A book on the shelf
The name, Jill Ker Conway,
Stirs a memory
A historian and writer
Born in Australia
Now living in America 

The Road from Coorain
An autobiography
A story of growing up in rural NSW
Barely surviving the drought 
Living in Sydney 
Post the second world war
The familiar names of 
Mosman, Waitara, and Pennant Hills 

The relief of reading stories
Of someone 
Who never felt at home in Australia
In Sydney 
Despite the beaches and bush 
The smell of eucalyptus and earth 

What it feels to board the plane
To leave 
Knowing that Australia will always
Be a part of who you are
But knowing that your life
Exists somewhere over the ocean

Relief and tears 
Connection with a woman 
Whom, despite an age gap
Of half a century,
Loves history and reading and learning
And discovery 
And finds a place
Beyond the continent 
Of her birth. 

The end. 

There is an episode of Friends
The one with the football
Phoebe has no idea
Rachel just can’t play -
“Go long, sweetie” 
And Monica is overly competitive 
(And neurotic 
And crazy
And the macho one next to her brother 
Who is an academic and therefore kind of wussy 
So they balance each other out)

Tomorrow, in real life,
Is The Big Game.
The most watched 
Sporting event 
In America,
The Super Bowl.
The focus of the game,
Apart from the advertising,
Will be the men. 

In the world of American football
Women  
Are the cheerleaders, metaphorical or real
Playing the feminine, on-looking, 
Supportive roles

In 2011
The American NFL did open up the game
To women players 
In March 2013
The first woman, Lauren Silberman, went to regional try outs. 
As of Super Bowl 2014, no woman has been selected for an NFL team. 

But there are women football players 
Who play 
Full contact American football
(And don’t wear bikinis to play) 
The Women’s Football Alliance 
The Independent Women’s Football League
And Spring Football League 
Represent over forty teams 
Across America 

When the New York Sharks 
Professional Women’s Football Team
Appeared on Good Day New York 
The male host, in his introduction, quipped
“A women’s football team? Well, I’m skeptical!”

At the first Modern Olympic Games in 1896 
Women were not permitted to compete 
As it was felt their presence would be
Impractical
Uninteresting
Unaesthetic and 
Incorrect
(Though a few women did compete, in 
Tennis, golf, croquet, and sailing) 
It was not until the 2012 Olympics 
In London
That every participating country
Had a female athlete present 

Today, in 2014
The Tour de France 
Olympic Ski jumping
The Mavericks International Surfing Competition 
And 5 set tennis matches at top tournament level 
Are closed to women competitors 

While major sporting events
Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup, State of Origin, The Ashes
Have women’s teams at amateur, or even professional levels
In their respective sports 
The BIG GAME
The highlight of the sporting calendar 
Is always the men’s competition.

The press barely reports 
Matches, games, and results 
Of women’s sporting events 
In the USA 
In 2009 
A twenty year study 
Found that 96% of
Sports media coverage
Was devoted to men’s sports
Similar statistics can be found 
In Australia
Where in 2010 
9% of sports coverage in the news
Was about women’s sport 
Or in the UK
Where in 2013
The Guardian newspaper featured just
2.5% of articles about women in sport 

So tomorrow is the Big Game 
And my (now) home state is playing
But I won’t be watching 
I’ll be channeling my
Inner Rachel
Going long 
And seeking out the women’s games. 

I want to live in a world
Where women matter 
Take centre stage 
As competitors 
Athletes and 
Sporting heroes 
And are recognised 
For their efforts and prowess 
And are represented as more than 
Unknowing, incompetent, and neurotic. 

Women play sport. 
Let's support them 
As much as we 
Cheer on the men. 

The end.