SBD -- Opening Day!
Apr. 3rd, 2006 12:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jmc_bksToday is a holiday. Not on any calendar, but it is still a holiday in my mind. ‘Cause it is Opening Day. Woo hoo! Baseball is back, which means spring is here. Listened to Dan Fogerty's Centerfield at very high volume this morning, sang along and danced. I love Opening Day, mostly because it is has so much hope and possibility inherent. My O's could lead the AL East for weeks afterward (like last season), or it could be the last time they didn’t have a losing record all season (that has happened pretty much every season for the past 6 years). But they are first for the day, if only because Baltimore comes first alphabetically.
Today's Smart Bitches post will be appropriate for the holiday – I'm gonna talk about sports in romance. There isn't all that much to say at first glance. Not much sports in romance.
The books I can think of in which professional sports play a role:
SEP's football series
Rachel Gibson's hockey books
Deirdre Martin's hockey books
Scoring (baseball) by Kristin Hardy
Heart Mender (baseball) by Kathleen Creighton
Calling the Shots (hockey) by Kathy Alerding
The thing is, none of the heroines in these books are athletes. In two they are trainers or sports medicine professionals (Alerding, Scoring). Yay, women as care givers, like that is breakout role. ::eye roll:: In SEP's series, Phoebe Somerville is a team owner by inheritance who learns to manage the finance of the team and run the business; she learns to like the sport but starts by thinking all the players are dumb and the sport is pointless. [That's actually an interesting philosophical question: is there a worthwhile purpose to professional sports, aside from the enrichment of team owners and a few athletic superstars? Or is it a waste of time and money, the modern equivalent of the gladiators in the Colisseum, an opiate to dull the senses of the masses, to distract us from more important things going on in the world? But I'm not going there.] Women/heroines are never athletes, unless they are figure skaters or ballerinas or other "traditional" female physical pursuits. To the extent that a heroine may participate in any sport, it is on a casual basis and not because the participation is of great importance. Maybe she jogs or works out or she plays the occasional social game of tennis. But actually work up a sweat or compete physically? Nah. A light dewing of perspiration is okay, but not the all out sweat of physical exertion. And women aren't supposed to be competitive. Can you think of any competitive women portrayed in a flattering light in romance? It stumps me. Further, the women in those books are not fans of professional or amateur sports either. They don't watch or follow any teams; their interest in sports, if any, extends only as far as their children's participation in team sports. In a couple of cases, the heroines look down on professional athletes for a variety of reasons, mostly thinking that any man earning a living by hitting a ball must be a dumb jock. The only exception that I can think of is the heroine of LaVyrle Spencer's Spring Fancy. Winnifred Gardner is an unrepentant jock; she plays racquetball with the hero and goes all out, which he loves. She may even have beaten him the first time they played, but I can't remember for sure.
AAR has a Sports Romances listing. I skimmed the list. The inclusion of some of the books perplexed me: Saving Grace as a golf romance? I vaguely remember golf as a minor part of the story; it would never have occurred to me to think of SG as a sports romance. Three Nora Roberts' books as equestrian romances? Well, I can see that, although more time is spent on the horse breeding and training than the actual riding or competition. Same with Michelle Martin’s The Long Shot. Rodeo? I checked a couple of the books listed: none of the heroines were part of the rodeo, just the heroes.
Neither of these things (non-participation and active dislike or disinterest) match up with my reality. The Biochemist is a huge, huge collegiate sports fan, particularly football and hockey, as a function of going to grad school at a Big 10 school (hence the visit to Hawaii last fall to watch Wisconsin play football); she runs and skis. My aunt, who never used to care for football, now watches professional football semi-religiously and can explain to anyone who wants to know all of the ways an offense can get called for penalties. A SAHM friend of mine runs 5K races. Another friend rides horses. I play kick ball and football in a social league, as well as playing tennis occasionally. I like professional football and I love baseball at every professional level. I understand the rules of hockey and soccer, in theory, but have a hard time watching because it all just looks like an uncontrolled free for all to me. I know there's logic to the play, but I don’t know the game well enough to see it. S, M and T follow NASCAR religiously for a variety of reasons; S's cousin works in PR for one racing team -- she chose to change PR venues because she loved the sport. M swam on teams in high school, in college and still swims.
Why is romance so out of touch with reality? ::snort:: Like romance isn't totally out of touch with a lot of my reality. But really, aren’t there any books being written by romance writers who like sports and participate in sports and are able to write a good story that includes sports? I’ve heard stats tossed around that show that the largest increase in marketing in most professional sports is marketing directed toward women.[If I can find any reliable data that agrees with those statements, I'll post links. Still looking at the time of posting, tho.] And that the largest growth sector in fan attendance at sporting events is also women. If the market is growing that much, why aren't publishers chasing after that money? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get that romance readers are purported to be on the traditional and conservative side, which is why there are so many epilogues with 2.3 children and perfect lives in suburbia – a lot of readers want to see that, while it is my personal nightmare. [Not kidding. If there's a hell, that'll be mine, driving kids to and from lessons to sports to wherever in a minivan for all eternity.] But that isn’t really congruent with my interaction with other romance readers online. Are online readers significantly different from readers who don’t participate online? Dunno. I wouldn't think so.
