So as you may have heard, over break Lauren Silberman became the first female to tryout for an NFL team. I would just like to start by saying that I am all for women playing in the NFL if they have the talent. However, this Lauren Silberman situation looks like a publicity stunt that backfired on the NFL. I watched the videos of her kicks on youtube and also watched the special that Good Morning America did on her. The GMA coverage said that Lauren is 28 years old and played club soccer for a small college which is good but there are a couple of problems. First, I know she was trying out to be a kicker but 28 is still kind of old to start an NFL career. Second, she played club soccer in college which was would have been around six years ago for her. Six years without a high level of competition is a long time. Also, she said she learned football through video games. This may be good for learning the rules and maybe even some of the strategy but I do not believe that playing Maddden with your thumbs helps one kick a field goal in real life.
I do applaud her for having the courage to tryout and for taking on the media coverage. I wish she would have done better and I do respect her ability. It's not like I am trying out for any NFL teams anytime soon. I just think this whole thing would have gone over a lot better had she hit a few field goals. A pedestrian 19 yard kickoff does not help her cause or the cause for women in the future to tryout for the NFL. This was defintiely not the precedent the NFL wanted to set for female athletes. If you would like to watch the Good Morning America story you can find it right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yRWLH3OsmQ
Wesley,
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the Good Morning America coverage you provided in your blog, to me, it looks as though this could have been a publicity stunt. There are a few reasons for me thinking. First, the coverage they showed of her at the super bowl party, it only looked as though she was kicking a 30 yard field goal and it was not going very far over the field goal post. When watching the NFL, those kickers easily have enough distance to make 50-60 yard field goals, whereas she looked like she could be maxed out at 40 yards, and that was without having a defense out there that could block her kick. Also though she was injured, it seemed as though she was not running with a lot of momentum before her kicks at the combine. The final reason I believe this could be a publicity stunt is her experience level. Why haven’t women who have experience playing football as a place kicker in high school or college tried out? There are a lot of things that could lead this to being a publicity stunt, though I hope it is not, and it is unfortunate that Silberman was injured and could not perform to the best of her ability.
-Tyler Jester
Wesley,
ReplyDeleteI'm all for women trying to make their way into the NFL but I don't think it's very probable we'll see one anytime soon. Such as a kicker, most kickers in the NFL now are booming 50 yarders with ease unless your Green Bays kicker Mason Crosby, than 30 yarders seem to be a struggle, but thats beside the point. It didnt look like she had the leg strength to get it 50 yards, and even if she did, would it be accurate, could she do it in a game with 11 men trying to block it, could she kick a last second field goal with all that pressure on her from her teammates and fans? Who knows, but at least this is one step closer to getting a female into the NFL.
-Aaron Snyder
Wesley,
ReplyDeleteI liked your post. I think that it is great that this female is trying out for the NFL. If she has the talent to do it and can take the hard hits that she would sometimes receive then I am all for it. Also, I think that it is irrelevant that she played club soccer six years ago. I think that if she still has the talent then she should go for it. Great post and very interesting story.
-Logan Walker
Wesley,
ReplyDeleteI like this article and what they NFL was trying to do here. I agree with you on this and think that it was only a publicity stunt for the NFL and everyone else involved in it. I think that it's not only good for the NFL but also for other females that might want to tryout for the NFL. I think that if someone has the talent to play a sport that they should be able to play that sport and be accepted into the sport just like everyone else. I think that she played soccer six years ago is pointless because soccer and football are two different things. Playing a video game is also a lot different than playing football in real life. You have to be able to take all of the hits that they are going to give you no matter what position you are playing.
Jeremy Shay above comment
ReplyDeleteWesley,
ReplyDeleteJust like you said I applaud Lauren for building up the courage and being the first woman to ever try out for the NFL. I think if she would have maybe practiced a little more and took this very serious that she would have would have kicked farther than 19 yards. It would be nice to let this be an eye opener for other female athletes who think they can make it will try out and maybe one day will be suiting up to kick in the NFL. Another thing that really caught my eye was that she said she learned how to play through playing video games. When playing a video game and then going to play in real life is going to be way different and I think she actually might have figured that out. Overall this was a good post and it was very interesting!
