Can Maria Verchenova play?
That's an important question, because I think we've all had enough of 'flash in the pan' wanna-be models who have decided their pathway to fame and fortune runs through the beer-bellied fans of the sporting world. Let's be honest, the only reason we cared who Natalie Gulbis was is because she's hawt. Then she won, so we didn't feel so bad about it. Even Michelle Wie was the fantasy of a bunch of guys who looked at her out on the course and thought 'well....yeah.' Of course, when she was older, don't forget that important bit.
The problem is Wie has turned out to be a pill, one that's probably high maintenance. Then she tried to play with the guys and stopped being competitive against the women and the bloom came right off the rose. (See: Kournikovatitixs for more)
As a society we LOVE our sports heros to be be good looking as well. Most of the time we settle for passable good-looking as opposed to drop-dead georgeous hot. The main difference is this: For men, performance comes first, followed by looks. (Think Tom Brady vs. David Carr) For women: Looks get your name out there, it doesn't matter as much what you do in competition.
That's too bad, because it puts a lot of men in the awkward position of having to admit that they only follow a sport for sexist reasons.
Win something Verchenova, then we'll root for you.