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MARIO RITTER

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You are listening to the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS.

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Women and American Football

MARIO RITTER: American football is often compared to war. Relatively few women play the sport. But Faith Lapidus tells us about some women who have been playing football for years.

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FAITH LAPIDUS: American Football has replaced baseball as America’s favorite sport. Football has traditionally been played by men - big men who like to hit. However, in the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of women’s football leagues. The women play by the same rules and with the same level of physical contact as the men’s sport. Tarsha Fain is team captain of the Baltimore Nighthawks.

TARSHA FAIN: “I feel women can do anything a man can do. The same way they get out there and hit, we get out there and hit too.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: Fain and team owner Tanya Bryan were part of the first ever women’s World Championship last year. The American team -- with Fain playing and Bryan serving as team manager -- won the gold medal.

TANYA BRYAN: “To be the first, the first time it was done, and be part of it, you know, no one else can ever say that. So it’s just a wonderful feeling and I’m so proud of that.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: About ten women’s professional football leagues have been formed in the United States in recent years. Many have either joined with other leagues or failed. But the sport continues to grow.