IT WAS 1996, AND THE MOVIE SPACE JAM, starring Warner Bros.' Bugs Bunny and Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan, had just been released. But more important to me, it featured the female counterpart to Bugs, Lola Bunny, a talented and skilled basketball player in the Tune Squad. As a 9-year-old sitting on the bleachers at my brothers' basketball practices, I wondered: Why couldn't I be on the court too? After begging my mom, my sister and I joined the league as the only girls on the newly formed co-ed team.
With my long hair tied up with a colorful floral scrunchie and my bangs puffed up (a mix of styling and a result of Puerto Rican humidity), I hit the court in a lime green team T-shirt, volleyball shorts, and whatever sneakers I had at the time. That first weekday evening game, I remember feeling a little lost after the referee blew the whistle and squeaking rubber echoed off the polished concrete. But within seconds, I was running up and down the court. Every time the ball was passed to me, I had to remind myself to dribble as the coaches and parents shouted a chorus of instructions from the sidelines.
After receiving one pass, I heard someone shout, "Shoot!" So, from the five o'clock position in the arch, I stretched my gangly frame just like I'd seen players do on TV and went for it... Believe it or not, I scored.
I didn't score again the rest of the game, and I didn't stick with basketball, either.
Dad thought it wasn't "feminine" enoughthough today, my now-enlightened father would cringe at that notion.
A year after my brief stint with basketball, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) was born following the rise and popularity of NCAA women's basketball.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Winter 2024 من Bicycling US.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة Winter 2024 من Bicycling US.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
GETTING A FLAT CAN MAKE YOUR RIDE BETTER
ON A BEAUTIFUL LATE-SUMMER RIDE UNDER a cerulean blue sky, I got my second flat in three days.
THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY BIKES TO CHOOSE FROM
\"PERFECTION IS ACHIEVED, NOT WHEN there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.\"
THE CASE AGAINST STRAVA
I'LL BEGIN BY SINGING SOME PRAISES: Without Strava, I'm not sure I'd have re-engaged with cycling at the level I did. Coming from just occasionally messing around on mountain bikes as a teenager to trying my best to race at an elite level, Strava has played a role in pushing me to PR, hunt KOMS, and ride faster and harder than ever before.
LOOKING FOR CYCLING'S CAITLIN CLARK
WOMEN'S PRO CYCLING MUST FOSTER A COMMUNITY THAT WILL FEEL INVESTED IN THE SPORT FOR YEARS TO COME.
THE UPSIDE OF GETTING YOUR CAR STOLEN
AFTER I PARKED AT THE LAFAYETTE COLLEGE track for my workout, I did what I always do: I put my phone and wallet in the center console of my car and took the car key off the ring so I could fit it into the tiny pocket inside my running shorts.
UNLOCK THE SECRETS OF CYCLING'S SUPER AGERS
MEET THE SWEDISH SENIORS WHO PROVE YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO RIDE HARD.
BIKE PACKING AMERICA'S LONGEST MULTIUSE TRAIL NETWORK
Even the slightest rain can sound thunderous inside a tent--and this was not slight rain. It came down in buckets, just as my partner Maggie and I were settling into our sleeping bags.
TWICE AS GOOD
WHY A DISCO-BALLINSPIRED DOUBLE UNICYCLE MIGHT BE ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT BIKES OF THE YEAR
THE ALCHE MISTS
They led a cycling revolution in Afghanistan where women were forbidden to ride. When the Taliban returned to power, their only hope was a harrowing escape to an uncertain future.
COUNTDOWN - TO YOUR FIRST CRIT
ONE INTREPID MEMBER, ONE WORLDCLASS COACH, ONE INCREDIBLE BIKE-THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME.
