 Gaby with her teammates! There is a large rising number of girls playing football in just the last year. Football remains a male-dominated sport, even though there are lots of girls now playing football, with no women in the N.F.L. In Utah they now have a football team just for girls, “the Utah girls tackle football league” created by Sam Gordon. This inspired another all girls football team, the Indiana Girls tackle football league. Both of these teams show that there is a space for girls in the game of football.
Asheville is now recognizing this, in Asheville City Schools we have the first girl on the Asheville Middle School team, Gaby Harper, number 1. Gaby told me that even though she's the only girl on the team, she feels just as included as everyone else on the team. She decided to join because she had always enjoyed the sport while growing up, but something that stuck out was in 6th grade when she was playing flag football in P.E. and a couple of people noticed how great she was at playing football, and said that she should try out. So she took it into consideration and look where she is now! There have been incidents where girls have to sue certain football teams because the coaches would not allow a girl to play. It can be really hard to get onto a football team, especially if you are a female. Gaby loves playing football because it helps her deal with pent up stress and anger on the field instead of in school where she could get in trouble. Also, she has taken inspiration from lots of male football players. She has learned a lot from Sam Gordon who created The Utah Girls Tackle Football League. She is unsure if she will continue to play in high school, but only time will tell. There are people that do doubt her ability to play football and ask questions like “do you actually play, or do you just sit on the sidelines?” You'll just have to go to a game and see for yourself! Story by Olivia Crosson Source: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/girls-play-football-females-teams  Do you like football? Who’s your favorite football team? How long have you rooted for them? If you like football you will enjoy this story. Have you ever wondered who your teacher’s favorite football team is? If so, I have some answers for you. I hope this helps you kick off the football season!
Do you know Ms.Bourque? She is a 7th grade science teacher in the Navigator’s pod (yellow pod). Ms.Bourque’s favorite football team is the Miami Dolphins. She likes the Miami Dolphins because she was born and raised in Miami, which means she grew up with the Dolphins! Her family didn’t really follow the team, but as she grew up she started keeping up with them. The Miami Dolphins were Ms.Bourque’s hometown team, and she would always hear about Don Shula and the undefeated 1972 Dolphin team as she grew up. She has never met any of the players, but she has been to several of the games. “The stadium is nice, the food is good, and it is just an all around good time to hang out with family and friends!” said Ms.Bourque. Her greatest memories always surround watching the game with her family. Ms.Bourque’s sister married a HUGE Dolphins fan, so they always get together with her nieces and nephews to watch them play! The Miami Dolphins rivals are the New York Jets and the New England Patriots. Coincidently, Ms.Bourque’s husband’s favorite team is the New York Jets. Miami won 6 games last year and lost 10 games, not an especially great year for the Dolphins, but it looks like this year will be a good year for Miami! Does the name Ms.Robert ring a bell? Well she is a 7th grade math teacher in the yellow pod as well! Ms.Robert’s favorite football team is the Dallas Cowboys. Ms.Robert has been a fan of The Cowboys since the early 1970’s. She saw the Cowboys play in the original Texas stadium, when Tom Landry was their coach and Roger Staubach was their quarterback. Ms.Robert hasn’t been to any of their games since then, because the tickets are really expensive and she doesn’t live in Texas anymore. “My favorite memory of The Cowboy’s was taking my Elementary physical education classes to the Texas Stadium, playing with them on the field and going through the old locker room. We had so much fun! None of the Cowboys were there, we just got to use the field and play”, Ms.Robert shared with me. The Dallas Cowboys biggest rival is the Washington Redskins. Last year their record was 9 wins and 7 losses, but it was better than the Redskins who were 7 wins and 9 losses! I am almost sure you know who Ms.Monson is. She is an elective teacher who teaches: Career Decisions, Interior Design, Sewing, and Home Economics. Ms. Monson’s favorite football team is Appalachian State, her college team. Ms.Monson received her undergraduate degree and one of her master’s degree from ASU. She has very fond memories of game days, homecomings and general college shenanigans from attending many football games at App State. Ms.Monson has liked the Mountaineers since 1991. She has been to several games and has MANY memories of rooting for the Mountaineers. In one of her classes she was partners with some of the football team’s players. She even played Golf with Jerry Jr., the coach’s son! “In September 2007, I was watching ASU play Michigan for the season opener on ESPN. ASU was at Michigan, playing in “The Big House”, and it was kind of a big deal- an FCS team playing a Division 1 school. There were seconds left in the game and the score was close. ASU BLOCKED A FIELD GOAL ATTEMPT BY MICHIGAN AND WON THE GAME!!! This is actually considered one of the biggest upsets in college football HISTORY!!! I’m pretty sure I cried. I still have the newspaper at my house somewhere”, Ms.Monson told me. Some of ASU’s rivals are/were: Western Carolina University (before switching conferences), their current rival is Georgia Southern. Funnily enough Ms.Monson’s nephew attends Georgia Southern, she said that “holidays’s can get pretty interesting…” Last Year ASU’s record was 9-4 in conference play. They won The Dollar General Bowl against Toledo 34-0. One of the crown jewels of the ASU program is a 3-pete consecutive FCS national championship run from 2005-2007. If you want to learn more about these teacher’s favorite football teams, yours, or just football in general take a look at this site!: NFL Official Site Story By Amelia O’Halloran |
