Monday, March 31, 2008

BEYOND TIRED of sexist homophobic crap on RSD

And this time, the inflammatory posting is coming from a woman.

I guess a player for Wisconsin Bella Donna took exception to the dance-off that took place at Centex a couple weeks ago. Read her post and the endless lame responses here. I am ready to skewer the cocks-for-brains who keep posting about how women's ultimate is somehow rendered less legit because women undertake dancing as a way to have fun with their teams and their opponents. And especially those who post homophobic breakdowns of how anyone who supports women's ultimate, or who supports women's athletics in general must be at worst a faggot ('cause gawd, that would be the worst thing in the world to be), or a patronizing joiner who only cares because he/she knows someone on the team.

Sports are enjoyed by people not just because they display great feats of human skill and achievement but because they represent a common human need for competition, and they resonate among people with a common human spirit of struggle and the ability to overcome obstacles. If it's true that only 27% of Americans graduate from college, then there's no way all those people who root for Duke are alumni.... They love what the students at Duke show them about hard work, bad luck, the struggle to overcome adversity, and the feeling that on any given Sunday any team can win. Guess what? Those same struggles are present in Ultimate, and they are present in women's ultimate just as much as they are in men's ultimate. And there are people who like to watch it, follow it, appreciate it, and celebrate it just as they support men's Ultimate.

If it weren't true, then the people who are completely threatened by women's Ultimate wouldn't have to rage against it EVERY time it's brought up in a public forum. It would be irrelevant, too small to acknowledge, insignificant.

The thing that makes me the most sad though is when women who participate in women's ultimate are so brought down by some people's attitudes that they feel like some dancing on a Saturday night actually has the power to destroy the fragile fabric of legitimacy that women's ultimate has fought to achieve. And I'm sorry, but do you know what does 100 times the damage? Dropped discs. Stop turning it over, and you'll be legit. Dancing doesn't have shit to do with it.

Friday, March 07, 2008

Ulty Media Alert

I am very excited this week, as the one and only reputable source of news specific to women's ultimate is back in action: Inside College Ultimate. Obviously, it's college-focused, but it's a great site for keeping up with the happenings with the next generation of superstars. There's also a related blog, and on the blog they talk about all sorts of women's ultimate stuff. If you haven't seen it, check it out immediately.

The other new site of note is MSSUI.... It's only been live a few weeks and has already generated more content than any other site I can think of - three or four new (long!) articles a week. This site is player-oriented but fan-friendly, and has lots of stuff about both women and men. Kudos to them as well as IC Ultimate for diligently delivering news, and for totally disrupting my work day.

If I get fired it's your fault.