Monday, September 9, 2013
Gender and Sporting Events: Anthony Cornwell, Jr.
I believe that gender factors into the decisions people make about going to sporting events. I believe it is a major factor. Of course the male sports attract a lot of attention because they are considered the juggernauts of sports. They can jump high, throw far, run fast, hit hard, they basically can do everything that a fan asks for. When you think of an athlete, normally you don't think of a female, you would think of a person like LeBron James not Brittany Griner. But who is it to say women sporting events don't gain attention neither. Their sports are on the rise. Now they aren't as athletic as men, but they do gain some attention. Missy Franklin for example, she is dominant at her sport. Serena Williams, dominant at her sport. Alex Morgan is dominant in her sport as well. Although they are all dominant and pretty athletic, they are all very attractive. Another athlete is Skylar Diggins. Every male that I've been around and Skylar Diggins came up as a topic, her athletic ability had nothing to do with the conversation. It was her looks. This is a question that raises a lot of eyebrows, are fans attending the events to watch the game or to look at the athletes? I believe more people that attend female games are there to watch the game. I say this because I would expect most of them to be female. The males that attend female events could be there to watch or to look. I believe it is a 50/50 split. This may change in the future because women sports are becoming more popular, but for now I believe this will be a trend for a while.
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ReplyDeleteAnthony,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely that when you think of an athlete you think of a LeBron James, Tiger Woods type of male athlete not a women athlete. Women sports are on the rise. Look at BG's women's basketball team, they get more attention and more attendance than the guys team does at games because they are good almost every year. I talk to men and women about going to sporting events here, and all have said they would go see are women's team play before they would see the guy's team. Now in your bigger schools like OSU that is not the case the women's basketball team is barely heard from. Women sports are starting to get more attention then they have ever gotten but I do not think they will ever be as popular or talked about as male sports. I also agree with you about most males attending female sports to look at them weather than watch them play.
Tyler Crellin
Anthony,
ReplyDeleteYou have raised some valid points to show the differences of men and women athletes on the basis of who may attract more fans. I agree with you that men will always attract a broader fan base than females in certain sports. Although men do get more attention in the major sports, such as, football, basketball, baseball etc. But you do have to account for the sports that females get sole attention for. Sports, such as, cheer leading, gymnastics, dance, volleyball female athletes get majority of attention. Although they may not get football or basketball exposure they still get exposure through their sport. Female athletes tend to have to be a dominant figure in their sport to get as much exposure as some male athletes. For example, Serena Williams and Brittney Griner are two good examples. But as you stated, I believe too that female athletics are on the rise and the popularity will gradually increase over time.
Eddie Hodges ^^^^ (last comment)
ReplyDeleteAnthony,
ReplyDeleteI agree that people tend to watch male sporting events as opposed to female sporting events because the males tend to put on a better show. Sure, Brittany Griner may be the best female basketball player in the world, but I doubt she could beat someone like LeBron James one on one. That being said, I do feel as though some female sports are very entertaining compared to similar male sports. For instance, it seems like nearly all of the winter Olympic events share a similar following for both men and women. Also, the girls that were a part of the last summer Olympics gymnastics team received a lot more attention than most male athletes that competed. In most cases, men will tend to be better athletes, but I do not believe that being a better athlete can make a person more entertaining. For people to start paying more attention to women’s sports, female athletes must find a way to put on a better show.
Evan Sechler