--Lindsey Landversicht
I personally think it's a shame that this was such big news. I don't think it's a shame that she tried out, but by making it so public it is taking credibility away from any woman in the future who tries out for an NFL team. An NFL kicker is one of the most realistically possible positions for a woman in any "man's" game. There is no (or minimal) contact, and it is about precision and skill. I think the media should have stayed away from this story after seeing her poor performance and waited until a more worthy candidate arose. Wait for a woman who is good enough to compete to spread a viral story about equality and women participating in a male dominated sport, instead of endorsing a poor publicity stunt.
ReplyDelete-Andrew Hayes
Wesley,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you in thinking that this was rigged. I cannot imagine how Lauren thought coming from playing club soccer could translate to a career in the NFL. I have no issue with her being a woman but being so late in her career I cannot really imagine her or her agent thinking there was an actual chance of success. I agree that she attempted this very late in her career. I would have liked to see someone from a division one level of women's soccer may be attempting to make this transition. I feel that playing a club sport did not prepare her enough physically since most club sports do not have weight training requirements. Especially so late in her career. Hopefully more information comes out about this situation because it definitely is a peculiar one.
Greg Gantt
ReplyDeleteWesley—
ReplyDeleteI actually was not aware of the Lauren Silberman tryout during spring break. I am personally not a NFL fan. But after watching the Youtube click that you provided I must say that this is something I thought I would never see in the NFL arena. In ways, I believe that this coverage is both positive and negative for the NFL. Part of me wishes that if a female did just try out to compete in one of the most athletic environments known to mankind, she would at least performed better and had more experience than club soccer. NFL kickers are known for the range, accuracy, and consistency. When trying out for this position one must perform to high levels. I also see the other side. A new direction has been set. I foresee more women trying out to compete in the National Football League. What Lauren Silberman did over break, may not be the biggest sport news, but I would not be surprised if she set a precedent for others to come after her. Though this may have been a publicity stunt on the surface, it becomes more interesting when you look in depth at this tryout.
-Alex Solis
Wesley,
ReplyDeleteYou bring out some key elements to this story in your post. First of all, the fact that she only played club soccer, with no football kicking experience, should raise some eye brows as to the validity of her abilities as a kicker. Secondly, if she truly did learn the game by playing Madden, then she would never be able to replicate the feel of the game in real life. The only things that happen in video games are a controller rumble, not you getting hit by a 300 pound defensive end who is trying to rip your head off. I also agree that it is a good thing that she tried, but then your bring up her "pedestrian" 19 yard kick off. But you didn't mention the fact that she was injured in her kicking leg. As a former kicker, I can tell you that the slightest injury to your leg makes a big difference, whether it is in your quad, shin, ankle, knee what ever so the fact that she only kicked 19 yards does not bother me.
Zane Langdon
Wesley,
ReplyDeleteIf a woman can compete at that level, then good for her. This woman should have just stayed home. Just because you played soccer doesn't mean you can play football. I played soccer for years and never had to kick a field goal. The balls are completely different and there's different techniques from shooting a goal and kicking a field goal.
Saying she learned how to play football from a video game is like saying I learned how to farm by playing farmville. Just because you can do it on the tv or computer does not mean you can do it in real life. Did she ever play a football game in high school or college? You don't just try out for a professional team when you've never competed in the sport before.
I'm all for women trying out, but this women set a bad example. She looked more like a joke than a serious athlete. It would have been nice for the first women to tryout for the NFL to show some true skills at the sport.
Erin Scott
Wesley,
ReplyDeleteI agree wth you, I am all for women being able to play in the NFL as long as they have the skill set to do so. I also agree that this was a poor attempt by the NFL to gain more publicity. In reality I think this may cause female athletes to stay away from trying out for the NFL because of the negativity that has come from this.
- John Ruppert
Wesley,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say you are all for women playing in the NFL if they have the talent. The key word is IF in this situation. Clearly this woman wasn't fully prepared for the opportunity that was given to her, and that truly is sad. I also agree with you when you say that this didn't set the precedent well for women in the future if they ever want to play in the NFL. 28 years old is not a great time to tryout for professional football. I believe that this tryout may have ruined any chances for women to have any opportunities in this league.
Dan Pesato