Hello to All,
I’m late for this thread after have made over 200 posts so far. But I thought I should weigh in.
I found this forum some time ago while just skimming around the web, and was very happy to have done so. It’s good to see genuine love and appreciation for all these women, for I’m sure most of you have encountered plenty of the haters in your travels. I seem to have been born with a love for female athletes, but none of this was happening when I was a kid back in the northeastern US. The world changed when Rachael McLish appeared, and changed again for me when I met Debbie Kruck at a 1989 show. After her came Carla Dunlap, Mary Roberts, Sherry Goggin, and others at the shows I attended. Mainstream media coverage came in the early days from ESPN, who then dropped it all when they were bought out by Disney, if memory serves. They first covered Fitness, then later clearly did their best to try and kill it. The 1991 Ms. Olympia, which I attended at the Shrine in L.A., was the last show they covered as a world class event. Now today with the internet, we need nothing from mainstream media.
The physical female form comes in many different manifestations, shapes, sizes, and styles. I seem to be able to appreciate far more of them then many men I have encountered. They restrict themselves for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is being scared sh*tless of what their male peers will think and say of them. Don’t want to lose status in the “Pack” if they find out you love female athletes. The 1950’s mentality will never change for some. But those of us who love them will always be there as women’s athletics continues to expand and evolve.