So many stories still to tell
A year after launching The Crossover, there's still no shortage of women's sports stories in Iowa and beyond
Sometimes, timing can be everything.
It was a year ago this week that I launched The Crossover with a goal of telling stories about girls’ and women’s sports in Iowa. Did I know it was going to turn into a year when seemingly everyone talked about women’s sports with a table being set for even more in 2025? To be perfectly honest: No.
I’d love to say I was smart and launched this specifically to catch that wave. But no. I launched The Crossover at that time because it was something I’d wanted to do for a long while and finally had the opportunity to turn it into reality.
But here’s what I did know a year ago: that there were stories of athletes that weren’t being told or points of view I wasn’t seeing in other media, local and beyond. And I can’t thank you enough for believing that, too, by reading and/or subscribing.
Next month, on Feb. 2, Iowa will retire Caitlin Clark’s number. So on 2-2, they’ll hang 22 in the Carver-Hawkeye Arena rafters. That makes this a good time to take 22% off the subscription price of The Crossover. Already discounted to $50, taking another 22% off will make for an annual subscription price of $39 until Feb. 2.
What do you get for that paid subscription? So far content has been free, so I truly thank paid subscribers for their financial support. It does help defray some of the expenses involved just in doing the work of this – some travel, for example. From the get-go I’ve had a plan for paid subscriber/subscriber-only benefits that have yet to come to fruition. And if you don’t want to subscribe to yet one more thing (believe me, I get it) but like something you’ve read, there’s an option to just buy me a coffee (full disclosure: I’d probably buy tea).
Paid or unpaid, subscribers get a window onto the whole landscape of women’s sports in the state. Just a few examples:
The heartfelt voices of older female fans who, in Caitlin Clark’s success, saw what they always hoped women’s sports could be. Or they watched for the first time and were hooked.
One of the first conversations with a very chill Lisa Bluder after she surprised the entire state by retiring as the Hawkeye women’s basketball coach, as well as an appreciation of her long career.
A look at the new gargantuan 18-team Big Ten and how that was going to have a huge impact on women’s sports from basketball to softball to volleyball.
The girls from Dike-New Hartford who won just about everything they attempted, with one of the athletes this fall getting national attention with her play for Louisville in the NCAA volleyball tournament.
The unexpected viral success of a Northern Iowa swimmer who won medals at the Paralympics and earned a fan in rapper Flavor Flav.
And OK, I hung out in a bar. More than once. What I won’t do for my craft.
What’s coming up? Here’s a peek:
Catching up with a player who used to wear No. 22 for the Iowa women’s basketball team and has done pretty well since then. No, not her.
How a popular, smart-aleck, Des Moines-based T-shirt shop found a niche in the NIL space with female athletes.
A chat with a former Iowa high school sports reporter who now leads ESPN’s digital NFL coverage and is pretty busy these days.
I’ve always felt storytelling is a privilege – that people share their time and stories with me, that others are interested enough to read them – and I believe that still. There is no shortage of stories to tell with The Crossover, and I hope to continue to find good ones for you in 2025.
And if you know of a good story, please feel free to share it with me. Get in touch at crossover.iowa@gmail.com
Thanks for reading. Here’s to a great 2025 for all of us.
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Jane Burns is a former sports and features writer for the Des Moines Register, as well as other publications and websites. She’s a past winner of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s Mel Greenberg Award for her coverage of women’s basketball. Over the course of her career she’s covered pretty much everything, which is why her as-yet-to-be-written memoir will be called “Cheese and Basketball: Stories From a Reporter Who Has Covered Everything.”
Wow. You’ve done so much! Great roundup, Jane!