My Girl, KT

Those who know me understand that I am a sports junkie.  Not all sports just baseball, tennis, golf, basketball, soccer.  I’m less and less enamored with football which may have something to do with our white supremacist leader.  But, also, the violence and damage done to practically any player who plays the sport long enough, which probably amounts to 10 minutes.

Never been a NASCAR or hockey fan, although when the Washington Caps went to the playoffs and WON, I celebrated with the best of them!

The sad thing is I never played any sport.  I probably would’ve loved it but Title IX was not around.  There were countywide Field Days in elementary school and I competed in the 50 yard dash and the broad jump.  I was quite the sprinter but long distance running was beyond boring.

The most athletic thing a girl could do in high school was be a cheerleader.  And, so I learned the cheers and did my jumps and got on the squad when I was a sophomore.  But, I quickly got my comeuppance.

I blame Claudia Peterson.  She was one gorgeous, southern bell type with the greenest contact lenses you can imagine.  However, she had limited athletic ability.  She did not make the cheerleading squad.  It’s probably the only thing she failed in during her entire life.  And, I took great pleasure in imitating her cloddish cheerleading tryout in my living room and, unfortunately, landed badly, which resulted in a torn cartilage in my left knee which plagued me for the rest of my life.

That’s karma for you.  So, although my athletic prowess was thwarted, I love being a spectator whenever and wherever I can.

I got totally hooked on women’s basketball in 2006, when the University of Maryland won a championship with a very young and untested team against that goliath, Duke University.  The Lady Terps’ starting lineup consisted of one junior, two sophomores and two freshmen.  The game was tied 75-75, when their freshman point guard hit a 3-pointer over a 6 foot 2 defender.  That was KT, Kristi Tolliver, who I have followed ever since.

For the next three years, I bought season tickets so my kids, new Maryland graduates, and I could see this exciting squad play.  It was a blast!  We even traveled to Raleigh to see them play in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

My daughter, Chelsea, bears a striking resemblance to Kristi.  They could easily be sisters.  In fact, we were staying at a hotel in Raleigh and came down to breakfast and Chelsea was reading a book and one of Kristi’s aunts couldn’t stop staring at her.  I laughed and started talking to her.  “I did a double take.  I thought Kristi would be at the gym by now.”  And, of course, she was.

KT went third in the first round WNBA draft in 2009, following one of her teammates who was second.  In fact, three members of the championship team are playing in the WNBA, one is playing for an Israeli professional team and one is a college basketball coach.

Fast forward to present day.  Kristi plays point for the Washington Mystics who have never gone to the WNBA finals in their history until Tuesday.  At last, they have an great team with conceivably the best women’s player in the world, Elena Della Donne, who asked to leave her Chicago team to be closer to her family in Delaware.  Kristi left Los Angeles, where she led her team to a championship, to come back to the Washington area to be coached by Mike Thibault, the winningest coach in WNBA history.

Their opponents are the Seattle Storm, which also has some of the best players in the world…
Sue Bird and Breanna Steward, former UConn greats and one of Kristi’s former teammates from Maryland, Crystal Langhorne who was also on that 2006 championship team.  Of course, I will be watching and cheering for the Mystics who might bring another championship to the Washington area.

What absolutely kills me, however, is that the WNBA games are rarely available on television and the news coverage is pathetic.  Not one word in the Tampa Tribune.  Not even the scores.  Thankfully, I subscribe to the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post online.

Yes, Title IX has made a huge difference in the lives of thousands of women and girls.  If only, we could watch them.