As I am sure a lot of you know, Danica Patrick won the Japan 300 on Sunday. This is huge. More than huge. She is the first woman ever to beat men in a man's sport. Surely some women can beat some men at tennis, golf or volleyball. But she beat men in a sport, in which before her, only men participated.
In 2005, when she appeared on the racing scene, as a celebrity figure she was immediately popular. She's beautiful, and the media took advantage of that, and so did she. I don't know if that was clever or degrading. She claimed in yet another interview “I’ve always understood the way it is... there’s so many opportunities I get as a female. Then again, I’m held to a different standard. There’s a flip side to everything. It’s just the price I have to pay.”
I can honestly say I have never more than glanced at a auto race. It's like basketball for me, the only part that is remotely interesting is the last two minutes. When my husband told me she won, I swelled with pride, not necessarily because a woman won, but because the times are truly changing. It will be history to my sons that there was a day when women didn't win Indy car races all the time and there had never been be women or brown people as president.
As amazing as this, in the media, I cannot find one article that does focus on, or merely mention the fact that she cried. Even worse for me is that she is abashed at her behavior after the race. Said to the associated press: "When it actually happened, maybe it was a little anticlimactic," she said. "Then the emotions came out and that was a little girly of me." On an ESPN video interview with a female commentator (Danica Patrick Wins Historic Race) Danica made excuses for herself again. Half of the interview is spent discussing her tears. She appears to be ashamed when she states "I didn't want to cry but I did, those photos will live forever." On the contrary, a male commentator claims (Danica Patrick Wins First Career Victory) "... emotion is what makes sports beautiful ..."
Mark and I discussed this. He claims men cry when the lose (like the big burly man's men who lose the superbowl), and wondered why women cry when they win. I, personally, cry when I am angry. Not very effective, I admit, in a corporate environment. And it's not like tears crying, it's like can't talk crying, my throat closes up. It's really annoying. Anyway, I told him it's really an issue of release of pressure. Danica Patrick had a lot of pressure for six years from the media and from herself to win a race. She knew it would be historic when she did. I would be surprised if she didn't cry.
I suppose for Danica, now that the pressure is off, and the deed is done, and it will only get easier from here. And I suppose the next time she wins, she won't cry.
