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spacefreak · Aug 31, 2006, 02:05 PM

I just read an intriguing article about the fabled "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match. For one, I didn't realize that there was a prior "Battle" between Riggs and Margaret Court. There are a few other interesting tidbits as well. Here's an intro...

Battle was a Bust
Books have been written about that match. It has been called one of the most important achievements in the history of women's sports. There's only one thing wrong, from my way of thinking. Bobby went in the tank. He threw the match. Could Billie Jean have won if Riggs had played it straight? We'll never know...

All I can offer is circumstantial evidence, which led me to conclude that the guy called the greatest hustler the sport has ever known pulled off his biggest hustle in Houston that day.

Dakar · Aug 31, 2006, 02:11 PM

Interesting. Don't see how its political, though.

spacefreak · Aug 31, 2006, 02:11 PM

Sorry... meant to post this in the Lounge. If anyone can move the thread, plase do.

Kerrigan · Aug 31, 2006, 02:12 PM

Be careful who you do.

Dakar · Aug 31, 2006, 02:12 PM

Heh, don't feel bad, the Shatner Roast one was way out of place here.

ironknee · Aug 31, 2006, 07:51 PM

i remember watching the game on tv...king was winning and bobby let her win by being silly, or something...

Dakar · Sep 1, 2006, 08:50 AM

regardless of whether it was thrown or not, I don't understand how anyone can really care. He was a good deal older than BJK, right?

KeriVit · Sep 1, 2006, 10:28 PM

So?

Dakar · Sep 1, 2006, 10:59 PM

So what did it prove if she could beat someone over the hill?

Albert Pujols · Sep 2, 2006, 12:18 PM

There's a movie.. When Billy Beat Bobby or something. That guy she beat sucked anyway too. He was out of his prime, unlike her.

spacefreak · Sep 3, 2006, 02:37 PM

Originally Posted by Dakar

regardless of whether it was thrown or not, I don't understand how anyone can really care. He was a good deal older than BJK, right?

Yes, he was older, and I think that was the point. If a past-his-prime old man could beat the best (in-her-prime) woman of the day, then at least in this instance, male athletic superiority would have made quite the statement.

I remember in high school - my freshman basketball team would scrimmage the girls' varsity team almost every week. We'd beat them regularly, and these scrimmages were always AFTER our 2-hour practices.

Our girls' team was and routinely ranked in state top-10. This particular team won the state group championship, and was runner up in the Tournament of Champions. Granted, our freshmen team went 15-5, so we were no slouches. But it was still interesting, especially when 3 of their 5 starters got Division I scholarships.

I often wonder if my high school varsity teams could beat WNBA teams. Watching WNBA games, I often think we could have, or at least kept up with them and played competitively.

<glorydaysflashback>Feed me during a break on the right wing, and I'd throw down a two-hander over Sheryl Swoopes. I'd snap the rim back, land, and scream like the Incredible Hulk.</glorydaysflashback>

jamil5454 · Sep 3, 2006, 03:32 PM

I'm sorry if I offend any women reading this, but

Tennis is a game of agility, endurance, and strength. After 30-35 you really start to head downhill, so the BJK win wasn't really a surprise. The average male will always beat the average female in nearly (if not every) athletic event. Or you could look at another way... the top male athlete will always beat the top female athlete in any sporting event. It kind of reminds us where we all came from, when things like physical performance mattered to your family/tribe's survival. Nature is just a little slow to catch up, but given enough time and the right conditions, maybe one day it will be the other way around.

It's just the way mammals are. There are other things to life, however, like raising children, which I believe women are inherently better at.