Anyway, my question for the end of this post is: are there any books that you can recommend with an athlete-heroine? A heroine who isn't giving up her athletic career to settle down on the ranch? Or even just another heroine who is a jock and whose hero loves that about her? Or maybe a heroine a la Dana Whitaker or Natalie from Sports Night: both smart, funny women who loved sports, and found a way to include that in their jobs, and were totally hot and desired by the men in their lives. (Watch the Shoe Money Tonight and Smokey episodes of that show to see what I mean.) I'm looking for a book that is as smartly written as that show was.
Afterthought: Jilly Cooper's Players, an over-the-top 80s glamour kind of book. Sort of hero Rupert Campbell-Black (a slutty hero gradually reformed by the pure and selfless love of innocent Taggy; IRL he'd probably be clap-riddled and not so heroic) is an MP, retired Olympic rider. Sport is a minor part of this book, but I gather that it's prequel, Riders, was specifically set in the equestrian world. I get the impression though, that even there, the heroes were the riders and the women, well, were not. ::biting tongue against pun or other word play::
Today's Smart Bitches post will be appropriate for the holiday – I'm gonna talk about sports in romance. There isn't all that much to say at first glance. Not much sports in romance.
The books I can think of in which professional sports play a role:
SEP's football series
Rachel Gibson's hockey books
Deirdre Martin's hockey books
Scoring (baseball) by Kristin Hardy
Heart Mender (baseball) by Kathleen Creighton
Calling the Shots (hockey) by Kathy Alerding
The thing is, none of the heroines in these books are athletes. In two they are trainers or sports medicine professionals (Alerding, Scoring). Yay, women as care givers, like that is breakout role. ::eye roll:: In SEP's series, Phoebe Somerville is a team owner by inheritance who learns to manage the finance of the team and run the business; she learns to like the sport but starts by thinking all the players are dumb and the sport is pointless. [That's actually an interesting philosophical question: is there a worthwhile purpose to professional sports, aside from the enrichment of team owners and a few athletic superstars? Or is it a waste of time and money, the modern equivalent of the gladiators in the Colisseum, an opiate to dull the senses of the masses, to distract us from more important things going on in the world? But I'm not going there.] Women/heroines are never athletes, unless they are figure skaters or ballerinas or other "traditional" female physical pursuits. To the extent that a heroine may participate in any sport, it is on a casual basis and not because the participation is of great importance. Maybe she jogs or works out or she plays the occasional social game of tennis. But actually work up a sweat or compete physically? Nah. A light dewing of perspiration is okay, but not the all out sweat of physical exertion. And women aren't supposed to be competitive. Can you think of any competitive women portrayed in a flattering light in romance? It stumps me. Further, the women in those books are not fans of professional or amateur sports either. They don't watch or follow any teams; their interest in sports, if any, extends only as far as their children's participation in team sports. In a couple of cases, the heroines look down on professional athletes for a variety of reasons, mostly thinking that any man earning a living by hitting a ball must be a dumb jock. The only exception that I can think of is the heroine of LaVyrle Spencer's Spring Fancy. Winnifred Gardner is an unrepentant jock; she plays racquetball with the hero and goes all out, which he loves. She may even have beaten him the first time they played, but I can't remember for sure.
AAR has a Sports Romances listing. I skimmed the list. The inclusion of some of the books perplexed me: Saving Grace as a golf romance? I vaguely remember golf as a minor part of the story; it would never have occurred to me to think of SG as a sports romance. Three Nora Roberts' books as equestrian romances? Well, I can see that, although more time is spent on the horse breeding and training than the actual riding or competition. Same with Michelle Martin’s The Long Shot. Rodeo? I checked a couple of the books listed: none of the heroines were part of the rodeo, just the heroes.
Neither of these things (non-participation and active dislike or disinterest) match up with my reality. The Biochemist is a huge, huge collegiate sports fan, particularly football and hockey, as a function of going to grad school at a Big 10 school (hence the visit to Hawaii last fall to watch Wisconsin play football); she runs and skis. My aunt, who never used to care for football, now watches professional football semi-religiously and can explain to anyone who wants to know all of the ways an offense can get called for penalties. A SAHM friend of mine runs 5K races. Another friend rides horses. I play kick ball and football in a social league, as well as playing tennis occasionally. I like professional football and I love baseball at every professional level. I understand the rules of hockey and soccer, in theory, but have a hard time watching because it all just looks like an uncontrolled free for all to me. I know there's logic to the play, but I don’t know the game well enough to see it. S, M and T follow NASCAR religiously for a variety of reasons; S's cousin works in PR for one racing team -- she chose to change PR venues because she loved the sport. M swam on teams in high school, in college and still swims.
