Battle of the Sexes Softball Game Highlights Women's Progress in Sports

By Jess Hobbs, Communications Intern

On July 27, the women of the Chicago Bandits softball team took the field to compete against the men of the Schaumberg Flyers baseball club. They played in front of a record-breaking crowd of nearly 9,000 screaming fans. While this game began as a gimmicky battle-of-the-sexes event to boost ticket sales and gain exposure, it ended with an uplifting and unexpected twist: the female Bandits won 4-2.

Some may argue that the Bandits, a National Pro FastPitch team, had the upper-hand. They were well-versed in softball practices, while the Flyers were more comfortable with baseball. However, the men's team brought in Australian softball pitcher Andrew Blackshaw and Amateur Softball Association Men's Major Fastpitch pitchers Brian Tobin and Jason Iuli to compensate. Plus, the guys had home-field advantage.

Still, it was no match for the likes of Bandits pitcher Eileen Canney, who pitched a no-hit second inning and kept the Flyers at bay.

What began as a profit-driven grudge match turned quickly into an inspiration for the hundreds of young girls in attendance and especially for the youth softball teams who stayed after to get some of the Bandits' signatures on their softballs.

Thirty-seven years ago, results like this would have been nearly impossibly. Women's athletic endeavors were not only under-funded, but unrecognized: female teams were given little to no respect for their participation in sports.

Then came Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in all federally-assisted education programs and activities--most notably, athletic programs. For the first time in history, a law was actually in place designed to create a level playing field for young women and men in school and sports.

A generation later, the results are amazing. In addition to the women's softball victory in Chicago, the New York Times recently published an article about the increasing popularity of women's athletics. Currently, youth female sporting events often bring in more revenue and bigger crowds than youth male teams.

While the economic benefits of this are obvious, the most important aspect of the post-Title IX female athletic scene is the benefits for those involved. Now more than ever, women and girls have the opportunity to develop confidence, athleticism, discipline, teamwork, friendships and an almost infinite list of other characteristics born of participation in organized sports. These skills transcend the athletic arena and perpetuate women's success at work and in all social realms.