Fantasy or Fact

For men who deeply wish they could experience the feeling of being a part of a professional sports organization, but lack the big size, explosive speed, and athletic agility to play professional sports; Fantasy football is a dream come true. Fantasy football is a game that originated in 1962 from a genius idea of Bill Winkenbach, then a limited partner in the Oakland Raiders, with assistance from Bill Tunnell, the Raiders' public relations man, Scotty Stirling, the beat writer from the Oakland Tribune, and George Ross, the Tribune's sports editor, as well as Philip Carmona, Winkenbach's friend. Fantasy Football is a fantasy game that allows participants -called owners- to create their own fantasy team using players from all over the National Football League(NFL). The game requires extensive knowledge about team organizations, player positions and stats, injuries, salary caps, and trading deadlines. Fantasy Football has become a subculture in American sports with an estimated 18 million adults participating each year. According to Scott Linzer, director of media with iCrossing, a digital marketing agency, "Marketing research has shown the average fantasy football player to be predominantly male, married, in a high income bracket." However, the research fail to mention that 6% to 10% of those fantasy football participants are women.

Although fantasy football is marketed towards men, it also appeals to women because of its intellectual, strategic, and competitive elements. Female presence on the sideline provide balance and diversity to professional sports, and their visual existence is significant to the potential growth of female sports journalists. Not only do women enjoy writing about professional sports and playing fantasy football, but they also enjoy competing in their own professional Women's Football League.

Women Pioneers

The success that women sportswriters enjoy today is made possible by women pioneers who paved the way before them. Many women sportswriters have successfully gained the respect and credibility that they deserve because of the determination of women like Mary Garber, the first female sportswriter, Lillian Johnson, the first black female sportswriter, and Margaret Kistler, the first female sportswriter in Texas. Today, women journalists can believe with great confidence that they can impact the world of sports, and achieve the success and credibility equal to their male colleagues.

Mary Garber, the first female sportswriter, was the first woman to win the Red Smith Award, an award given to sports editors for outstanding contributions in sports journalism. She started her career as a society writer at The Winston- Salem Journal, but she got her opportunity as a sportswriter when the all-male sports department was deployed to World War II. Garber was a sportswriter for the Journal from 1947 through 1997. In 2006, the Association for Women in Sports Media named its annual Pioneer Award for Garber. Mary Garber died in September of 2008.


In addition to Mary Garber, Texas pioneer sportswriter, Margaret Koy Kistler, also helped to knock down doors and break gender barriers for today's female sportswriter. Kistler, a graduate from the University of Texas, was hired as a sportswriter for the Abilene Reporter News- the first woman to hold that position in the state - and immediately made her presence known in the male-dominated domain of high school press boxes. Her first assignment, covering The Kings of West Texas high school football team, was met with great disapproval by the coaches and team players. Even though the team greeted her with total silence and blank stars, Kistler was able to prevail using her witty personality and journalistic skill to perform the interview with ease. Kistler’s professionalism eventually propelled her to a successful career with the Austin Bureau, the Temple Daily Telegram and the Dallas Morning News.