Narrowing the Gender Gap

I’m loving watching the NCAA men’s volleyball playoffs lately. I finally realized why. Somewhere along the line, the rally found its way to men’s volleyball.

As much as I hate most of the new rules, I have to credit this development to the addition of the libero. No more is men’s VB a pass-set-KABOOM! game. The ball is actually going back and forth across the net several times. It’s almost becoming… well… like women’s volleyball.

The women’s game is no stranger to the rally, and personally I think that’s why it has enjoyed more popularity than the men’s game – almost unheard of in American athletics. I mean, a women’s sport more popular than the men’s equivalent? What other sport can claim that? OK, there’s gymnastics. But you’d be hard-pressed to name many others.

All bets might be off now that the men have found the rally. Who knows what this could lead to – men running slides? Wait… I hear that’s happening too.

That’s not to say the women’s game isn’t taking any cues from the men. Look at Penn State, the women’s NCAA champions the last two years running. They won with an offense that many believe resembled that of a men’s team. Whether that is true or not, there is no denying that women’s teams are getting taller and stronger every year.

Could it be that the men’s and women’s games are meeting somewhere in the middle? Are they slowly melding into the same exact thing? If so, I’m good with that. The way I see it, we’re finally getting the best of both worlds. And I, for one, love it.