Sarah Fuller kicks off for Vanderbilt

and don't forget this from Lloyd ?

It would have been nice to see Vandy actually score a TD or get into field goal range so that she could've scored. But Vandy sucks too much for that to happen. So instead the media tells us we're all supposed to be so impressed by a woman who kicked a football 30 yards. I was at a high school girls' soccer game tonight and they kicked the ball 30 yards dozens of times. The ball ended up at the 35-yard line. The exact same spot it would've been spotted had she kicked it out of bounds past the 35.

I've played, coached, and reffed soccer. I'm impressed by anyone who has the level of talent and dedication to play the game at a DI level, let alone for a Power 5 school. Sarah Fuller and lots of other female student-athletes bust their asses in soccer and many other sports. I respect them. But this smacks of a publicity stunt. I don't know if it was easier to put her on the team than it would be to find some male intramural soccer player (due to NCAA rules & eligibility) or a male athlete from another sport. But I find it hard to believe that the punter, or even someone else already on the team, couldn't have done a better job.

I don't blame her at all for taking this opportunity. I just resent the fact that the media hypes stuff like this up and tolerates no dissent. A 30-yard squib kick is impressive. A 400-pound woman is beautiful. Caster Semenya should be able to run without suppressing her testosterone levels. Jacob Blake didn't sexually assault his baby mama. George Floyd's fentanyl levels had nothing to do with his death. Etc.

Seen plenty of good female kickers in hs and college. Just because this is the first p5 means nothing. Is Vanderbilt really a p5 school? The only reason the sec keeps them is they raise the conferences gpa tremendously among athletes.

Keyword - Random wrote:

Great news for men's athletic programs that have been getting cut all over the place.

FOOTBALL can now be considered a co-ed sport for Title IX purposes. No longer will men's programs get screwed in the name of equality.

And we have Sarah Fuller to thank for it.

THIS is a great point. WE have finally achieved the goals of Title IX!!

VroomVroom wrote:

Seen plenty of good female kickers in hs and college. Just because this is the first p5 means nothing. Is Vanderbilt really a p5 school? The only reason the sec keeps them is they raise the conferences gpa tremendously among athletes.

They don't care about that. Vandy is ONLY in the SEC due to luck, geography, and being a "legacy pledge".

Both the SEC and Vandy are dishonest. The SEC lets them stay in, gives each real team a bye week when they play Vandy, and Vandy puts in a token effort at athletics but pulls in a MASSIVE check each year that they pocket.

Vandy playing in the SEC is akin to the old question about how much money would it take for you to get in the ring with Tyson and let him pound you. Vandy found their price.

I can tell that you guys only following men's running. Vanderbilt won the NCAA baseball tournament in 2019. Yes, Division 1 baseball title. Their football team has only been bad for a few years. They were 9-4 just a few years ago. Should Nebraska be kicked out of Division 1? How about Michigan or Penn State? Vanderbilt's basketball team was 10-8 in conference in 2017. Their women's XC team finished 6th in the conference this fall. Their women's soccer team just won the SEC tournament last week. Some of you guys are almost nut with the stuff that you put out there.

nonamejoe wrote:

Welll since my college does not have men's track and field any longer, can I run on the girls team as a 800 runner? Their 800 runner is not very good.

Now for those of you saying I'm an a hole for this comment - what is the difference between fuller and me running on the girls team.

Males, on average, have greater athletic ability than females. So a female competing against males is a demonstration of athletic strength. It doesn’t work the other way around for obvious reasons. That’s why there is an issue with transgender athletes running in female races.

Also, since it is football and not track, merely stepping on the field for a kickoff means Fuller ran the risk of getting plowed over by 220 lbs of muscle running straight at her (which is probably why they had her kick like that). It is not quite the same as you potentially taking an elbow from a 100 pound girl.

Realistically, it was a poor kick even for Fuller. A squib kick is supposed to bounce around to around the 10 yard line before it is fielded--the 35-yard line is great field position for the return team. She probably wishes she could have it back. The reason the exercise was silly is that she only started kicking the pointy football recently. Other women have worked at it longer and are better at it.

Dr Yuengling wrote:

NJ fan wrote:

didn't look like an intentional squib to me

Was definitely intentional. Presuming she doesn’t have the leg strength to reach the end zone, it’s probably better to squib to the 35 with no return than kick it to the 15 or 20 yard line in the air. Additionally, it removes any chance of her getting hit.

The whole thing is a dumb publicity stunt. I would bet my life that there are men on campus who could kick off better. Women shouldn’t be on the football field.

