Showpa?

     In athletics, girls and boys sports are one in the same.  Everyone wants to win, everyone plays their hardest to beat their opponent.  Boys play against boys and girls against girls because if we all played together boys would have an unfair advantage. (if a girl and boy are both GREAT at soccer, the boy will beat the girl because of muscle mass and structure of the body).  That is just a fact I'm not admitting that boys are better than girls at everything because that is an unfair matchup.  However, if a girl is great at field hockey, and a boy has never played before the girl could probably beat the boy off of pure skill.  It is only if the match is equal that the boy will "win".
     One thing that differs between girls sports and boys sports is appearance.  Talking to one of my guy friends on the baseball team yesterday I found out about a whole new world of male grooming.  When boys are playing their sport they have something called "Showpa".  A boy's showpa is the most important  aspect he can prepare himself for on game day.  My friend told me that his showpa includes tape and pre wrap on both wrists with his socks pulled up and sunglasses on upside down on his hat.  This seems insane to me, I never thought boys got so "made up" for games like this.  Also eye-black is an important aspect of a boys showpa, they spend lots of time on this in the locker room.
     Let me just tell you.... When girls get ready for a game, all I do is put on my uniform and braid my hair in a way that it won't fall out during the game then I am set to go.  I know some girls who have certain rituals in the locker room but nothing as crazy as the showpa procedure.  Some people have certain braids they like or pre wrap they always use, but no unnecessary wrist taping or sunglass wearing.
     I'm sure not all sports do this and that the baseball example is an extreme of the normal boy sports team.  But I know for a fact that lacrosse boys have the "lax flow" meaning their hair is long enough that it has a flow to it coming from under their helmet.  Their are also many stereotypes to athletes like the "lax bro" and the softball "lesbian".  I don't mean to relate to any of these stereotypes at all because I believe even if you play a sport you are not only defined by that sport.