Why is romance so out of touch with reality? ::snort:: Like romance isn't totally out of touch with a lot of my reality. But really, aren’t there any books being written by romance writers who like sports and participate in sports and are able to write a good story that includes sports? I’ve heard stats tossed around that show that the largest increase in marketing in most professional sports is marketing directed toward women.[If I can find any reliable data that agrees with those statements, I'll post links. Still looking at the time of posting, tho.] And that the largest growth sector in fan attendance at sporting events is also women. If the market is growing that much, why aren't publishers chasing after that money? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get that romance readers are purported to be on the traditional and conservative side, which is why there are so many epilogues with 2.3 children and perfect lives in suburbia – a lot of readers want to see that, while it is my personal nightmare. [Not kidding. If there's a hell, that'll be mine, driving kids to and from lessons to sports to wherever in a minivan for all eternity.] But that isn’t really congruent with my interaction with other romance readers online. Are online readers significantly different from readers who don’t participate online? Dunno. I wouldn't think so.
Anyway, my question for the end of this post is: are there any books that you can recommend with an athlete-heroine? A heroine who isn't giving up her athletic career to settle down on the ranch? Or even just another heroine who is a jock and whose hero loves that about her? Or maybe a heroine a la Dana Whitaker or Natalie from Sports Night: both smart, funny women who loved sports, and found a way to include that in their jobs, and were totally hot and desired by the men in their lives. (Watch the Shoe Money Tonight and Smokey episodes of that show to see what I mean.) I'm looking for a book that is as smartly written as that show was.
Afterthought: Jilly Cooper's Players, an over-the-top 80s glamour kind of book. Sort of hero Rupert Campbell-Black (a slutty hero gradually reformed by the pure and selfless love of innocent Taggy; IRL he'd probably be clap-riddled and not so heroic) is an MP, retired Olympic rider. Sport is a minor part of this book, but I gather that it's prequel, Riders, was specifically set in the equestrian world. I get the impression though, that even there, the heroes were the riders and the women, well, were not. ::biting tongue against pun or other word play::
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scattershot comments
Date: 2006-04-03 01:20 pm (UTC)Re: scattershot comments
Date: 2006-04-03 01:57 pm (UTC)Eh, geeky introverts? Could be me 90% of the time.
I didn't even think of Anita Blake as an athlete. Sexual athlete in the last few books maybe.
Re: scattershot comments
Date: 2006-04-03 02:30 pm (UTC)Can you tell I'm writing a 10,000 word bio on her!?
And yeah, I don't much like Francesca or Dallie either. But I LOVE Kenny.
Re: scattershot comments
Date: 2006-04-03 02:54 pm (UTC)What is the bio for, if you don't mind me asking?
Re: scattershot comments
Date: 2006-04-03 04:23 pm (UTC)Re: scattershot comments
Date: 2006-04-03 04:24 pm (UTC)Re: scattershot comments
Date: 2006-04-03 07:16 pm (UTC)Brockmann, SEP, Kinsale and James. That is an eclectic mix of authors, I think. Did you select those in particular?
You can tell me to stop asking questions any time. Or just ignore them. I can be too persistent in my desire to know sometimes.
Re: scattershot comments
Date: 2006-04-04 12:32 am (UTC)Don't know on the date for the DLB--very late this year or early next year, depending on how quick the production department is, I assume.
Yes, I chose them. They're my favorite authors, with James thrown in because I'm fascinated with a successful academic and author.
The questions are fine! ;)
no subject
Date: 2006-04-03 06:42 pm (UTC)I believe this is the one which features the female rider competing in a jumping competition with too-tight britches (going commando too). And OOPS, they just happen to split while she's riding! Pul-eese.
We used to pass it around the barn to howl at it. Now I have to go read something else to banish it from my memory....
Suisan
no subject
Date: 2006-04-03 07:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-03 11:05 pm (UTC)intellectual woman figures that player is hot but a dope. She is proved wrong.
How would it work when the woman's an athlete? The only one I can think of is Pat and Mike. . . .
So hey, so far? The Red Sox are number one in the East. Woot, say the people in this house who care. They care deeply.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-04 12:15 am (UTC)Uh, blanking. Who are Pat and Mike? [I'm thinking unisex Pat from SNL, but is that who you meant?]
Yay for the BoSox win...but, according to espn.com, Baltimore is #1 in the AL East, which is cause for celebration at my house ;) Don't worry, I'm sure that'll change after the next game.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-04 03:29 am (UTC)Kate again.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-04 11:52 am (UTC)can't remember title or author
Date: 2006-04-04 11:10 am (UTC)As for an athletic heroine Emma Frey from Michele Albert's Off Limits played college basketball and plays the hero in a game.
RobinF
Re: can't remember title or author
Date: 2006-04-04 11:53 am (UTC)Can think of only one
Date: 2006-04-04 11:15 am (UTC)Re: Can think of only one
Date: 2006-04-04 11:53 am (UTC)