Word: babe
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...ILLUSTRATED's swimsuit issue. And then there was defender Brandi Chastain, severely out of uniform in Gear magazine. That picture won her a trip to the Late Show, where David Letterman subtly, delicately expressed what was on America's mind. The U.S. team, said the ever sensitive host, was "Babe City," a metropolis populated by "Soccer Mamas...
Having said all that, there is a difference between the Kournikova case and the Soccer Mamas. Kournikova is rich and famous because she is a babe. (Tell me, quickly, who is Dominique Van Roost, besides being the female tennis player ranked one spot below Kournikova?) The soccer team is a group of successful (key word, that) women going an extra step and having some fun--not to mention making some profit--with America's sexual obsession. Michael Jordan did this, certainly, in most of his advertising (save the Tweetie Bird spots). In other realms, so did Madonna and Ricky Martin...
Kournikova is our fault. Babe City is not. Objectification, yes, sure, to a point. But it is objectification without objection. The soccer players are strong, smart, capable, achievement-oriented athletes. Every member of the team has a college degree or is pursuing one. Daughters of Title IX, they've never been told what they cannot do. They feel good about themselves. They feel free to make choices and to put their personalities--and other assets--on exhibit. "Hey, I ran my ass off for this body," said Chastain. "I'm proud...
Most of the black players from Jackie's day were at the funeral, but I was appalled by how few of the younger players showed up to pay him tribute. At the time, I was 41 home runs short of Babe Ruth's career record, and when Jackie died, I really felt that it was up to me to keep his dream alive. I was inspired to dedicate my home-run record to the same great cause to which Jackie dedicated his life. I'm still inspired by Jackie Robinson. Hardly a day goes by that I don't think...
...BABE RUTH In sports' first golden age, there was Babe Ruth--and then there was everyone else. In 1920, only his second season as an everyday player, he hit 54 home runs--more than any entire team in the American League. Within a few years, his assault on distant fences had bent baseball into a new and thrilling shape. His appetites were as prodigious as his home runs, his affinity for the crowd and the camera seemingly part of his dna. By the time he retired in 1935, Ruth had become, in the words of sportswriter Jimmy Cannon, "a national...