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**halfstreet** · 04-09-2008, 07:29 PM

Their job is to play golf, not schmooze Citibank. When I watch an event I am there to watch the shots, period. I don't give a rat's ass if the leader speaks English well or not, I just want to see her compete. Sports to me is the great equalizer, your play determines your fate. These women have proven to be good enough to make it on the LPGA tour, that should be enough IMO.

As for the level of play, I'm simply comparing it with the men's tournaments I have been to. And there was a huge difference. You never would see a man leave a 120 yard wedge in a bunker. And again the short game was a real shocker.

If people don't connect with the player (and it is unlikely they'll connect with the 1/3 of players that don't speak English -- considering they play the majority of their tourneys here in English-speaking territory), then they have no viewers. If they have no viewers, they have no sponsors. If they have no sponsors, the LPGA can't afford to put on tournaments. If there are no tournaments, the players don't get paid.

Seems pretty straight forward to me.

If it was 5% of the players, no biggie. But when this high a percentage of players aren't even attempting to to make those connections, it is a problem.

As for your shock at the level of play, I'm a little stunned that you expect the overall quality of play between the men and women to be equal. Name a sport where the men's and women's games are equal or even remotely close. If you lined up the top male players and the top women's players in any given sport, I'd be stunned if the women came close to the men in even one event.

Considering women frequently end up quitting entirely or getting out of the sport for a period of time to have families, there certainly is no wonder why the gap never seems to close. I've had this conversation in relation to major sports before. Can you imagine watching the NFL and one of your key players is out for the season because of pregnancy? In the past year you had Lisa Leslie, one of the best WNBA players, miss an entire season due to pregnancy and maternity leave, Annika Sorenstam announce her retirement to start a family and Misti May and Kerri Walsh, maybe the two best women's volleyball players, announce that they'd be taking an extended break to have kids. Therefore you end up with inferior competitors and younger competitors in women's sports.

Sports may be the great equalizer, but not in relation between men and women.

04-09-2008, 07:29 PM	#2
halfstreet Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 498 Senior Member	Their job is to play golf, not schmooze Citibank. When I watch an event I am there to watch the shots, period. I don't give a rat's ass if the leader speaks English well or not, I just want to see her compete. Sports to me is the great equalizer, your play determines your fate. These women have proven to be good enough to make it on the LPGA tour, that should be enough IMO. As for the level of play, I'm simply comparing it with the men's tournaments I have been to. And there was a huge difference. You never would see a man leave a 120 yard wedge in a bunker. And again the short game was a real shocker. If people don't connect with the player (and it is unlikely they'll connect with the 1/3 of players that don't speak English -- considering they play the majority of their tourneys here in English-speaking territory), then they have no viewers. If they have no viewers, they have no sponsors. If they have no sponsors, the LPGA can't afford to put on tournaments. If there are no tournaments, the players don't get paid. Seems pretty straight forward to me. If it was 5% of the players, no biggie. But when this high a percentage of players aren't even attempting to to make those connections, it is a problem. As for your shock at the level of play, I'm a little stunned that you expect the overall quality of play between the men and women to be equal. Name a sport where the men's and women's games are equal or even remotely close. If you lined up the top male players and the top women's players in any given sport, I'd be stunned if the women came close to the men in even one event. Considering women frequently end up quitting entirely or getting out of the sport for a period of time to have families, there certainly is no wonder why the gap never seems to close. I've had this conversation in relation to major sports before. Can you imagine watching the NFL and one of your key players is out for the season because of pregnancy? In the past year you had Lisa Leslie, one of the best WNBA players, miss an entire season due to pregnancy and maternity leave, Annika Sorenstam announce her retirement to start a family and Misti May and Kerri Walsh, maybe the two best women's volleyball players, announce that they'd be taking an extended break to have kids. Therefore you end up with inferior competitors and younger competitors in women's sports. Sports may be the great equalizer, but not in relation between men and women.
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