Rugby is the Next Frontier for Womens Pro Sports to Tackle

On this day of the Semi Finals of the Championship Rugby matches held right down the street from me at Marvel Field at Brown University it reminds me of the days when ice hockey first started. For the Women's Rugby Championships there is no fancy score board, there are very few stands, there is no publicity around the event, it is candy bars and raffle ticket funding all over again! I would've had no clue about the event but I was reminded of the championship because I frequently walk by the field. I caught a glimpse of the baneer below~ very few folks will know besides family and friends that these amazing women athletes will play today. (Did I mention on a work and school day at 1PM?) Even the times do not lend themselves to fan support!

This is how it begins. It begins with little respect for the athletes, the coaches, the facilities they play on. Women get the "crumbs" get the left over marketing resources, get the leftover t-shirts to pass out at a championship, they are told you have to go slow you are not ready yet to be put on the stage. You are not developed or good enough as a sports product. Be patient...They are told they don't matter and aren't relevant YET...

So when I read the Her Rugby Counts recent article proclaiming that men's rugby cares -times zero- for women's rugby---I was NOT surprised ---here we go again!

Well it was a short 20 years ago when the same thing happened in ice hockey. In Ice hockey, we were (as women) told to go slowly...take our time...grow it organically yada yada yada--the fact of the matter is that the US women have grown to be really good and now their record is better on the international stage then men's team. Hilary Knight on Nov 10th scored the game winner in overtime to beat Canada at the Four Nations Cup in Sundsvall, Sweden. It is funny to me however that no matter how far we go how or well we compete on the world stage that no one cares! I will add however that some men care. They care becasue they are getting piece of the revenue stream (did I mention athe 90% men coach women at the NCAA level making over $100K at a minimum to coach a women's team?) The men in our sport also care as their stock climbs as the publicity around the athlete soars, they get press, name recognition and are saavy enough to use use the women athletes in the business model! The athletes however STILL are not respected relative to salaries and cannot make a livable wage--go slowly ladies look at where it has gotten us! I say us becasue I am guilty of this too! Caring less about myslef and more about the game...

I contend that the reason tat the general population cares little about women's sports is that we need to care first in regard to resources! If we don't collaborate and work toward a solution no one will! We get our flash in the pan opportunites every four years at the Olympics (where sponsors and the NGBs control the resources) or at the World Cup or Four Nations Tournament and we should be happy with this...we are told that we should be glad that we are in 10 secound news spot, Bounty Commercial or the occasional New York Times or Wall Street Journal article. I am going to challenge everyone who loves women's sports to go out and pay for a ticket--buy the jersey- donate to the cause. Right now, we do not support ourselves, we expect equity, we bitch and complain--but do little to advance the cause. Men's sports have has 125 years to grow--we got a lot of catching up to do! Today (FRIDAY NOV 20) is the day to come out and watch the match at 1PM or on Sunday at 1PM Brown Stadium (well not really...the practice field next door!)

Play It Forward Sport will commit to helping women's professional Rugby--we are helping women's lacrosse this year and will launch the UWLX a 4 team league this June...we are trying to do our part to galvanize ALL WOMEN'S SPORTS. Women's sports will continue to grow slowly unless we all work together to have the conversations, change the dialogue...we need to grow more RAPIDLY (not slowly). That comes by sinking resources into things. Time, trade barters (legal services, marketing and PR services), and obviously good ol' cash helps...until we WORK at it and not just throw lip service at it Play It Forward Sport is willing to help LEAD the charge!

CALL TO ACTION:

Please help--here is one thing that you can do for us--click here and sign up for our mailing list! We will keep you posted because Rugby is next up for some attention!

Here is the call to action from the Her Rugby Counts article:

Action Items

For HERRUGBYCOUNTS supporters, being upset with Rugby Today is the beginning, but not the end, as there are hundreds of alternative rugby media outlets who are willing to cover and feature both sides of the game with respect and professionalism.

Both Alex Goff and Jackie Finlan of GoffRugbyReport work tirelessly and diligently in their pursuit of reporting on BOTH sides of the game at all levels. It’s time we in the rugby community regardless of gender, reward them and let our voices be heard in clicks, retweets, likes and subscribes.

HERRUGBYCOUNTS asks its supporters to recognize that rather than writing and reposting any comments or offering Rugby Today any additional press, please show some love to those outlets like YSC, TIAR, and Scrum Queens, that truly dedicate themselves to the women’s game and/or equitable coverage for all rugby.

Why should we do this? Because, HERRUGBYCOUNTS.