Watching both games brought a lot of attention to my mind, and if I look back into the deep recesses of my memory to find my youth days, I remember when my father would take me out to the Australian Institute of Sport to meet the Matildas. I believe this was the spark that set a flame to my interest in Women's Football. Meeting the girls when I was young was one of the greatest experiences I've ever had in my life, even if I was really too young to truly appreciate just how lucky I was.
Looking back, I remember all the games the girls would win, how many times I'd be eagerly waiting for my favourite players to score goals, make great tackles, or make some spectacular saves. Although I must admit, the part I looked forward to most was when the girls had finished playing and came up to say hello to me. Although, that's all child psychology, and I don't want to delve into that. What I am getting at though, is that the Women's game is completely different to that of the Men's. I have never been to a match where the Socceroos have won, at least, not that I can remember.
This is also channeled down into the state leagues. At the same time that my father would take me out to see the girls train or play, he would also take me out to see the now-nonexistent Canberra Cosmos. While the guys in the Cosmos were nice as well, they were really no competition for most of the teams, especially Sydney or Brisbane. If we look at the Canberra United girls, they've gone pretty well so far, and this week shall be coming up against Brisbane Roar. Should they win that game, one would expect they would face Sydney again in the Grand Final.
So, while the Australian women have never actually won any of the World Cups, and neither have Australia, there is definitely a disparity in reigning countries. To put it into perspective, the USA is a high placing team in the Women's competition, but are rarely anywhere past qualifying in the Men's. So it makes me think, do some countries favour the men, or favour the women in their sporting ventures?
Also, make sure you tune into the game between Brisbane and Canberra this Saturday at 6pm!
I agree with you James womens sport does not get the coverage that it should.
ReplyDeleteWhether this is just conditioning over time or the fact that mens games involve more power is debatable. Personally I love to see any competition as long as it involves top class athletes trying their heart out.
It is purely a matter of dollars. More crowds at mens games = more sponsorship dollars = more coverage. In saying that one game that has embraced and grown womens sport is tennis.
Maybe they are doing something right that other sports could learn from?