# Could x beat y (sports)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2007, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827 "2007-03-21T05:16:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/1 "2007-03-21T05:16:10Z")
There seem to be a few of these threads popping up lately. Since the “man vs woman in a fight” thread seemed popular, I thought I’d ask that about sports. In what sports and at what training disparity would men (boys?) and women be an even match? I know a bit about this in soccer. The US women’s national team, which is one of the better in the world, sometimes plays against youth clubs. They seem to do ok against kids up to 16ish, and then get demolished after that. Sure these are generally kids that are going to be playing division 1 soccer, but still. How would a WNBA team do against really bad (200+ rpi) college teams? What about something like golf? Take it even farther in that direction, bowling? ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/2 "2007-03-21T05:56:14Z")
I think a WNBA team would be hard pressed to beat a decent D3 school in basketball. Lisa Leslie is a 3 time MVP center at 6’5" 175 pounds. Even a D3 school is probably going to have someone a few inches taller, 60-70 pounds heavier, and quicker. I think they would be hard pressed to even beat some of the best high school teams in the country. For example, Kevin Durant and Greg Oden were seniors in high school last year. Who in the WNBA is going to stop a 6’10" SF that shoots 40% from the 3, or a 7 foot athletic center? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/3 "2007-03-21T06:00:49Z")
The best women’s pro basketball team would be hard pressed to beat any Division I college team. They would be too strong and too fast for the women. The speed and strength would make a huge difference as the men would be able to get just about every rebound and they would likely score on a lot of layups and putbacks. The women who would have to hit an incredible amount of three point shots. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/4 "2007-03-21T09:44:53Z")
[QUOTE=treis] Lisa Leslie is a 3 time MVP center at 6’5" 175 pounds. Even a D3 school is probably going to have someone a few inches taller, 60-70 pounds heavier, and quicker. [/QUOTE] She’s even admitted this. She was on Conan and Conan asked if she ever thought a woman could play in the NBA. Her response was ‘no way.’ She mentioned she’s 6’5, and one of the tallest centers in the WNBA, and if she were in the NBA she’d have to be, in her own words, “the little fast guy.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/5 "2007-03-21T14:42:28Z")
I read about a male player rated outside the top 100 who played consecutive single set matches against the Williams sisters and won both. Apologies - I can’t find it now. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/6 "2007-03-21T16:50:17Z")
[QUOTE=Snarky\_Kong] I know a bit about this in soccer. The US women’s national team, which is one of the better in the world, sometimes plays against youth clubs. They seem to do ok against kids up to 16ish, and then get demolished after that. Sure these are generally kids that are going to be playing division 1 soccer, but still. [/QUOTE] My nephew, 14 at the time, played against the WNT a couple of times. Beat them the first time (mostly against the reserves); 0-0 the second time (mostly starters this time). ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/7 "2007-03-21T17:32:12Z")
[QUOTE=BobT] The best women’s pro basketball team would be hard pressed to beat any Division I college team. They would be too strong and too fast for the women. The speed and strength would make a huge difference as the men would be able to get just about every rebound and they would likely score on a lot of layups and putbacks. The women who would have to hit an incredible amount of three point shots. [/QUOTE] Exactly. I know in the past, the Kentucky women’s team has recruited college-age male former high school players to practice against because it gives them a similar skill/ability level to practice against. I can’t imagine the bloodbath that would result from a D-I men’s team playing them. ---
**Author:** ![Jayrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Jayrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayrot)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/8 "2007-03-21T17:37:16Z")
“Did you explain how the women’s good fundamentals make up for their inability to dunk?” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/9 "2007-03-21T18:14:11Z")
[QUOTE=glee] I read about a male player rated outside the top 100 who played consecutive single set matches against the Williams sisters and won both. [/QUOTE] That was Karsten Braasch, and I think he was ranked around 200 in the world at the time. As I like to note, in the interest of fairness, that was well before the Williams sisters peaked and became the dominant players in the world. Still, there’s no way a top woman competes with a man in the top 100 or 200, if not lower. [Here the story according to Braasch:](http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/news/2001/05/07/mailbag/) > [@](#): > > ‘They came into the ATP Office and said that they would like to play one of the men. I just happened to be in the room and they were saying that they thought they could beat someone who was ranked 200 in the world. At the time I was No. 203 and I said, “If you think you can beat me, we can go out there right now.” With Serena, the score was 6-1 and then Venus came and asked to play, and I said, “If you want to play, we can play.” That was 6-2. When they first came in they were looking at the media guide because they had seen someone practicing who they thought they could beat, and they wanted to know who it was. It was Francisco Clavet. When they said that, there were 10 guys on the floor. Afterward, Venus spoke to the press and said that maybe she could actually beat someone who was 350 in the world. But the thing is that I was due to lose all my points from the 1997 Australian Open the next week, so I told the press, “We can do it again next week when I am 350 if you like!”’ ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/10 "2007-03-21T18:23:12Z")
