OT - First female RB in men's pro football league unfazed in debut
History was finally going to be made on Saturday, but Jennifer Welter had to wait an extra two and a half quarters before the moment arrived.
For the first time ever, a woman was playing running back in a men's professional football game.
The 36-year-old Women's Pro Football veteran made her debut with the Indoor Football League's Texas Revolution this weekend after signing to try out for the team last month.
http://msn.foxsports.com/southwest/story/men-s-pro-football-league-s-fi…
VIDEO AT LINK
February 17th, 2014 at 8:02 PM ^
She's 5'2" 130 lbs. and the second video is brutal.
February 17th, 2014 at 8:09 PM ^
February 17th, 2014 at 9:34 PM ^
or I can't imagine she'll be of much use to that team other than as a publicity stunt (which is likely all this was anyway)
February 17th, 2014 at 8:06 PM ^
February 18th, 2014 at 5:35 AM ^
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess she already did.
February 17th, 2014 at 8:10 PM ^
ouch! OUCH! ouch!
February 17th, 2014 at 8:13 PM ^
February 17th, 2014 at 8:17 PM ^
February 17th, 2014 at 8:21 PM ^
My friend just got hired on by that team as a Scout. I wrote him today and let him know that I now know why the last guy was fired.
February 17th, 2014 at 10:50 PM ^
Could be worse. If Big Al was the Texas Revolution OC she'd have 26 more of those play calls coming her way.
You know the old expression. If at first you don't succeed....try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try,try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try, try again.
February 17th, 2014 at 8:25 PM ^
So you're saying there's a chance.....I could play pro football?
February 17th, 2014 at 8:32 PM ^
February 17th, 2014 at 8:33 PM ^
make it stop, please.
February 17th, 2014 at 8:36 PM ^
February 17th, 2014 at 8:39 PM ^
Assuming equal level of skill. This lady is like 130 lbs. On the first play she has a clear lane to a TD as the tackler isn't at all squared up that any normal sized football player would score easily... and she gets killed backwards. The next two videos are no better (the 2nd video that LSA posted is actually the first one to happen).
Besides publicity, there is absolutely no reason for this. In my mind, it's insulting to the men that are still trying to play at this level and it's insulting to women that consistently have to put up with this kind of thing. I'll credit her for getting back up, but I read an article where she taunted "is that all you got?" to her tackler, and, well, apparently that's all it takes.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't find someone getting completely destroyed really funny. And I hate that I find it funny. Not because it isn't funny; no, I'm pretty sure it is. I hate that I find it funny because this idea where men and women have to be on the same playing field for everything, where people have to compare them as athletes in every sport, to prove anything we can do they can as well, and anything they can do so can we. Why can't women's sports be women's sports and men's sports be men's sports and we stop unfairly trying to compare things that, by nature, just aren't equal? Why is something like this necessary? Is this equalizing the sexes? I personally don't think so.
February 17th, 2014 at 8:51 PM ^
February 17th, 2014 at 8:54 PM ^
Besides publicity, there is absolutely no reason for this.
That's why this is cringe worthy. This lady took an opportunity pretty much everyone in her position would take (I don't think anyone trying out for a team would them turn down if picked) but it was offered by people with ulterior motives and it's her bones/head/tendons that are going to pay the price for a couple cheap headlines and party pack ticket sales or whatever.
This is sort of like Ali being "medically cleared" to fight Larry Holmes.
February 17th, 2014 at 9:24 PM ^
This is crack baby basketball.
February 17th, 2014 at 9:32 PM ^
Maybe with their newfound publicity they could get Slash to play at halftime.
February 18th, 2014 at 3:29 PM ^
February 18th, 2014 at 10:53 AM ^
That's why this is cringe worthy. This lady took an opportunity pretty much everyone in her position would take (I don't think anyone trying out for a team would them turn down if picked)I don't understand why she'd want to try out in the first place.
February 18th, 2014 at 11:03 AM ^
It wouldn't be the first or last time an athlete was delusional about their abilities and limitations.
Somehow switched up "turn" and "them". Ugh.
February 18th, 2014 at 5:42 AM ^
I wish I had this footage when the subject of women in the military came up in my philosophy class.
Luckily Tyrell Todd was in my class so I could just point at him and say that's why women shouldn't be on the front lines...
February 18th, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^
There have been many 120lb soldiers who have killed their fair share of unfortunate 200lb enemies. Soldiers don't tip scales to see who dies first.
No commander sends his soldiers into a killing field without reason. When they do - the more macho they come... the harder they fall.
Women are done a disservice here for whatever reason. Women who serve deserve better.
