Seeing young boys embracing the Matildas in the recent football world cup will be an image that will stay with me for a very long time.
Noting that the huge crowds attending Matildas games were also made up of men and women was the icing on the cake.
Like many others I have been following women’s soccer for a long time, simply because when I first watched it the most impressive – and surprising – thing I noticed was that all aspects of the game, from the ball skills to tackling, did not seem inferior to those in men’s football.
Of course I also loved how the girls played soccer with the kind of respect for sportsmanship and the spirit of the game that has been absent from the men for generations.
There were also fewer attempts to milk penalties, and the ridiculous men’s game farce where a player kicked in the shin holds his face as though it was there the opponent’s boot had landed.
So there you have it: what women’s sport lacks in money and prestige it more than makes up by the kind of integrity the men would kill for.
The women’s game will naturally change as more money comes into it, and that’s just reality as crowd support increases over time.
But in the meantime, sit back and enjoy women’s sport no matter what kind it is.
As the Matildas showed, guts and determination are not a monopoly of men in sport.
Those boys loving them will grow up to be men who love and follow women’s sport, and that warms the cockles of my heart.
The following are our Top 5 women’s sports, what are yours?
Number 1. No prizes for guessing it’s the Matildas by a country mile.
Number 2. They used to be known as the Southern Stars, but our world beating women’s cricket team has always boasted some multi talented stars.
Number 3. The Diamonds, our national netball side recently won the world cup, so they’re world champions, but unfortunately the success of the Matildas on home soil meant they didn’t get the recognition they deserved.
Number 4. Women’s rugby league. Love the physicality of it as much as the ball playing skills. Tipping great success in this football code.
Number 5. Watched a bit of the women’s rugby sevens, and what a spectacle – much better than our Wallabies have been serving up lately!
