Punt Pass and Kick Gurls

Really? Really. Punt Pass and Kick competitions now include girls. They probably have for years, maybe even decades, but it was news to me when the national winners were honored in Baltimore this weekend.

This gives you an idea of how old Max is . . .  I graduated from high school the year Title IX was passed (go ahead, look it up - I'm not telling). While some larger school districts and most private schools had athletics for girls, mine had only intramurals - mostly volleyball, as I remember. A girl in my high school class could outrun every boy on the track team, but oh well. Too bad. No running for girls.

When I meet young women new to my running club, they often ask, Did you run in high school? When I explain to them why I didn't, they're amazed. About as amazed as I was when I saw girls in Punt Pass and Kick. (Yes, that title needs at least one comma, but it's the official name. Who am I to argue with the NFL? Oh, yeah, Steeler Gurl!)

So I'm thrilled to see girls competing in this and all other athletic events. I'm glad I suffer from what John "The Penguin" Bingham calls Adult Onset Athleticism. And I'm glad I learned about football from my mother, and am able to talk to Steeler Gurls across Steeler Nation.

And, of course, I welcome the guys to a brave new world of football. If the gurls hang in there, eventually there will be beer commercials that don't feature idiotic men and girls in bikinis - beer commercials that actually talk about the beer.