Persuasive Speech 2024 Did you know the 2023 NCAAW, the Women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association, March Madness championship had a higher viewer average than the 2020 NBA Finals? That’s right, more people want to watch Caitlin Clark over Lebron James. With 9.9 million viewers tuning in, women’s college basketball took over sports media. This is one of many women’s sporting events that have gained recognition, and it’s undeniable that you are missing out. For example, when I sit in a crowd after a boy’s varsity game, a girl’s varsity game begins, and the crowd shrinks significantly. Many people assume that they’ve seen the best athletic talent already, but they don’t give a chance to women who have the same dedication to reach a high …show more content…
Clark, a Division I basketball player for Iowa State, first took the stage in the 2023 March Madness Tournament and displayed her long-distance shooting ability and crafty playmaking. Moreover, Michael Rosenberg, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, reports that, “she scored 41 points in the Elite Eight and 41 more in an upset of the nation’s best team, South Carolina, but if you only looked at the box scores, you got the plot but missed the movie.” Caitlin Clark was the first to record back-to-back 40-point games in the March Madness Tournament, with an upset victory against an undefeated South Carolina team to reach the championship game. Rosenberg’s point is to exclaim that watching Caitlin Clark’s stats isn’t enough, and to know what true entertainment is by watching her perform. Although the Iowa Hawkeyes came up short in the championship game, Clark broke scoring records, viewership records, and left fans in awe through her captivating performances. Nevertheless, Caitlin Clark is a generational gem in college basketball that you do not want to miss out on for her last March Madness Tournament this year before she declares for the WNBA
In basketball, the National Championship game is the dream of every kid that plays basketball in college. NC State’s basketball team wasn’t well known in 1983. Jim Valvano was the coach and he knew he had a great group of kids. When they won the ACC tournament against the great Ralph Sampson and Virginia, people thought that the win was just luck and they probably wouldn’t make last when they got into the tournament. Throughout the tournament, NC State kept surviving and advancing. In Johnathan Hock’s documentary “Survive and Advance”, Hock uses stock footage of the games that were played during the tournament, different points of view from the players, and the sequence of the documentary to prove that NC State’s basketball team were the underdogs during the whole tournament; however they were able to win despite their adversity
She led the team to a Conference championship and a State Championship. As a Senior she was the #1 player in the nation, averaged a triple double with 31 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. For the second consecutive year in history, she led the team to a state championship and led the nation in scoring. All four years in high school she was selected to be on the all-state team, all-region team, and all-conference team. During the summers of her High School years she would continue practicing and playing for an AAU team.
Defending Titles Diversely: A Persuasive Essay about the Lack of Diversity in Sports Many Americans have seen or at least heard of the movie “Remember the Titans.” The classic film focuses on a school that blends black and whites and takes on an African American head coach. The coach knows the importance of winning, but also knows the team must work together to get those wins and have respect for every single person in the locker room. Although coach Boone was still put in a tough situation with the school board and the community, he was able to lead his team, with the help of a white assistant coach, to an undefeated season. The team coming together is exactly what America does with sports.
College basketball comes to a truly extraordinary ending each year in March. 68 of the best teams in the nation draw the attention of millions. Viewers are awed by the sheer amount of games played and the only three weeks they are played in. They are mesmerized trying to fill out the perfect bracket and possible win huge prizes and bragging rights over their friends. They are awestruck by enormous upsets and rally behind underdog teams. Many people may argue that the NCAA tournament and March Madness is just another sporting event, but in reality it is a widely popular competition that is viewed by millions of fans and even non-sport viewers year after year.
...ennis, basketball, soccer, and martial arts—have come from the days of cheerleading and synchronized swimming when she was growing up in the ’70s.” Disparities in media coverage and over-sexualized female athletes on magazine covers is something that needs to come to an end because of its effects on both male and female viewers, young and old, athletes and non-athletes. Both female and male athletics influence young people and shape their personality and morals as they mature. Retired WNBA player, Lisa Leslie credits her participation in basketball with shaping her character, as well as her career. “Sports can also help teenagers during an awkward time in their development.” (“Women’s Athletics: A Battle For Respect”). The solution is to come together as a society and identify how to balance the respect for female and male athletes in the media.
One Generation Later, by Huffman, S. Tuggle., C & Rosengard, D.S, explores the relevant discrepancies in media coverage. The authors assert that more boys than girls indulge in sports activities in school. Studies have examined the impact of Title IX on media coverage given to female athletes as opposed to male athletes to determine if there has been a shift away from negative social stereotypes that are traditionally associated with women’s sports participation toward a more socially accepting view of the female athlete.
