Let's Keep Breaking Glass Ceilings Ladies

This NFL season has brought a lot of things to light. I am not going to focus on the hatred that NFL players are getting for using their right to protest and express their opinions. Instead, I'm going to focus on the major glass ceiling that women in sports journalism broke this season thanks to Beth Mowins.

For the first time in 30 years, there is a woman play-by-play commentator for the NFL. To say I am one proud woman right now would be an understatement. To see women in such a male-dominated field that I thoroughly love to continue to break stereotypes is truly amazing. Beth Mowins is showing to little girls of this upcoming generation that truly anyone can call football games.

Unfortunately, there are people in this world that feel that women can't be just as knowledgeable or even more knowledgeable about sports, specifically football, than a man. "A woman can't call football. She's never played the sport."

Then say that to the many men in the field that haven't played a sport past the age of 14. There are PLENTY of men in this field, some of my colleagues and friends, who haven't played a sport since they were in middle school. However, because they're men, they won't get statements like Beth is getting or any female sports reporter for that fact.

But let's get away from the negatives. This is a massive ceiling that women in this field have broken through, finally. There's still a long way to go, but everything starts with baby steps. Look at CBS Sports having the first all-female run sports show, including producer and director. Doris Burke has become a massive name that people associate with the NBA. We're making strides.

Some day, I would love to see a female NFL play-by-play and color commentator. I would love to see the same in the NBA. The MLB made strides with Jessica Mendoza. I would love to see a bigger presence of women in the NHL. There's still so much more that we as women and as sports reporters that we can accomplish. For now, we must give Beth Mowins the much deserved thank you for making a massive step towards the future.

Let's keep breaking ceilings ladies, in all fields.

Why I Chose My Career Path

As I sit here in my apartment, I'm thinking back on this past May and the hardship my family went through losing my Grandma Bell. Grandma Bell was the biggest Chicago Cubs fan you could have ever met. She would rather watch baseball over football. I don't think she ever missed a Cubs game in her long 78 years of life. Even in her final days, she would want the game on.

It's now October, and her Cubbies are making moves in the playoffs. They're making moves to the World Series. I keep thinking about how she said the only tattoo she would ever get is when the Cubs would win the World Series. I know right now that she is sitting up in Heaven with Grandpa Bell, watching every Cubs game with her Cubs blanket and giant mug in hand.

This type of fandom and story is why I got into sports. Sports do so much more than one can fathom. It's not only entertainment, it's something that allows people to step away from the hardships of life for a brief period of time and watch a game/match. It unites people together in a way that words really cannot describe. It causes friendly rivalries and brings strangers together without violence or harm. Getting stories out there like this and like so many others where athletics helped create a path for someone is what the world needs.

This is why I do what I do. People constantly question why I decided to put myself in thousands of dollars in debt to go to an out of state university for a journalism degree. My answer is always this:

"Sports journalism is way more than a stat line. It's more than a record or a championship. It's about the people in sports that makes sports journalism so great. For some people, athletics was the only way they could have received a college education. For others, athletics helped them find discipline and escape a bad neighborhood or a bad homelife. Sports could have helped give a disabled or sick person joy during their time of grief. Sports is the only thing that can unify the entire world for a short amount of time and forget about all the conflict and hardship. It's the only thing that can bring people from all races, genders, incomes, religions, ethnicities, ages, and neighborhoods to cheer someone on. What else can do that?"

People seem to forget that sports is so much more than entertainment. For myself, it's been a tremendous part of my life. I grew up playing sports constantly. I have plenty of guy friends who were athletes as well when I was younger who taught me the game. Gender was never a factor when they taught me the game of basketball, how to catch a football, how to pitch, or how to steal bases. It was something that we all enjoyed, and we all wanted to improve together, differences aside.

Sports gave me an outlet to create new friends from different backgrounds and cultures. Sports taught me a tremendous amount of discipline and how to respect authority, outside of what my parents taught me. It was also a way for me to stay active, and it was fun. I would play against my friends in rec leagues, and we would challenge each other on the court. If anything, sports helped strengthen the friendships I now currently have over the last 10 years.

What sports have done for my family is amazing, specifically my brother. Sports gave him a way to meet some of his current best friends. It gave him an outlet to relieve stress in a very healthy manner. Football taught him discipline, teamwork, and mutual respect for your fellow teammate on the gridiron. You can't learn that from a book.

Yes, sports are a form of entertainment. But it's also a sub-culture of our own world. It's its own entity that your fellow fans can understand. It's something that can formulate and change someone's outlook on life, on their career, their education, and their personality.

Although I am a White Sox fan, cheers Grandma Bell. Congrats to your Cubbies. Keep on wearing your bright Cubbie blue as I will continue to spread your story and everyone else's story on my journey as a sports journalist.