Here's my thing by postaldog

During their round table discussion on Indy this morning, the reporters discussed Danica Patrick and what a win would mean in today's 500. Selena Roberts proffered the opinion that she was tired of women being measured only via their competitions against men in their respective sports.

Huh?!

As someone who grew up in the Seventies, I remember well the push for the ERA, the ridiculous Billie Jean vs Bobby Riggs match (only now being called the farce it actually was), and the push for equal access to sports that yielded the disastrous Title 9.

What Danica is doing was the whole point, baby! Women were pushing for the chance to compete against men, equally in their sports. And now you have it. Of course Danica is going to be measured against men, she's competing in what is considered a man's sport! It is only prudent that it be mentioned that she is a woman, doing what no other woman has ever achieved. Shouldn't this be a point of pride?

There is no women's motor sports league. If women want to compete in auto racing, they must compete in NASCAR or IndyCar or NHRA. And there's another point. What does Ms. Roberts think of Ashley Force? Daughter of renowned driver John Force, Ashley is winning all kinds of races, including just recently defeating her father. How cool is that? If the NHRA got more coverage, that would be a bigger deal. Though don't they have a reality show on somewhere?

During the segment, Selena also brought up the focus on Danica's attractiveness, suggesting she wouldn't get the coverage if she weren't so visually appealing. Personally, I believe that if she looked like that uni-brow gal in the Planters commercial, she would still get press, and a lot of it, if she had the same success as Danica. And then writers like Ms. Roberts would be complaining about why she wasn't getting more coverage or hailing her as some savior because she was plain looking.

Why is being attractive so bad? Everyone is beautiful in their own way, some more conventional than others. Perhaps Ms. Roberts needs to get over her own prejudice about looks and focus on Danica's ability behind the wheel of an Indy car. Then she can enjoy the success of one of the best drivers in the world.

Who happens to be woman.

Competing in what used to be a male-only sport.

I guess there's still a long way to go, baby!