Back to the 70's. . . tennis, anyone???

I was watching the Today Show this morning when Steve Carell came on to talk about his new film,   "Battle of the Sexes", the story of tennis great Billie Jean King's match with tennis crazy Bobby Riggs.  Forty years ago, on September 20th, 1973, 30,000 people gathered in the Houston Astrodome, another 90 million watched on black and white TV, as Billie Jean answered Rigg's sexist rants about the superiority of men over women on the tennis court, by running him ragged for three sets.

Don't know if any of you remember that Women's Professional Tennis is those days came under the heading of The Virginia Slims.  Women were not yet considered "good enough" to be part of the national tennis organization.  I knew that well because my public relations firm was hired to do publicity for the Slims when they held court on Key Biscayne.  That's when I got to meet and talk with Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, and most importantly, Billie Jean King.  (And yes, I actually played tennis in those days, although certainly not in the class of those remarkable ladies.)

I remember watching the much ballyhooed "Battle of The Sexes" on my television and feeling triumphant at Billie Jean's big win.  It was a win for all women in our minds at that time and she was a true hero.

Daughter Andrea was my partner in those days and we both remember working for Virginia Slims and the many remarkable women that graced the courts.  You can be sure we will be seeing the movie as soon as it comes to Charlotte.
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Billie Jean & Bobby cross racquets before the match!