Sports Sites for Women
40 percent of U.S. women identify themselves as fans of men’s professional sports
October 16, 2008
By Jen Gaffney
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Females are complex creatures (just ask any man, he will confirm this), and it starts with childhood. As little girls, many of us were equally encouraged to play with Barbies as we were to get dirty while playing backyard softball and kickball with our neighborhood friends. Our dads introduced us to watching sports on TV, a habit many of us have kept into adulthood.
So with so much sports influence in the lives of young girls, why is it that when a woman makes a casual comment about batting averages, zone defense or NFL draft prospects, she is met with surprise-raised eyebrows from the people around her?
Fear not. Even though female sports aficionados may be perceived to be in the minority in this country, they’re not. In 2007, a survey by the Women’s Sports Foundation determined that approximately 40 percent of U.S. women identify themselves as fans of men’s professional sports. With that statistic in mind, we have searched the Web to give you a taste of the top sites for women who love to watch and play sports.
For sports fans…
www.baltimoreravens.com/Ravenstown/Purple.aspx
Purple is the official Baltimore Ravens club created just for women over 18. A free membership includes special offers, a subscription to the monthly Purple e-newsletter and event notices. Recent events have included a wine and cheese tasting at the aquarium and A Purple Evening, which gave ladies a chance to learn more about the game of football from Ravens players and coaches.
www.girlsdigsports.com
Author and self-proclaimed tomboy Lyndsey D’Arcangelo writes about the world of sports from a female perspective in her brand-new blog, Girls Dig Sports. D’Arcangelo started the site after she noticed there were no other sports blogs devoted to females who have an interest in competitive sports. She covers sports news and gossip in a manner that doesn’t talk down to females, and instead assumes the reader has some basic knowledge on the topic.
www.espn1300.com
Anita Marks, a former women’s pro football quarterback, knows her sports, and is arguably the biggest female voice in the Baltimore sports landscape. The Anita Marks show can be heard from 3-6:30 p.m. weekdays on ESPN Radio 1300 AM, and you can listen live on your computer or hear podcasts of her show and other ESPN radio broadcasts through 1300’s Web site.
Incidental Contact
For the sports beginner, there’s Incidental Contact, a place where women can learn about sports from other women. Paula Duffy is the site’s resident expert, and she wants to teach women how to watch and, more importantly, enjoy sports. Get a daily dose of Duffy by subscribing to her blog or downloading her podcasts.
We would be remiss in omitting some of the big sports sites for both men and women, like ESPN (www.espn.go.com) and Sports Illustrated (www.sportsillustrated.cnn.com). If you like your sports news to be a bit snarky, there’s always Deadspin (www.deadspin.com), a personal daily must-read.
Title IX allowed females in high school and college to have an equal opportunity to participate in athletics, but once we graduate into the real world, where can we continue to play?
www.baltssc.com and www.annssc.com
For the amateurs, there’s the Baltimore and Annapolis Sports and Social Clubs. The BSSC and ANNSSC give area adults the chance to play a variety of team sports (including softball, two-hand-touch football, volleyball, kickball and dodgeball) in a fun, social atmosphere. According to BSSC and ANNSSC owner Mike Cray, all teams are 100 percent co-ed, and enforced gender plays mean that the ladies won’t be standing by idly while the guys have all the fun.
Whether you want to play or watch, there are several professional women’s sports teams in Baltimore, including the Baltimore Burn, the Baltimore Nighthawks and the Charm City Roller Girls.
www.baltimoreburnfootball.com and www.thebaltimorenighthawks.com
The Burn is part of the National Women’s Football Association while the Nighthawks are associated with the Independent Women’s Football League. These are no flag football teams; these women play hard and hit hard.
Charm City Roller Girls
www.charmcityrollergirls.com
The hottest contact sport on wheels is roller derby, and Baltimore has its own all-girl flat track roller derby league with the Charm City Roller Girls. Female roller derbies reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s, but the modern incarnation of the sport has changed a bit since then, with more emphasis on athleticism and less on camp. The league is made up of four teams that play each other as well as teams from other U.S. cities. If you don’t mind taking an elbow to the ribs, the Roller Girls hold tryouts every summer, but if you’d prefer to watch, you can find the girls on Saturday nights at DuBurns Arena in Canton.
