The Influences on a Tomboy

For me, growing up a tomboy was a no brainer. My mentality was "why dress up for school when I'd sweat playing football at recess?" I dressed like a boy for longer than I'll admit to but no one ever mentioned my odd style or made fun of me for it, so I never questioned it. This was partly due to me growing up during the pro-women's athletic era where women were making a huge impact in sports.
Venus and Serena Williams were dominating in tennis. Sheryl Swoopes and Lisa Leslie were making a positive impact in the game of basketball.

The Williams sisters in a casual "got milk" ad

Looking back on it now, being a tomboy during this time was not only encouraged by our culture but it was also something to be valued. And in 1999 an event occurred that changed everything about women's sports. 

The FIFA Women's World Cup. 

I was a huge soccer player during this time but didn't know too much about our National Team. That changed quickly. The World Cup was taking place in the US and countries

Mia Hamm

from around the world were here to compete. Before this event, women's soccer didn't get much attention. The Olympics game before this, where the US Women won gold, their championship match wasn't even shown live on television. Now these women were supposed to sell out the Rose Bowl Stadium and all of their games were going to be shown live on TV. A lot of pressure was placed on them. 

Media dubbed Mia Hamm their "golden girl." Her face was plastered on billboard signs, posters, commercials and newspapers.

All of the sudden women athletes were talked about on ESPN as much as their male contemporaries.

Spectators watching the game

In the championship game, the US played China in a sold out crowd of 90,185 with millions of onlookers watching at home on TV. In an battle of epic proportions the US beat China in a shootout making the US Women champions! This was on our home turf, in front of our home crowd, on national television. This was huge step for the game of soccer, for women athletes and for tomboys everywhere!

Brandi Chastain's victory celebration

Not soon after this, I had a poster of the team on my door, I ate the Mia Hamm Corn Puffs every morning, and I never took off the nike wrists bands that they wore during those games. I was a passionate

and ardent fan and that is all due to the evolution of women's media coverage that took place.

Now all of the sudden when I would be out in recess, I would be imagining I'm Brandi Chastain scoring the final goal or I'm Briana Scurry defending the goal. These women along with athletes like Sheryl Swoopes, showed me at a young age that being passionate about something, no matter what society tells you, is something to be admired and pursued.

The USWNT thanking their 90,185 fans