In the back of a basement closet, my red satin state championship jacket hangs inside the vinyl bag that my father once begged off the dry cleaner. I still have our championship medal, of course, stowed away in a box with the flannel varsity N. And on a prized shelf in my office bookcase, there sits a 27-inch strip of warped and faded black cardboard with yellowed lettering that says 10 ISAACSON.
Every once in a while, I’ll pull it out and smile like a goof, never without a sense of wonder and a feeling of pride. I can still close my eyes and go back there, back to the big gym and to the day when we saw our names shining down from the scoreboard like a Broadway marquee.
As I told Birch Bayh, the former US senator and author of Title IX, when I interviewed him the first time, he did more than give us the opportunity to play competitive sports. At the end of our conversation, I hesitated, not wanting to waste his time, but ultimately, I spilled my guts as I usually do.
“Thank you,” I told him. “What you did changed our lives. It changed who we are. It made me choose the career that I did, the man whom I married, how we raised our children. It gave me and my teammates an identity and self-esteem that girls just a few years older didn’t have the same chance of having.”
He thanked me graciously, and I hung up wondering if I had made a fool of myself or if I hadn’t gushed enough. I didn’t tell him, as Becky told me, that it saved us. But I know that it did.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
WHEN A BOOK TAKES A DOZEN YEARS TO COMPLETE, it is clear the author needed considerable help, guidance, and above all, support. Fortunately for me, there was a steady supply of all those things, and the only difficulty now is not leaving anyone out in my gratitude.
The bond I had with my high school teammates over the course of my four years at Niles West I will hold in my heart forever. They inspired me then and they inspire me now, however far the years and distance may have separated us. Every one of them, and in some cases, their parents and siblings, too, generously allowed me to probe their memories, ransack their scrapbooks, and extract emotions so necessary in reconstructing our story with the clarity I think we did.
Specifically, I want to thank Becky Schnell Tuecke, who gave me constant encouragement and help over the years; Karen Wikstrom, who read an early version of the manuscript and gave honest feedback; Connie Erickson Brown for, as always, her unselfish and giving nature; Peggy Japely for her memory of all things funny; and Shirley Cohen Katz for a friendship that will endure forever.
While on the subject of amazing friends, Holly Bland Katz and fellow Niles West alum Karyn Kogen Hurwich endured more discussion about this book than I care to admit but never, ever wavered in their patience, support, and faith in me. Ditto for Wooder Kathy Lisco, and Bari and Alan Harlam.
My “old” friend Marjorie Lewis, throughout the labor of her own book, provided the kind of necessary coddling, blunt input, and unwavering support only a true buddy and fellow writer can give.
Lauren Levy, who didn’t even go to this school, also read the manuscript—aloud, no less—to her dear husband, Bill, both lending their unconditional backing.
I simply cannot adequately thank Scott Price, who was dragged into the undertow of my blurry vision from the very beginning and, even if it was once every couple of years, somehow managed with his sage advice and gentle prodding to keep me focused and on course.
Bob Levy was the one who saw the bigger story in 2004, and if it wasn’t for him, there probably wouldn’t be a book. His continued guidance and friendship is priceless.
Others who read, listened, talked, and lent much-appreciated help and counsel include Chris Hunt, Lissa Muscatine, Marion Miehl, Aishwarya Kumar, Marla Alexander, Debby Shulman, Rick Kogan, Renee Gandolfo, Patrick Stiegman, John Walsh, Chris Ballard, Kent McDill, John Mullin, Todd Musburger, Steve Mandell, and Herb Rudoy.
As always, the “adults” in our story were there for me, from Jerry Turry to Leanne Heeren to Judi Sloan to Billy Schnurr, as eloquent and humble as always. But there is absolutely no way I could have done this without the unending kindness and generosity of Arlene and Al Mulder and Gene Earl.
The bulk of my interviews with Mrs. Mulder came during her years as the mayor of Arlington Heights, a job even more exhausting when you have the unparalleled work ethic that she did, but she always—always—had time for me, and I will remember her lessons forever. And thank God for the encyclopedic memory of Coach Earl, as my teammates, women in our 50s, still call him. His recall of not just specific games but specific moments was incredible and invaluable.
A note here about our opponents: While this book is about Niles West, it could have been about virtually any group of girls who came of age in the immediate post–Title IX era. I have also had the great privilege of interviewing Jackie Joyner-Kersee, most recently in September of 2018, when she said that Niles West was the motivation she and her East St. Louis team needed to go undefeated and win the state title in 1980. I will never forget Floyd Brown telling her in a halftime interview in ’79 that he heard she was a good athlete. In fact, our most famous opponent would win six Olympic medals in four Olympic Games and be widely recognized as the greatest woman athlete of all time, overcoming childhood poverty to also become a powerful and generous activist for children, women’s rights, and racial equality. A more gracious superstar I have never met.
