Director's Notes – Episode 93

(NOTE: As always, Director's Notes contain spoilers)

In 1999, I watched the US Women's National Team win the World Cup on penalty kicks against China. I've been watching the Williams sisters kick ass in tennis for almost 20 years, and before that Martina Navratilova.

Every Olympics, I watch women's gymnastics, figure skating, diving, etc. I've recently begun watching the WNBA (and as of this writing my NY Liberty are in first place, so take a hike Atlanta Dream).

As a kid I really thought in my life time (still plenty of time), I would get to see a woman enter one of the 4 major men's team sports in America. In those days, only men's team sports existed on television. 

Manon Rhéaume played in some preseason games for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL in the early 1990s. 

Katie Hnida of the University of New Mexico became the first woman to kick a field goal in a major college football game (also the first to kick a field goal in a bowl game). 

But in some ways I wish there wasn't a need for a gender divide in some sports. In that, I mean, I wish there wasn't a physical difference that prevented women from running a 4.5 second 40-yard dash while still being 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds of muscle so that they could sack the snot out of Ben Roethlisberger every week. 

At least I have Night Vale. 

Who cares about physical differences (and gender-biased coverage) between men and women in sports? Mallory Willingham doesn't.

Fiction is great because you can make shit up. You can create any type of thing you want. If the NFL or MLB can't do it, Night Vale High School can.

Former Scorpions QB Michael Sandero had two heads, so why can't Willingham be able to see into souls? I think this would be a particularly useful skill for a QB. "Oh that linebacker feels tentative in his zone coverage ability. Guess we'll hit the tight end on a short seam again." 

Coach al-Mujaheed should have a pretty solid team this year, even if he's terrified of it.

- Jeffrey Cranor
September 1, 2016