Respect OUR game

I was talking with a good male friend of mind last night, he asked what I was doing, and I told him watching the Women’s Tournament games.  His response, “I’d rather watch paint dry.” He was joking because he knows how much it bothers me when guys diss the Women’s game, but I still had a feeling deep down, that was how he felt.

Him and I dated in High School and some in College, (I am only telling you this to give some background), so he has been “around” the Women’s game for a while now.  It has always been like pulling teeth to get him to watch a women’s game, even mine! He played College Basketball himself, so you would think he would have some appreciation for our game.

Men/Guys/Boys, whatever, who diss the women’s game has to be one my biggest pet peeves. Majority of the guys who diss our game, are the same ones at the gym, decked out from head to toe in Jordan gear (complete with headband), who never get picked for the pickup games.  (you know “that guy”)

I hate the excuses, “oh, they can’t dunk “ or  “it’s not exciting enough.”

Well, if you’re coming to a women’s game to see Blake Griffin or LeBron-esque dunks, you are well, foolish. And, please, tell me what exactly exciting “enough” means. 

I mean, realistically, how often are you going to go to a men’s game, at any level, and see a spectacular dunk? Not that often. And, I’ve been to plenty of men’s games that, for lack of a better phrase, weren’t “exciting enough”.  But if you are a fan of the game, you are a fan of the game.

Back one summer in college, I was in the gym shooting one night and Grieves Vasquez was at the other end. When we were both done shooting, we sat down and talked for a little bit. Mr. Vasquez had the nerve to say, “if we won a National Championship it would be harder than when you guys did.”…Um, WHAAAT?!?! What kind of sense does that make? I was fuming, to say the least. Not only did he disrespect our National Championship, but also the women’s game in general. I didn’t speak to him for weeks….

…Until, one night that same summer he was hanging out after our pickup games. He said, “let’s play 1on1.”

Game. On.

And, yes, I beat him. If you don’t believe me, ask him, he will be the first one to admit it. His excuse, “I wasn’t playing for real.” (Ladies, how many times have we heard a guy say that. Smh).

The turning point came that same summer when Coach David Adkins invited me to work out with Greivis, Kevin Durant, and a few other MD guys. I was always in the gym shooting while he was working these guys out, so finally he just invited me to join. (Meeting Coach Adkins was one of the best things that has happened to me basketball wise). After a few weeks of these workouts, Greivis finally came up to me and apologized. He told me that he just didn’t think girls worked as hard, or cared as much, but that I proved him wrong.  Greivis and I ended up being really good friends and workout buddies. Every offseason you could find us in the gym with Coach Adkins.

Greivis is a prime example that most guys are closed-minded when it comes to women’s basketball, and women in sports, in general.

We work just as hard, want it just as bad, and sacrifice just as much, if not more. We play the game because of our pure love for it. We know we aren’t going to make multi-millions, but we are lucky enough to have a professional league to continue to play the game we love, our game.

There are plenty of guys out there who love and respect our game. So, thank you! One of the most rewarding things to me is when a guy comes up to me and says he started watching women’s basketball after our championship run in 2006. I think for most guys, all it takes is going to or watching a few games and you will learn to appreciate what we do, maaaybe even like it.

….And for the rest of you men/guys/boys (whatever) out there, have fun continuing to sit on the couch, ranting and raving about how awful women’s basketball is, wishing you could do what we do! :)

....Check out the videos below....

Working out with Coach Adkins and G Soph year 

Working out with the boys before training camp my rookie year