Like 90% of the men's soccer team:) Kids with a sh*t load of leg strength but some control issues in my experience.... But if you do that you get zero press for your school. Carli Lloyd showed a good leg in her practice kicks. Maybe not NFL level but definitely decent college.

I sort of figured the coach did this to eliminate the possibility of a return and her getting smashed. If she kicks it off and it comes down at the goal line and the guy runs it back, it would look bad if she gets run over. With the squib you get the scrum and rarely see a return.

2020 wrote:

First female to make a football play for a Power 5 school.

Nice that she had a chance to do something special in unusual circumstances with Vandy short of players. She'll always have that memory. She squibbed it intentionally and they lost the game 41-0, but she'll always have that memory.

It won't alter sports, open floodgates, or shatter glass ceilings. It was a unique moment. Congrats Sarah Fuller.

Sadly, there was probably a male player out there who earned that spot and was never given a chance. If my daughter was offered this, I'd tell her to turn down the TOKEN spot.

Further information. Vanderbilt never got closer than Missouri's 32 yard line to attempt would be a 49 yard field goal. They went for it on fourth down instead.

Vanderbilt punted 7 times for an average of 43 yards a punt.

Punting and place-kicking are two diffenent skills, but so are soccer goalkeeping and American football place-kicking.

Most teams would simply use their punter.

This woman was all over the news telling young girls that they can do anything they set their minds to. She really believes that women can compete in football. These women just do not realize that they are paving the way for the elimination of single sex sports.

WWRD wrote:

2020 wrote:

First female to make a football play for a Power 5 school.

Nice that she had a chance to do something special in unusual circumstances with Vandy short of players. She'll always have that memory. She squibbed it intentionally and they lost the game 41-0, but she'll always have that memory.

It won't alter sports, open floodgates, or shatter glass ceilings. It was a unique moment. Congrats Sarah Fuller.

Sadly, there was probably a male player out there who earned that spot and was never given a chance. If my daughter was offered this, I'd tell her to turn down the TOKEN spot.

You don’t have a daughter.

Since a lot of you don't seem interested in context, I thought I'd provide some here.

A common criticism I've seen is that this was some kind of publicity stunt by Mason. Let me preface this by saying Mason is certainly a terrible coach and I don't know of anyone that doesn't agree he should've been long gone by now, but this is a situation where he shouldn't be faulted for anything but shortsightedness. The reason Sarah Fuller was brought on to do this is pretty simple. A significant portion of Vanderbilt's special teams squad, including all the kickers, had to go into quarantine in the week leading into the game, as is wont to happen when a bunch of college guys practice together and likely live in the same space.

Okay, so the kickers are out. Why not hold a quick tryout and have a student from on-campus prove themselves and have a chance to play for Vanderbilt? What a great underdog story that would be. Unfortunately, the same weekend the kickers were put into quarantine was the last weekend of classes at Vanderbilt, and all non-athletic on campus students were required to leave campus for the remainder of the semester in keeping with the university's COVID plan.

Okay, so no NARPs. So at this point there are two options. Have one of the non-special teams guys stand in at kicker, or bring in someone from another team. As it would happen, at around the same time, the soccer team, fresh off an SEC championship was returning to Nashville, among them Sarah Fuller, the goalkeeper.

Two options: use a week to train one of your own guys to kick - a guy that has probably never kicked in his life, and would need to start from the basics - or a goalkeeper who is already pretty darn good at kicking long distances (ever heard of a goal kick?) Remember, you have a week. What is the choice that makes most efficient use of your limited time and doesn't take another guy out of your already limited roster? I'd choose the goalkeeper too.

This wasn't a publicity stunt. Mason knows he's already on thin ice, and if he was trying to endear himself to what few Vandy fans are left, he knows nothing would alienate the masses of misogynistic football fans more than bringing in a girl to play football. He made the best of the situation from an objective standpoint, and in the process a very capable student-athlete was able to prove herself in a unique situation.

Excellent points all around. Just to add, she’s not taking anyone’s football scholarship.

Because men are naturally stronger than women, idiot. If a woman wants to play in a men's sports it's a disadvantage to them so whatever. Not the same when a man competes in women's sports.

Girl enters football game, kicks like a girl.

Amazing moment.

adsfdasfasfsafadfa wrote:

Dr Yuengling wrote:

[quote]NJ fan wrote:

I would bet my life that there are men on campus who could kick off better. Women shouldn’t be on the football field.

Like 90% of the men's soccer team:) .

Umm. It would def be 100% of the men’s soccer team. And probably 99% of the boys team at the high school up the street. And probably 50% of the middle school boys team.

Oh, I forgot to mention Vandy DOESN'T HAVE MEN'S SOCCER. Do your research