never read a woman’s sports byline, never saw a woman sportscaster until 1975. She was Phyllis George, former Miss America. If that was what was required, that wasn’t going to happen for me,” Christine joked.7
As she entered high school in 1972, she was still being teased for her height. Christine towered over most of her classmates at nearly five feet ten inches. As tall as she was, it was difficult to even shop for clothes. Christine hated the thought of going to the mall near their home to shop. Pants were always too short. Clothes and shoes that did fit were designed for older women, not teenagers. Christine got headaches while shopping and wanted to leave the store minutes after entering. Jewelry and makeup weren’t her style, other than occasionally wearing blush and lipstick for special occasions. “And let’s not even talk about nail polish. I was throwing too many baseballs to worry about that,” Christine said.8
Christine didn’t let the teasing get to her. Just like on the basketball court where a player boxes out an opponent from getting a rebound, Christine did the same with the comments. She turned her back on them, ignored them—as her mother suggested—and didn’t let them get to her.
Instead of worrying about her appearance, Christine had better things to do. Like school and sports.
School was first—always first. In the Brennan family, “we were not allowed to get a grade in junior or high school lower than the first letter of our last name,” Christine wrote.9 Christine rarely received marks less than her parents’ expectations. As a result, she was very concerned about how her parents, especially her dad, would react to the news that she was getting a D in geometry during her freshman year. Christine couldn’t bring herself to tell them how poorly she was doing in the class. When she did finally break the news, she burst into tears.
Her father calmly took Christine into the den, closed the door, and spoke to her quietly about what steps needed to be taken to improve her grade. “For a moment, I thought that I detected just a hint of sympathy in his bright blue eyes. I received the grade associated with our last name in that class the next quarter.”10
Geometry still wasn’t Christine’s favorite class. But as soon as she walked into her freshman honors English class, she found a subject she was passionate about and a teacher who inspired her—Mr. Sanzenbacher. When the class read The Great Gatsby, he came to school dressed as the main character. During a vocabulary lesson, he once asked a student to lie on the floor and wiggle around and get dirty. “None of us would ever forget the definition of the word sullied,” Christine said.11
Christine (second from left) was a member of the girls’ basketball team at Ottawa Hills High School.
Courtesy of Christine Brennan
Mr. Sanzenbacher also taught a journalism class for upperclassmen and served as the advisor for the student newspaper, the Arrowhead. Christine and a friend vowed that they would take his class as well as work on the newspaper. Sadly, Mr. Sanzenbacher was no longer at OHHS by the time Christine was a junior. Christine honored Mr. Sanzenbacher’s inspiration by moving forward with her goals despite his absence.
Christine’s education continued at home as well. Her parents were always teaching lessons about giving to others, patriotism, and current events. The Brennan children were expected to pledge and give their own money to their church and went shopping together every year at Christmas for toys for children who might not receive any.
Christine (center) played field hockey at Ottawa Hills High School.
Courtesy of Christine Brennan
On a family vacation to Pearl Harbor in 1974, Christine’s dad stood in front of the wall of the memorial above the sunken USS Arizona, with all the names of those who died on December 7, 1941, the day of the attack on the American forces by the Japanese during World War II. The rest of the family was ready to take the shuttle boat back to shore. Not her father. He stood there, reading every name and thanking them for their ultimate sacrifice in serving their country.
Until high school, Christine never played on an organized girls’ sports team. There simply weren’t any. That was about to change. In June 1972, a historic amendment to the United States Department of Education laws was passed. The amendment read, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” This amendment is known simply as Title IX: Title Nine.
Title IX covers many activities, but it is best known for providing more opportunities for young women to participate in sports. Although it was passed in 1972, it took several years for the amendment to be fully put into practice.
At Ottawa Hills High School, Title IX wasn’t in full swing until after Christine graduated. Most of the girls’ teams played just a handful of matches each season. It wasn’t until her junior year that anyone even considered keeping statistics on the players. Equipment for the girls’ teams, or the lack thereof, was often an issue. “It was a good thing I liked my jersey because it was the only one I had my freshman and sophomore year. I wore it for basketball, volleyball, and softball, which meant my mother was washing it nearly every night,” Christine said.12
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