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Dear Sportswriterby Tim Pappa Dear Sportswriter,
I’m so confused!! I’m 12 years old and have played soccer since I was a little girl. I love playing and all, but there’s this hot guy that’s always at all my team’s games. I know he looks at the other girls. But he doesn’t look at me. He probably doesn’t even know I exist. I think it’s because my armpits always leave sweat stains when I’m playing. So I stopped running hard, and now my coach always yells at me for not working harder. But he just doesn’t understand! I’m in love! What should I do? -- Sweaty Situation, Ill. Dear Sweaty Situation,
Don’t sweat it. You’re an athlete before a girl, remember? Here’s a story that might help. The first women’s sport I ever covered was field hockey, and I knew absolutely nothing about it. I just sat in the press box with the other guys in anticipation of the halftime events while sexist remarks droned on in the background. Whether I ever really watched the game doesn’t matter. It’s what I saw when I stopped watching the same little kid run around the track or the bees buzzing on the window, to see what unfolded on the field below. As the face-off drew near, so too did the girls, inching into poses like Greek goddesses, wielding power behind a graceful strut. They moved like a ballet set in motion to a soundless melody, arching aesthetically. Then the ball dropped. The girls resembled sharks in a feeding frenzy. At practices, it did not matter whether a man was around, as I was exposed to obnoxious spitting, hacking up, wedgies being pulled out, dirty looks shot my way, etc. Ok, maybe not the last one. But the point is, it is still possible to be a woman, despite what society says, and be, well, someone else completely when competing on the field. If that guy does not think a girl spitting up unmentionables is sexy, then he isn’t worth it! Girl power! Dear Sportswriter, I asked this real cutie to come to my softball game last Saturday. I was soooo nervous!! But I was really glad he came. I did really badly though. I didn’t hit anything, and I kept making fielding mistakes. I was really down about the game, but he cheered me up afterward by carrying my equipment for me. We’ve been going out a week, and he says he loves me so much. I really love him a lot too. That night we even made out in my basement! But the next day he dumped me out of nowhere! I feel miserable and all I can think is that he dumped me because of how I played at the game. I’m thinking about asking him to come to my next game to make everything right again, but I can’t even imagine picking up the phone to call him. What should I do!? Please help sportswriter! --Hitting .000, Va. Dear Hitting .000,
Maybe you should be practicing your swing instead of your smooch. Or, maybe it should be the other way around. Regardless, one thing you shouldn’t be doing is mixing boys with athletics! Sports and boys should be separate. How can you stare down an opposing player if you’re constantly glancing at that set of candy eyes owned by the sweetie on the sidelines? You can’t. The best remedy for your dumping blues is to go out and have the game of your life. Once your ex-beau sees who’s knocking balls out of the stadium, he’ll come running back. You lost the first inning. Just win the next one, and the game should be yours. – Pappa is a freshman. Send him an e-mail at timmyp1027@hotmail.com. |