February 19th, 2014 at 12:34 AM ^
I'm sorry but this is wrong. I mean no disrespect to the women who serve our country, but to say there is no difference in their physical abilities is just false.
I say this as someone who comes from a family where women have served in the military many times, and while I respect their service I wouldn't want any of them sitting trying to carry me out of a firefight.
February 19th, 2014 at 5:29 PM ^
as any man. There are physical standards to be upheld for any specialty. Special Ops is particularly challenging for women to qualify and execute. Once they do however each soldier brings their own ability - in the case of combat - including the ability to lug you from danger. For some combat specialties women as a class are superior - yet still are not allowed to serve (not so much for professional football - though I think there are women who could carry the rock - just damn few.)
February 18th, 2014 at 9:23 AM ^
Why are you pretending a 5'2", 130-ish pound woman is representative of all women? What do you think would happen to a 5'5" 150 pound male running back?
February 18th, 2014 at 9:29 AM ^
I saw nothing remotely like that in his post.
February 23rd, 2014 at 10:04 PM ^
It was supposed to be in reply to WichitanWolverine's non-sequitor about women in the military. I have no idea if it is actually posted that way or not, because AFAIK the reply numbers are usually screwy and it's impossible to tell who you replied to if it's not directly under the thing.
February 23rd, 2014 at 10:13 PM ^
February 17th, 2014 at 8:42 PM ^
Hot damn.
February 17th, 2014 at 8:50 PM ^
At least the midget the Dodgers put up to bat drew a walk.
February 18th, 2014 at 6:25 AM ^
That was the White Sox.
/historynazi
Plus you gotta admit, he was uniquely skilled to do so.
February 18th, 2014 at 9:31 AM ^
Dammit.
/historycolonelklink
February 17th, 2014 at 9:07 PM ^
February 17th, 2014 at 9:18 PM ^
by the Lingerie League did she?
February 17th, 2014 at 9:40 PM ^
February 17th, 2014 at 9:26 PM ^
February 17th, 2014 at 9:54 PM ^
...good grief.
February 17th, 2014 at 10:41 PM ^
Man I cringe watching this. Women's ACLs are a lot more prone to go than men's. Honestly she could get killed. Not funny.
February 18th, 2014 at 12:22 PM ^
I agree this is not funny. I have four daughters and it would make me sick to see them get tackled by any guy let alone a huge professional football player. They put these guys in an impossible position. Most men have been raised to be protective towards females, so now they have to tackle one for their job so everybody can be politically correct. I know I just dont have the upper body strength or build to take the hits that a man my same height and weight can take. I feel like I am in some kind of bizarro world. Why would a girl want to play football? Why do guys wear skinny jeans? Why is music shit now days? Why cant football season start already?
February 17th, 2014 at 11:52 PM ^
That hole was wide enough for two people to walk abreast, but like a fertile womb, it was filled quickly and her opportunity was ovary before she knew it.
I'm a terrible person, I'll show myself out.
February 18th, 2014 at 2:46 AM ^
a daring featus, and you survived. My joke's not going so well...time to abort.
/
February 18th, 2014 at 3:19 AM ^
"These guys have been what I would have hoped for in a perfect world," Welter said. "They're the best guys I've ever been around."This is disheartening and tragic. She needs to meet guys who care enough about her not to let this happen.
February 18th, 2014 at 6:05 AM ^
If this were a 5'2 130 lb. guy who was signed because he was a celebrity and he was getting knocked around in a similar fashion, would the reaction be the same?
February 18th, 2014 at 7:02 AM ^
There'd probably be less sympathy, more of a "you asked for it" attitude towards the guy.
However, if that was a male, 5 ft 2 , 130 pound running back getting destroyed in those videos , I would be questioning the reason he was there as well.
EDIT: see Space Coyote's post above
February 18th, 2014 at 7:03 AM ^
No one around here seems to be saying she doesn't deserve a shot because she's a woman, per se. Rather, she's a 5'3", 130-pound 36-year-old. I'd expect the same results if it was Tom Cruise out there, though that would probably be more funny.
Honestly, there are women out there that could probably do better (Abby Wambach comes to mind, or Sue Bird if she was younger), but odds are they're not as foolish. Frankly it rather grates on my nerves when a lesser female athlete is trotted out to get annihilated -- not that even a 22-year-old Bird would do well, just at least not that -- but she could well be the only one dumb enough to take the job.
Women in general aren't going to succeed in most sports compared to men because sports are structured to favor the Y-chromosome. That's really what they're about. If a woman has the athleticism necessary to make it, sure, give her a shot, but if that's the case then don't waste my time putting a middle-aged buck-thirty at tailback.