle shrunk back into her arm. He uttered some lame excuse that he had just arm-wrestled me.

Now the icing on the cake. Jan says conciliatorily, “let’s go left-handed then”. “But that is my stronger arm”, she added, flexing it as if to prove it. I knew Jason was right-handed. Realising the SHE had defeated his stronger arm with her weaker he declined, saying he had to leave. Jan told him to stay, that she was leaving. She left and I mercifully changed the topic. Now I am inspired to train harder. I may never beat Jason but I will put the pressure on.

By: Pinko Punko

Pinko Punko — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 00:47:06 +0000

I’m not convinced that women practicing with men are betraying the people that fought for title IX. It seems to me like a sort of double jeopardy- patriarchy says women aren’t supposed to play sports, get stronger, faster, or even consider playing with boys, what have you, and these women do, and they want to excel, but now they are deemed crossing a line- the analogy that Lieberman used for male practice players were football training dummies- I just have a feeling that if the womens teams were practicing with taller, faster androids, this wouldn’t be an issue. It would be viewed as a training technique. From a basketball utilitarian view, top women players would most likely in the present time seek out men to practice with, probably in situations where there is still a lot of discrimination against women (name your local gym), why not let them play with dudes institutionally?

By: AoT

AoT — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 12:54:42 +0000

I think it would also be important to take into account the fact the nearly everysport out there is created by and for the patriarchy, so should it come as a suprise if males do better? They made the rules.

By: slade

slade — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 06:45:53 +0000

John Wooden, the legendary coach at UCLA, was interviewed a few years ago and stated that all he enjoyed watching was Women’s Basketball…they played the game as it was meant to be played…as a team sport.

He found the male pro sport boring…and preferred the WNBA.

And I do think the woman BB team at Ball State needs a history lesson in Title IX….we gotta remember that under the current regime, the history books are revisionist and/or totally lacking in information on the Women’s Movement in both the sports arena and the boardroom.

Maybe a well worded and educational email to the coach at Ball State would lead to a bit of enlightenment.

And when do we get to see a strong male athelete on the balance beam?

By: Mar Iguana

Mar Iguana — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 01:25:18 +0000

You’re welcome, bewilderness. I find it such a handy unit. And versatile too. It can be used in any orifice: ears to measure steam, mouths to measure hot air, and for the gases you can insert it sideways.

By: antiprincess

antiprincess — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 01:11:21 +0000

Ramou - you’re not from around here, are you?

By: KTal

KTal — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 01:09:34 +0000

The quote above was spoken by a male, lest I mislead, in the article Pinko mentioned. That the writer, a female had no found it useful support for her position though, is almost worse.

By: Pony

Pony — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 01:08:15 +0000

And also ramou, male athletes are disinclined to try new training modalities. They think they know everything. Of course, individuals will differ.

By: Pony

Pony — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 01:03:40 +0000

It’s because of their greater proportion of body fat to muscle than men. Generally speaking. Individuals will of course differ.

By: ramou

ramou — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 00:59:38 +0000

Generally speaking, women have a greater stamina for distance.

This truly reeks of “I’m not sexist, see, I think women have this admirable trait to balance out their otherwise natural frailty.” Yes, give them a bone and pat them on the head and they’ll cuddle up to you and do your dishes.