Feminism is laudable when taken into context, but it becomes unbearable when it tries to ignore all facts just to get to their point.
For instance, supporters of the Women’s World Cup decry at the way the world governing body, FIFA, has treated the women's game. Their main beef concerns the artificial turf fields; competing teams staying in the same hotels and lastly, a prize money pool one-third of what their male counterparts had available in Brazil a year ago. It seems it's all about the money.
The prize money for the tournament is US$ 15 million, while the men's purse was more than US$ 500 million a year ago in Brazil. While much of that is due to sponsorship dollars, there is a feeling that gap should be smaller.
"I don't think US$ 500 million would necessarily be a number that we're looking for in terms of the number of sponsors they bring in and world views and the amount of money the men's World Cup generates but something more than (US$ 15 million) would probably be appropriate," American Megan Rapinoe said. "I think we're getting there. Sometimes we have to drag our way there, but every time we have a World Cup it's a big event and people pay attention and it's bigger the next time."
Unfortunately for Rapinoe, they won’t get there. Equality does not apply here. Their level of mastery will forever be inferior to that of the men, and as such it should not be treated as equal. Women should be glad that there even is a world tournament for them to play in; the quality and technique that they show in every game is shameful and undeserving of a true World Cup.
Can any of these women players competing in their version of World Cup come close to the record number of saves that American Tim Howard did against Belgium? Can anybody even match the clever header and blistering right foot finish that Luis Suarez did against England? We haven’t even started talking yet about Mario Gotze, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
On a totally pragmatic level, there is 61 years that separate the inaugural men's World Cup tournament with the women's World Cup which is a mere 24 years old. The level of maturity alone gives sports viewer’s an idea on the difference between the level of sophistication.
The women’s tournament may have been able to fill the seats and venue accommodations, but the fact remains that men's game has TV ratings that are being followed and viewed 100 times more. Again, this is all about money, when the women's games generate the same viewership, they too can demand the same perks. This is not about systemic sexual discrimination, it is about money.
For instance, supporters of the Women’s World Cup decry at the way the world governing body, FIFA, has treated the women's game. Their main beef concerns the artificial turf fields; competing teams staying in the same hotels and lastly, a prize money pool one-third of what their male counterparts had available in Brazil a year ago. It seems it's all about the money.
The prize money for the tournament is US$ 15 million, while the men's purse was more than US$ 500 million a year ago in Brazil. While much of that is due to sponsorship dollars, there is a feeling that gap should be smaller.
"I don't think US$ 500 million would necessarily be a number that we're looking for in terms of the number of sponsors they bring in and world views and the amount of money the men's World Cup generates but something more than (US$ 15 million) would probably be appropriate," American Megan Rapinoe said. "I think we're getting there. Sometimes we have to drag our way there, but every time we have a World Cup it's a big event and people pay attention and it's bigger the next time."
Unfortunately for Rapinoe, they won’t get there. Equality does not apply here. Their level of mastery will forever be inferior to that of the men, and as such it should not be treated as equal. Women should be glad that there even is a world tournament for them to play in; the quality and technique that they show in every game is shameful and undeserving of a true World Cup.
Can any of these women players competing in their version of World Cup come close to the record number of saves that American Tim Howard did against Belgium? Can anybody even match the clever header and blistering right foot finish that Luis Suarez did against England? We haven’t even started talking yet about Mario Gotze, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
On a totally pragmatic level, there is 61 years that separate the inaugural men's World Cup tournament with the women's World Cup which is a mere 24 years old. The level of maturity alone gives sports viewer’s an idea on the difference between the level of sophistication.
The women’s tournament may have been able to fill the seats and venue accommodations, but the fact remains that men's game has TV ratings that are being followed and viewed 100 times more. Again, this is all about money, when the women's games generate the same viewership, they too can demand the same perks. This is not about systemic sexual discrimination, it is about money.