Disappointing USAToday Article

SleepySmurf · **Disappointing USAToday Article -** 12-30-2005, 11:58 AM

I'm part of a news group and someone posted this message yesterday and I was so impressed I have to share it with everyone. The best part is well read for yourself

"Hey gang. According to this website.. http://www.ussa.edu/aoy/index.asp ,
a poll was conducted in conjunction with USAToday and Danica Patrick was voted Female Athlete of the Year. First off, I love Danica. She rocks. She can handle a 200mph car, but to vote her Female Athlete of the Year is mind-boggling. She's done a great job in her sport of racing, yet she has never won an IRL race. To put her ahead of athletes like MK of course, or Venus or Anika, is just crazy. I feel Misty and Kerri should have been voted because they dominated their sport all year long, both domestically and internationally.

I just can't seem to understand why these ladies keep getting overlooked. They have been dominating their sport for years. To me, being an athlete means playing through sweat and pain, staying physically fit, putting your body through hours of practice and numerous matches, competing week in and week out, and never giving up.

Take the entertainment business for example. You've got movies, music and tv shows that don't sell well or aren't viewed as much as your heavy hitters, yet, they gain tons of praise by critics as "the best blah blah blah of the year" or they win the Grammy for album of the year, or Oscar for Best Screenplay, yet no one ever buys the records or tickets. Why can't beach volleyball be the same? We all know the viewership is nowhere near the viewership of basketball or baseball, tennis, but why aren't sports writers writing about how dominant these two are? I've read more stories about how beach volleyball is not a legit sport or it's nothing but eye candy for fans than I have read anything on how MK continue to rule the world. That's very unfortunate.

Misty being nominated for that ESPN thing is great. She was the best player this year, both in the US and overseas. She deserves every single accolade even though they are few and far between when it comes to mainstream sports. I am, however, thrilled that they won the ESPY for the Undeniable Performance award. We all voted on that one.

I'm just a little annoyed at all of these polls and awards and year-end pictures that make no mention of Misty and Kerri period.

I'm gonna beat these ignorant people to death with a shovel. ("A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend") A quote from Willow on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I can't believe I remember that, lol. "

Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did...

Pancake · 12-30-2005, 03:10 PM

Yeah amazing what the Midwest is able to control based on the voting power, I guarantee the judges were not from the west/east coast. I read the article and found it to be largely bias. Seems to me that the car racing which requires ZERO athletic ability ranks over dozens of amazing sports. Don't get me wrong she's impressive but clearly not the Female Athlete of the Year. I'm not saying Volleyball hard any shining stars this year but Natalie Coughlin. Maybe she won because shes attractive female who drives a fast car!

Now here are the top women athletes! These are amazing women!
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/siforwomen/top_100/1/

SETMENOW · **The 10 most powerful women in sports -** 12-30-2005, 04:08 PM

Great Tread, Fox says shes only number 6 in the power rating.....

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/5160026?GT1=7429

NewEnglandRT · 12-30-2005, 05:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pancake

Yeah amazing what the Midwest is able to control based on the voting power, I guarantee the judges were not from the west/east coast. I read the article and found it to be largely bias. Seems to me that the car racing which requires ZERO athletic ability ranks over dozens of amazing sports. Don't get me wrong she's impressive but clearly not the Female Athlete of the Year. I'm not saying Volleyball hard any shining stars this year but Natalie Coughlin. Maybe she won because shes attractive female who drives a fast car!

Now here are the top women athletes! These are amazing women!
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/siforwomen/top_100/1/

Ever driven a race car? It's very physically demanding and drivers at the IRL level are in top shape. If the award is based on what women did the most for her sport in the given year, no one has brought more attention to motorsports in '05 than Danika. Not to take away from Misty & Kerri who are trememdous.