am_sez
September 3rd, 2004, 11:00am
This is from the same column as the Chris Rix piece, but wanted to highlight it separately because it is so true. I like to play beach volleyball for fun, but there's no way I could concentrate on the game if I had to wear an outfit like the women's teams were wearing in the Olympics. Give those girls some tank tops and mesh shorts and let 'em show just how good they are at the game, not just that they look good while they're playing.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/michael_bradley/09/02/hombre.rix/index.html
Life's a beach
As a service to his legions of fans, El Hombre watched as much women's beach volleyball as he could during the Olympics, hoping to answer one of the burning questions of the Athens Games: Why are those bikini bottoms so short? Alas, hours of in-depth research -- that Sweden-Denmark game should have been a beer commercial -- and countless replays of lithe women rolling in the sand did not reveal an answer.
So, a call to USA Volleyball was in order. It turns out the FIVB (Federation Internationale de Volleyball) sets strict parameters for the size of those bottoms, "down to the millimeter," according to USA Volleyball's Jennifer Joseph. Such a microscopic measurement would explain the thong-like conditions of most competitors' outfits. (Not that too many of the spectators who jammed the venue were complaining.)
Joseph went on to say that "the FIVB does encourage femininity in the players." That means -- and Patricia Ireland and the ERA crowd will love this -- players are urged to wear jewelry and makeup and fix their hair. In other words, while men's and women's indoor volleyball players wear uniforms that resemble basketball togs, and the men's beachers usually don a tank top and shorts, the women are wearing tiny bikinis on the sand and dolling up like they're headed for a night out on South Beach.
Now, this next sentence is hard for El Hombre to write, but here goes: This is just wrong. By setting strict uniform parameters that feature thongs, the FIVB is taking away from the accomplishments and the athletic skills of the players. Admit it, were you marveling at Misty May's digs and Kerri Walsh's spikes or rooting for more sand on their backsides? Let's hope the FIVB wises up soon. And don't go whining or complaining if it does. Just buy next year's Lingerie Bowl on pay-per-view if that's what you want. It was one thing when Olympians competed naked back in 700 B.C. It's quite another to have it happen now. ...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/michael_bradley/09/02/hombre.rix/index.html
Life's a beach
As a service to his legions of fans, El Hombre watched as much women's beach volleyball as he could during the Olympics, hoping to answer one of the burning questions of the Athens Games: Why are those bikini bottoms so short? Alas, hours of in-depth research -- that Sweden-Denmark game should have been a beer commercial -- and countless replays of lithe women rolling in the sand did not reveal an answer.
So, a call to USA Volleyball was in order. It turns out the FIVB (Federation Internationale de Volleyball) sets strict parameters for the size of those bottoms, "down to the millimeter," according to USA Volleyball's Jennifer Joseph. Such a microscopic measurement would explain the thong-like conditions of most competitors' outfits. (Not that too many of the spectators who jammed the venue were complaining.)
Joseph went on to say that "the FIVB does encourage femininity in the players." That means -- and Patricia Ireland and the ERA crowd will love this -- players are urged to wear jewelry and makeup and fix their hair. In other words, while men's and women's indoor volleyball players wear uniforms that resemble basketball togs, and the men's beachers usually don a tank top and shorts, the women are wearing tiny bikinis on the sand and dolling up like they're headed for a night out on South Beach.
Now, this next sentence is hard for El Hombre to write, but here goes: This is just wrong. By setting strict uniform parameters that feature thongs, the FIVB is taking away from the accomplishments and the athletic skills of the players. Admit it, were you marveling at Misty May's digs and Kerri Walsh's spikes or rooting for more sand on their backsides? Let's hope the FIVB wises up soon. And don't go whining or complaining if it does. Just buy next year's Lingerie Bowl on pay-per-view if that's what you want. It was one thing when Olympians competed naked back in 700 B.C. It's quite another to have it happen now. ...