If we go back in history, we would see that people have tended to favor male sports. It doesn’t have to be this way. Most people don’t watch the WNBA, female soccer players get paid less than the male soccer players, and barely anybody knows that the NWHL even exists. Only we can change this situation, and only we can make female sports more popular.
Soccer
A while ago, people believed boys should be on the soccer field and girls should be in the kitchen. Some people still haven’t accepted that girls don’t always have to be cleaning around the house. Recently, there’s been more respect for the female soccer teams. More people are trying to get other people to notice that soccer is a popular sport for men so it can be a popular sport for women as well. Recently, more people are realizing that women’s soccer teams exist and they have been getting more involved in it. Many young girls are getting inspired by these brave athletes, especially after the success of the USA women’s soccer team in the World Cup in 2019. Girls soccer is great because you can see a bunch of women who you can grow up to be like. Since I saw USA women’s soccer player, Alex Morgan, playing soccer in the Olympics and in the World Cup, I have loved and admired her ever since.
Basketball
In basketball, the NBA is far more popular than the WNBA. Notice how it is called the National Basketball Association, not the Men’s National Basketball Association. People just assume that no women will play basketball. They will put on the news “Breaking News. LeBron James broke a world record”. They won’t put anything on the news about the women’s basketball, unless maybe there’s a championship. In my experience, in children’s basketball leagues, the boys get to play more games than the girls. So, even when it is early in life, boys sports gets more attention than girls sports. But women’s basketball is great because women are strong people and going to a game and watching them play is a good way for young girls to get inspired. When my Girl Scout troop went to see a Boston College women’s basketball game, we all really enjoyed it, and we got to meet the players after the game.
Hockey
It seems as if everybody watches the NHL. There is an NWHL but most people don’t know about it. It was established in 2015 and has 5 teams. The NHL has 31 teams and was established in 1917. The men’s league has been running for 103 years, however, the women’s league has only been running for 5 years. And many people when they think of girls, they think of make-up, dresses, and nail polish. But girls are much more than that. They are strong, brave, and powerful people. Think of all the girls in the world who are underestimated and can’t play sports because people around them don’t believe they should. Female hockey is great because hockey is a very hard sport to play and it is great to see that all of these girls who are underestimated have a chance to play. Next hockey season, I can’t wait to go and see a Boston Pride game and watch all these talented women play professional hockey.
How can we help
We can help make female sports more popular by doing a few simple things:
- Sharing this article with family and friends
- Make girls sports posters and hang them around your town
- Talk to family and friends to get them to notice the situation
- Go to women’s sporting events
- Invite other people to watch women’s sports games
- Have a fundraiser for women’s sports
Thank you for taking your time and reading my article, now go cheer for girls and women’s sports!