Self Story 4: The Big Game

The clock ticked down 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… a high pitched buzzer screamed one of the team captains chucked a half court shot in an attempt to make one last swish. The remainder of the guys came to a forceful halt. Suddenly there were no more squeaking shoes, yelling coaches, cheering fans, or teammates encouraging each other. The vibrations from the ball hitting the wooden floors had fallen flat, the game had ended. Their jerseys filled with sweat and their heads hung low as our school’s senior boys basketball team shook the winners hands. Despite the loss the crowd stayed seated until the men had exited the court.

 It was our turn, we wandered onto the court with our heads held high, hair pulled back and jerseys tucked into our shorts. We were ready, the music was now blasting through the gym as us and our opposition warmed up. We were the team that was our biggest competition in the league, a game that was bound to be aggressive. But to much of our dismay the gym began to clear out, not just the parents of the previous boys game, every classmate, every player of the football team, and both junior and senior basketball teams. It did not go unnoticed and I began to question, why did my entire team go to support them, when they will not stay for us?  

After this my teammates seemed distracted and less motivated to perform, our pregame confidence was depleting as we watched person after person leave the gym. It was after the just after the first quarter and we were already down by 10 and had my team not noticed the same thing I had, this situation may have been different. Even though our parents were piling in cheering us on, the gym had felt completely empty and it was not until that moment that I realized that it was because we were females playing a popular “male” sport. The stereotype of mens vs. womens basketball had overtaken us, regardless of our skill level, we were disregarded because of our gender classification. Not only I but multplie others on my team had been playing for 9+ years, in a competitive league in comparison to many of the guys playing purley out of the ‘fun’ of it. Basketball has been a part of my life for 13 years, I considered the court my ‘safe place’, however after this experience I was not so sure of it. 

We walked out of the gym after the game with a win in spite of everything that had occurred, except there was no cheering, excitement or pearly white teeth showing from anyone beyond our parents. That small moment had made a huge win seem less than it was, it made me feel aware of the stereotypes and setbacks that women are faced with.