Title IX worth being thankful for

As we commence the holiday season, it is important to take a moment to reflect on the things for which we are most thankful.

Some are thankful for a loving family, delicious food, good health and other blessings.

Those are all fine, and I'll leave the grand words of appreciation to people more noble than I.

I'm just a lowly sports writer, and all I can turn to in this Capra-esque moment is the very thing that consumes my extracurricular time.

This Thanksgiving, I am most thankful for Title IX.

My intense feelings of gratitude for this marvelous piece of legislation first emerged a few weeks ago after a match between the North Carolina and N.C. State volleyball teams.

The Tar Heels stuck it to the Wolfpack, winning three straight 30-20, 30-17, 30-18.

Overall, it was a walk in the park for North Carolina.

In fact, the Tar Heels won predominantly due to N.C State's errors, as opposed to UNC's prowess.

I returned to the newsroom to edit the game story. Discussing the rout, one staffer cracked, "What's N.C. State doing with a volleyball team?"

"Freakin' Title IX."

I know how to take a joke, and I'm sure that's all the retort was meant as. I even laughed a little myself.

But the whole idea of a male-sports oriented school being forced to make the "sacrifice" of adopting additional women's sports made my feminism spider senses tingle.

That might very well be one of the reasons N.C. State took on a volleyball team back in 1975. Just the other year, the Wolfpack softball team made its debut. I can't assume to know the exact reasoning of the athletics department.

Some sports fans have a problem with Title IX because schools have either chosen to expand their sports budget or to cut male squads to fulfill the requirements mandated by the legislation.

To that, I say too bad.

Images of the thousands of young girls across the country who got the chance to play on a team because of Title IX flood my mind.

Think of all the girls that learned what it meant to feel the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

According to an article in The New York Times, 295,000 girls participated in high school athletics in 1972 when Title IX was enacted. Today, over 2.8 million girls play sports for their high schools.

But collegiate sports have a different intensity and an exciting twist. Fans travel from all over to attend games, the athletes are almost professional and some programs gain considerable press.

Why should anyone be upset that the federal government took steps to ensure that women are not denied those opportunities?

Certainly one can't believe that males are more deserving of those feelings, achievements and recognition than females.

What does it matter that N.C. State's volleyball team finished 10-21 this season?

Who cares that the Wolfpack has only won two ACC matches since 2000?

The bottom line is that these women, and thousands like them, are playing for a Division-I school.

They have turned their teammates into family members, coaches into mentors and athletic commitment into a passion.

Whine all you want about the effort schools across the country had to make to obey Title IX.

I don't care, and I don't think all those female athletes care either.

This Thursday when I slice into my Thanksgiving meal, I'll be thankful for my loving family, delicious food, good health and Title IX.

Contact Gabrielle De Rosa at gderosa@email.unc.edu.