In 1970 only 1 in 27 girls participated in high school sports, today that ratio is 1 in 3. Sports are a very important part of the American society. Within sports, heroes are made, goals are set and dreams are lived. The media makes all these things possible by creating publicity for the rising stars of today. Within society today, the media has downplayed the role of the woman within sports.
Cheryl Miller was truly a pioneer in women's basketball. She played her high school days at Riverside Polytechnic High school where she was a four year varsity letter winner and led her team to a 132-4 record. In 1981, she was awarded the Dial Award for the national high school scholar athlete of the year. She is named an All-American 4 times by Parade Magazine. She was the first player, male or female, to accomplish this feat. She averaged 39 points and 15 rebounds all throughout high school. She even owns the record for the highest amount of points scored in a basketball game by any male or female with 105 (Breaking News). Even in her career at the University Of Southern California (USC) she accomplished amazing things. She is sixth all time in NCAA history in career points with 3,018. She is third all-time in rebounding with 1,534 (Breaking News). She also has two NCAA titles as well as two tournament MVP's in both of those years. She holds eight records at USC. She also has three Olympic Gold medals. She is also the first USC player, male or female, to have her number retired. (Breaking News). After a brief stint as a professional basketball player, she went on to take the head coaching job at her Alma Mater. She is now an extremely popular broadcaster for TNT Sports.
Promoting Women’s Sports “It doesn’t matter if you are a woman or a man, the important thing is your determination,” race car driver Milka Duno proudly stated when being represented as a CNN woman. As women recognition continues to grow since the past, it still does not appear to be promoted enough. The promotion of women’s sports needs to be focused on due to inspiration passed on, gender equality, and the gratitude of women and their dedication to sports.
Frantz, Chris. "Timeline: Women in Sports." Infoplease/Pearson Education,, 2007. Web. Lombardo, John. "New President Aims to Widen WNBA’s Fan Base." SportsBusiness Daily, 30 May 2011..
It has taken many years for women to gain a semblance of equality in sports. Throughout history, women have been both excluded from playing sports and discriminated against in sports. Men’s sports have always dominated the college athletic field, but women were finally given a fighting chance after Title IX was passed. Title IX, among other things, requires scholarships to be equally proportioned between men and women’s sports. Although this was a huge gain for women, gender inequality still exists in sports today. An example of this persisting inequality can be seen when looking at men’s baseball and women’s softball. In college, baseball and softball are both major NCAA sports. It is widely accepted throughout today’s society that baseball is a man’s sport, and softball is a woman’s sport. Very few people question why the two sexes are separated into two different sports, or wonder why women play softball instead of baseball. Fewer people know that women have been essentially excluded from playing baseball for a long time. This paper will focus on why softball has not changed the way women’s basketball has, why women continue to play softball, the possibilities and dynamics of women playing baseball with and without men, and the most discriminating aspect of women being banned from playing professional baseball.
“The odds of a high school basketball player making it to the “next level” to play college basketball (DI, II, or III) is slim. In fact, only 3.4% of high school players go on to play college basketball. Taking it even further, only 1.2% of college basketball players go on to get drafted in the NBA” (Winters, 2016). There are two types of players in the game. There are the kids who play basketball because they are athletic, and all they are seeking to gain is the recognition and awards. They want to be known. Those players are self-centered, they do not play for the team, and generally don’t play because they love the game. These are the types of players who don’t usually go on to play at the next level. On the other hand, there are the players that absolutely dedicate their life to the game of basketball just because they love the game. That is what coaches are looking for in a player, and that is the kind of player I am striving to be.
"Brenna Rushing said it best when she wrote “The SMU women’s basketball team wins games; th...
Challenges appear to be part of the human experience. In the course of history, very little has come easily. The progress that women have made in sport in the United States over the course of the last 100 years seems remarkable for the amount achieved in so little time. In relation to the other advances made in this century, including men's sport, that achievement dims. While women have made great advances, they haven't, in comparison, come that far. It would appear, from the outside, that men's sport will forever have all of the advantages, all of the rewards, all of the prestige, while women's sport is left to perpetual inequality.
I'm going to respond to the view of sport as foul and as a thing that separates people. I think that sport does not always have to be a negative thing. Sport can act as a unifier between many people around the world supporting the same team. My speech is going to show the other side of the argument.