World Cup Soccer Stats Erase The Sport's Most Dominant Players: Women

[redqueen]

...

Only one thing mars my enjoyment of watching the World Cup, and it's the absence of one small word. Just a tiny qualifier in a statistic that really should be corrected as our men's team continues to gain respect internationally. So I ask the American commentators, please stop announcing that Landon Donovan is the "all-time U.S. leading goal scorer." He is not. With 57 international goals, he's not even in the Top Five.

The all-time U.S. leading goal scorer is Abby Wambach, with 167 goals, followed by Mia Hamm (158), Kristine Lilly (130), Michelle Akers (105) and Tiffeny Milbrett (100). In fact, Abby Wambach is the all-time leading goal scorer in the world, among all soccer players, male or female.

...

I don't want to take anything away from what Landon Donovan has achieved. It is commendable. But every time he sits there, silently allowing that phrase to be rattled off — "all-time leading U.S. goal scorer" — without pointing out that he is the all-time leading men's goal scorer, it does take away from what Abby Wambach and Mia Hamm have achieved — total world domination.

In sports like tennis and gymnastics, where the U.S. women clearly outstrip their male counterparts, no one talks about the men's statistics without that clarifier. Why is soccer different? Why are almost all other sports different? Why do people consistently claim that Mike Krzyzewski is the winningest coach in college basketball when he is still 115 wins behind Pat Summit, with a significantly lower win percentage (his .763 to her .841)? How hard would it be to simply slip the word "men's" into the conversation, if nothing else, in the interest of accuracy?

The issue of establishing women's achievements as "women's" but allowing the male position to be the assumed baseline goes far beyond sports. When Sonia Sotomayor was being confirmed for the Supreme Court, members of Congress repeatedly asked her (repeatedly) if, as a Latina, she would be able to remain neutral. I don't recall ever in the history of confirmation hearings, anyone asking, "As a white male, do you think you'll be able to remain neutral when deciding issues of law?" Given some recent decisions, maybe they should have!

...

http://jezebel.com/world-cup-soccer-stats-erase-the-sports-most-dominant-p-1601275793

[roody]

1. Womens World Cup-Canada, 2015!

[redqueen]

5. I am so looking forward to that.

[robbob]

8. It is going to be sweet revenge for Canadian woman's team

...at least I hope so. Yes, I am still stinging from that Olympic semi-final referee decided farce.

[seabeyond]

2. i love this point. well made. thank you. sharing with sons, just for a ...

well, ya. duh.

[monmouth3]

3. I remember once there was a similar situation like this and my mother very dramatically said "Well,

it's a man's world you know" and I said "Why?" She just dramatically sighed as if to say I didn't get it. I still don't..

[ismnotwasm]

4. Great article

We have to stop assuming that the male position is objective, unbiased, nonpartisan, with no need to be qualified as male. All one has to do is notice that the (mostly) rich, white men in charge have done nothing to punish the (entirely) rich, white men who crashed our economy — and in fact, took steps to ensure that their financial advantages be maintained — to see that men are anything but objective when it comes to assessing the achievements and crimes of other men, who happen to look exactly like them.

Truth.

[theHandpuppet]

6. Good article.

Also like how it begins with sports and uses those examples for how women must navigate a world in which they are invisible.

I have heard, over and over again from sports commentators (ESPN especially) that women's stats cannot be compared to those of male athletes because the competition in women's sports is so inferior. This is driven home especially when sports commentators ridicule the WNBA, pretty much stating they'd rather watch paint dry. Even the best woman basketball player in the world, they contend, couldn't make an NBA roster. Could an Abby Wambach have made an MLS team? Could a Venus Williams go head to head against Rafael Nadal? You get the picture -- the argument is always the same.

Perhaps the detractors have a debatable point though outside the world of sports, skills still come with that qualifier of gender. The one that places women at a starting line of suspicion and runs a course through hurdles of resentment and dismissal. Those who cross the finish line cannot expect to be met with a crown of laurel leaves but catcalls of, "yes she won the race but..."

[Downwinder]

7. All I know is that my granddaughter has to tone her play down when she

plays on a boys team.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

9. "if nothing else, in the interest of accuracy?"

Because women are supposed to be inferior.

They're NOT.

That makes the Patriarchy feel inferior.

Besides, the ladies might get uppity,....more than they already ARE.

Tell ya what,...you can mention the women but make sure you question their sexuality.

Not OPENLY. Just a picture of their rage face during play with their muscles showing. You know, something to make them look like men.

Wouldn't want them to be role models.

Right?

BTW: Is this really needed?

[hughee99]

10. When discussing men's World Cup soccer,

Is it not okay to assume that one is discussing the MENS soccer record?

[ismnotwasm]

11. No. nt

[hughee99]

12. When the women's World Cup comes around next year,

Do you suspect them to spend a lot of time talking about Landon Donovan?

[BainsBane]

13. No, but you can be certain the word women will be used as a qualifier

repeatedly, whereas men is not.

As for Landon Donovan, there wasn't much talk about him in this World Cup, since he didn't play.

[hughee99]

14. I'd like to apologize.

When I initially responded to this, I didn't realize it was in the HoF Forum. The discussion I started isn't really one for the HoF forum.