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March 31, 2004
AWESOME. JUST AWESOME.
I can't tell you how freakin' awesome I think this is. Candace Parker, a 17 year old high school senior from the outer 'burbs of Chicago, was invited to be in the slam dunk contest with the boys at the McDonald's All-American games this week. A girl, on the same court to go dunking with the boys.
Guess what? She won.
With a dunk that was as full of showmanship as it was skill, Parker became the first female winner of the contest, whose previous winners include NBA standouts like Vince Carter, Baron Davis, Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James. Parker's going to attend Tennessee next year, and I'm willing to bet that the Lady Vols will be pretty darn good with her in the lineup.
Pete Thamel has a great piece on ESPN.com on the significance of that moment on women's athletics -- rightly calling it a defining few seconds in not only women's basketball but all of women's sports. It's really worth a read, and worth thinking about what this may mean for women's basketball in the next few years.
But the two things I love the most about this story is that a) the crowd -- including her competitors -- roared with approval when she hit her winning dunk... they didn't see "a girl" out there, they just saw an athlete who'd done something amazing; and b) Parker's quote afterward. "That would be my dream," Parker said. "For 10 years from now for three or four girls entering the dunk contest and it's not a big deal."
Good for you, Candace. Ditto -- and congratulations.