I have never had a book editor before, and I cannot imagine what I did to deserve Jessica Easto, a woman who saw the story within our story, whose patience with me was extraordinary, and who probably taught me more about writing in one year than I have learned in the last 30. I am so grateful to Jessica, Doug Seibold, and everyone at Agate Publishing for their faith and backing.
As is the case with any long-term project like this one, an understanding family is essential, and in my case, my family has lived this reality with me for far too long. From my sister, Susie, and brothers, Barry and Richard, whom I counted on for filling in some much-needed family history; to my in-laws Art and Sandie Mawrence, who read an early manuscript and insisted they loved it as they love everything I do; to my daughter, Amanda, who actually dug in and helped with her clear eyes and open heart, editing when no one else would; to my son, Alec, who was, as always, a valued sounding board, my moral compass, and my cliché meter, I love and thank them all.
And finally to my husband, Rick: he obviously was not around during the period I chronicled, and yet I feel like, somehow, he experienced it, too. As I worked on the book, he inhaled it, endured my every dry period and self-doubt, and stoked every spark of energy and enthusiasm, and ultimately, like everything else in my life, he shares this with me.
READING GROUP GUIDE
1. State explores themes of individuality and community. How does being part of a team help the girls shape authentic identities? What factors stifle self-expression for Missy and her teammates?
2. Although Missy and her teammates didn’t realize it at the time, the passage of Title IX had a profound effect on their lives. Do you think the presence of Title IX has affected your life? How? Do you see its effects today in competitive sports?
3. The opportunity to participate in competitive athletics helps shape the Niles West girls’ sense of identity and community. Did you participate in sports or extracurriculars in high school? What kind of effect did it have on you?
4. Isaacson writes, “The closest most of us had come to being athletes was being labeled ‘tomboys’ for most of our childhoods. And that never had a positive connotation” (page 9). Isaacson views “tomboy” and “athlete” as two distinct identities that were often conflated. How do you see these two identities as being different? How do these labels play into the girls’ sense of identity?
5. Reflect on the presence of sexism and prejudice in the book, particularly in the ways in which girls and women are treated when participating in sports. What has changed for women’s sports since the 1970s? What hasn’t?
6. Missy’s excitement over her basketball uniform is mentioned several times in St
ate. Why is the uniform so important to Missy and her teammates?
7. Missy’s teammates frequently deal with complex concerns over their self-image. As Mrs. Mulder tells her team, “You are always young ladies, and I never want you to give up your femininity…. But on the court, you are also athletes” (page 47). How do you think this binary of femininity and athleticism shapes the girls’ self-image? Do you think society’s definition of femininity has evolved since the 1970s? In what ways has it changed or stayed the same?
8. Compare and contrast Mrs. Mulder and Gene Earl. Discuss their coaching styles. How are they alike? How are they dissimilar?
9. Do class and social standing play a role in the team’s ability to bond with each other? Examine how Missy talks about the “rich” suburban students in contrast to the way she talks about her own teammates. Why is family background so important for the story?
10. While writing the book, the author made a conscious choice to interview her coaches and teammates in order to weave their perspectives and backstories in with her own. What effect does this have on the overall narrative? Why do you think the author chose this over a more traditional first-person narrative?
11. Billy Schnurr helps Mrs. Mulder learn how to coach basketball, but he makes a conscious choice not to overshadow her on the court. What does this tell you about his character?
12. Compare the treatment of Niles West’s girls’ basketball team to that of the boys’ team. Do female athletes still face different barriers than their male counterparts? At what level or age group do you start to see a difference in the way the girls’ team is treated versus the boys’ team?
13. What are the particular challenges that Missy faces at home, in school, and on the court?
14. Did State change your perspective on sports, particularly your perspective on women in sports?
15. The epilogue includes insight into the lives of Missy’s teammates after the 1979 state championship game. How did basketball “save” the lives of Missy’s teammates?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MELISSA ISAACSON is an award-winning sportswriter, author, lecturer, and public speaker. Over her 36-year career, she has had long tenures with the Orlando Sentinel, the Chicago Tribune, and ESPN.com, covering every major US sports championship and the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. She was the Tribune’s first woman general sports columnist as well as its first woman beat writer on the Bulls and Bears, covering the Michael Jordan–led Bulls over their six NBA titles. She is the author of Transition Game: An Inside Look at Life with the Chicago Bulls and Sweet Lou—Lou Piniella: A Life in Baseball. She is currently on the faculty of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and she blogs at MelissaIsaacson.com. She and her husband, Rick Mawrence, live in the Chicago area and have two children, Amanda and Alec.
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