Woman NFL Tryout a Football First: Lauren Silberman Unlikely to Make Team?
Lauren Silberman has become the first woman to ever compete for a spot on an NFL team. While critics say her success is unlikely, Silberman has suggested her greatest ambition is just to pave the way.
Silberman doesn't have a long history of playing sports. During her college career at Wisconsin University she played club soccer, but it's been a while since she's taken on any other sports related hobbies. She does know something, however, about athletes and their sport.
She wrote a Master's thesis at MIT about how athletes use video games to enhance their own performance, according to the NFL, and then founded a consulting company, Double Play, with the same focus. But she was unaware that signing up for an NFL tryout would be a big deal.
"I was not aware that I was the first female registrant," Silberman told NFL.com on Tuesday. "I was actually hoping that the 2012 historical milestone rule, to allow women to play, would prompt more women to attend tryouts this year. But for me, what's important is to finally have a chance to fulfill my dreams by trying out to play in the world's most competitive football league."
The scouting event is a relatively new initiative introduced by the NFL in 2011. The event, held form January to March across 10 different cities, allows players the opportunity to show off their skills. Those players who do well will continue to the super regional in Dallas in April.
"The opportunity to attend this event could not be more exciting. Getting to meet interesting people and perfect my technique from others could not be more rewarding. ... Regardless of the outcome of the tryout, I hope there is a way I can contribute and strengthen the league," Silberman said.
The NFL personally congratulated Silberman on "making history." Critics say that Silberman is hopeless.
"If we're being completely honest, Lauren Silberman's odds of making a NFL team as its kicker are pretty much nonexistent," a Yahoo Sports blog suggested.
