Steven Angel on Dads and Superdaughters

Steven Angel with his three-year-old daughter Gertie

My three-year old daughter�s name is Gertie, which is a Germanic derivative that means �beloved warrior.� If you call her princess, she�ll correct you: �I�m not a princess, I�m a superhero.� Little makes me prouder. Of course, princesses have their qualities. They make great knight bait and they�re unparalleled in mattress shopping. They make a room smell nice. Great stuff. I just don�t want to raise one.

But superheroism is a lot more difficult to convey to a three-year-old than princessness. Beads and tiaras are easy � courage and pluck are not. Being a superhero is a frame of mind. Yes, she has a cape and I fly her around the apartment. But it�s a game that�s more about self-respect, and a belief in yourself and the greater good, than it is about the make-up and costume. So I�ve made it my business to expose her to as much greatness as possible hoping she�ll know she can achieve whatever she wants, while always feeling like she�s riding high up near the ceiling.

Last week, I hosted a number of friends and relatives to a WNBA Dads and Daughters Liberty/Suns game. What a game. Having overcome a big deficit, the Liberty came within striking distance with an impossible three-pointer from Leilani Mitchell near the end of the third.

Gertie sits at center court following the Liberty game

Three lead changes followed. The teams battled till the last seconds of the game. The place was crazy. The kids were screaming and jumping up and down. As if the excitement weren�t enough, one of my friends caught a t-shirt.

I expected that � expected great, as we say � having been to a number of W games in my professional capacity. But my dad guests? Not so much. There are two reasons people watch sports: for the thrill of the competition itself and its byproducts, with the balance changing between the two based on who you are and what you�re watching. I know my guests were more about the WNBA byproducts: they want to encourage their daughters to play sports, to show them limitless opportunity, to support the league, to promote suitable role models, and so on. That�s more than okay. That�s great. But it�s also exciting to know they�ll be back � and next time it will be more about the game. In fact, I learned later that nearly 80% of non-season-ticket attendees at WNBA games come back for more. You just have to give it a shot.

Admittedly, the idea to take Gertie to a W game (which later became hosting this event) was about my own hoped-for byproduct. Gertie has been following me around, saying things like, �Look dad, I�m sitting just like you with my legs crossed� and �I�m brushing my teeth like you.� She remembers what I said or wore weeks ago. I told her she shouldn�t skip breakfast, to which she replied, �Then why do you?� She doesn�t miss a beat. She�s watching me closely. And that got me to thinking. I get a lot right � I think. She�s got great role models in her life and nothing but encouragement. I just want to make sure that she sees through her dad�s eyes that competition is gender neutral � that game is game. Because I suspect � at least while she�s young � that if she sees me watching women compete, she�ll be encouraged to watch and, more importantly, to compete. And I want her to want to compete. We all know how important sport is for self-respect, discipline, relationships and health. And she has to be in top shape -- because someone has to save all those helpless shiny princesses.