Monday, July 03, 2006

 

Summer nights

Hot nights are here, sleep’s elusive and at 5 am I wonder if thinking about something really dreary – like Tony Blair’s desperate search for populist causes to polish up his image – will send me to sleep. He’s picked a good one this time by lending his support to that boring old hardy perennial, the Wimbledon women’s demand for equal pay. Well I suppose it’s a lot easier than using his influence to help the thousands of enslaved women around the world who would like any rights never mind equal.

It’s not a comfortable feeling being on the same side as the ‘blazered buffoons’ of the All England Club, who, despite the vast amounts of money they receive every year from the championships, still seem unable to develop a strategy to find a future British champion. But I agree with their decision not to award equal pay and can’t understand why some people find it so difficult to grasp that it has nothing whatever to do with sexism and everything to do with market forces. If the women’s game drew a bigger crowd, I’ve no doubt at all they’d be the ones with the extra dosh. Rugby players work just as hard as footballers, opera singers as pop singers, but don’t receive anything like the same money for the simple reason that football and pop are more popular.

Wimbledon has given its reasons that women don’t get the same prize money (a measly £625,000 compared with £655,000 for the men) as:
- Corporate hospitality packages for the Wimbledon men’s final sell at £2,750 compared with £1,750 for the women’s.
- A survey taken along the Wimbledon queue found that 50% prefer to watch men’s matches and 19% women’s matches.
- The Australian and US Opens cannot sell a women’s only day and now split the quarter and semi-finals to ensure at least one men’s single match each day.

I’d add another one to that which is that men also give us more for our money by playing five sets to the three the women play, so as far as I’m concerned, it’s game, set and match to the All England Club.

But the girls are appealing against the decision and there are even mutterings about strike action unless Wimbledon coughs up. Well, sorry girls, make sure you’ve made contingency plans or you might find yourselves match point down with no one to cheer you on.

None of this brings me any nearer sleep. What finally does the trick is the alarm clock. Within minutes of it going off, that delicious, sweet sleep of morning steals over me and I’m gone.

Comments:
Such a well-argued case that before you get your eyes scratched out I'd like you to explain why, when the women's corporate hospitality drawing power is only 64% of the men's, they are paid 95% as much?
And why do the buffoons doll up the line judges in Ralph Lauren 1920s gear? Who wants conspicuous line judges? Next year, ball boys and girls by YSL?
 
I would rather watch Women's tennis than Mens's any day. There's not a male player alive I'd rather watch play than Maria Sharipova.

Tennis has always been a young person's game, mostly. What has happened over the last century is that it's become a perrenial 'old vs young' tug of war, with all the 'old people', like Andre Aggassi at 36 or so- demonstrating their wiles aginst the younger players, and the younger players establishing their reputations by beating the 'distinguished former champions' into the dust. It's mostlyu manufactured tension and oh so much hyoe, but still, that Maria;s cute;)
 
Yes Ed, but if Maria were playing tiddly winks you'd like to watch her. Would you be as happy watching Lindsey Davenport who is almost as good a tennis player.
 
I've watched Lindsey for many years. I go back to the days of Billie Jean Moffet ( King ) and Yvonne GOolagong.
SO where' s Maria playing tiddlywinks, do you know? What channel is it on?
;)
 
ok Ed, you win - well half win since you're still only in the 19% who prefer women's tennis.

A ps to the equal pay argument is that the Sharapovas make a lot more than the men from advertising and endorsements just because they're gorgeous. Is that fair? Who cares, it's market forces!
 
SHe's a lot easier to look at than Roddick or Federer, you must admit.
 
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