I thought bowling would be pretty evenly matched but doing some research on the Pro Bowlers tour shows the best woman coming in around 50th as far as average score and points ranking. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/11 "2007-03-21T18:51:48Z")
I thought Table Tennis might be the answer, but the top-ranked female internationally would be at spot #100 on the Men’s list. [Cite](http://www.usatt.org/history/rating/History/). Overall, combining the men’s and women’s rankings would yield 99M v 1W in the top 100 and 84M v 16W in the next 100. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/12 "2007-03-21T19:41:56Z")
What about shooting events like trap, skeet and clay? Oddly, women’s competitions are routinely less demanding and I’ve never understood why. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/13 "2007-03-21T20:54:19Z")
[QUOTE=Hampshire] I thought bowling would be pretty evenly matched but doing some research on the Pro Bowlers tour shows the best woman coming in around 50th as far as average score and points ranking. [/QUOTE] Yeah I would have thought that too. But if you go into your local bowling alley and check out the Top Scores board, the men’s side will have higher top scores and more 300’s than the women. I think at that point it just comes down to strength. If both groups have equal accuracy and one can routinely use a 16# ball and throw it with more “oomph,” that group is going to win. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2007, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/14 "2007-03-21T23:00:30Z")
In aerobatic competition flying however, [Patty Wagstaff](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Wagstaff) would still take it all or at least she would during her prime. The sport is hardly unathletic and I have heard that women might have an advantage because they can withstand g-forces better than men. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/15 "2007-03-22T00:11:05Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] In aerobatic competition flying however, [Patty Wagstaff](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Wagstaff) would still take it all or at least she would during her prime. The sport is hardly unathletic and I have heard that women might have an advantage because they can withstand g-forces better than men. [/QUOTE] As I understand it women are also better at free diving (if you consider that a sport) and long distance running. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/16 "2007-03-22T06:15:05Z")
[QUOTE=Snarky\_Kong] As I understand it women are also better at free diving (if you consider that a sport) and long distance running. [/QUOTE] In what possible way are women better at long-distance running? :dubious: Men’s marathon times are significantly faster, and that doesn’t change as the scale goes up, either (Ultra marathons, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/17 "2007-03-22T06:27:24Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] In aerobatic competition flying however, [Patty Wagstaff](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Wagstaff) would still take it all or at least she would during her prime. The sport is hardly unathletic and I have heard that women might have an advantage because they can withstand g-forces better than men. [/QUOTE] I’m having trouble articulating the distinction, but I think most everyone would agree that motorized racing sports fall into a different category of “athletic” than the typical definition. There’s little argument that NASCAR, competition flying, motocross, yacht racing and the like aren’t physically demanding in their own way, but I’m not sure many people are going to argue that it’s the more athletic person who wins any of those events. Basically the driver just has to be athletic enough to not fuck things up and the vehicle does all the competing. Tactics and execution matter, but the same would be said of chess. And I don’t think that qualifies as a sport. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/18 "2007-03-22T06:34:21Z")
[QUOTE=DSYoungEsq] In what possible way are women better at long-distance running? :dubious: Men’s marathon times are significantly faster, and that doesn’t change as the scale goes up, either (Ultra marathons, etc.). [/QUOTE] Perhaps I’m mistaken. A quick wikipedia search shows that the mens record is about 6 minutes faster than the womens. This is closer than record marathon times. I’m not totally convinced either way, do you have a cite for your statement? ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/19 "2007-03-22T06:38:14Z")
[QUOTE=Snarky\_Kong] Perhaps I’m mistaken. A quick wikipedia search shows that the mens record is about 6 minutes faster than the womens. This is closer than record marathon times. I’m not totally convinced either way, do you have a cite for your statement? [/QUOTE] _scratches head_ So if your own websearch doesn’t convince you, what the hell would? ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827/20 "2007-03-22T06:46:01Z")
Here are some links I’ve found that support my previous thoughts. [http://www.lehigh.edu/~dmd1/amy.html](http://www.lehigh.edu/~dmd1/amy.html) > **[Could women outrun men in ultramarathon races? : Medicine & Science in...](https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/1997/02000/could_women_outrun_men_in_ultramarathon_races_.13.aspx)** > > time, age and training. These comparisons revealed that the men ran faster than the women over 5 to 42.2 km (P \< 0.01 -0.05), but not in a 90-km race (2.82 ± 0.04 vs 2.90 ± 0.09 m·s-1). Declines in the men's and women's running speeds with... So, I dunno what conclusions to draw. Men are faster but don’t run as hard? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-x-beat-y-sports/396827.md?page=2)