Read the opposing argument from Bleacher Fan.
Today’s debate places me outside my comfort zone as I discuss not only basketball, one of my least favorite sports, but women’s basketball. Admittedly, I have never been a fan of women’s sports. They bore me. Typically – or perhaps stereotypically – women lag behind men in athletic ability, and as a result women’s sports suffer in terms of quality. In general, women do not run as fast, jump as high, hit as hard, or throw as far as their male counterparts. This makes for a less exciting game. That is not a judgment about female athletes’ character or competence, but rather a personal observation (Editor’s Note: If you’d like to contact Babe Ruthless, or would like proof that he is actually married, please email us.).
Before the fairer sex starts to inundate the TSD comment section with hate that labels me a chauvinist pig, hear me out. I am not trying to repeal Title IX or force women into aprons. In fact, I believe that women need an opportunity to engage in athletic competitions of their own. Sports teach the same character building lessons – like dedication, self-discipline, teamwork, and fair play – to men and women alike. And I am well aware that there are some female athletes that are even more talented than men, just not average healthy adult males (Zing! That was just a joke, but you have to admit it was a pretty good one.). My point is that women can be talented athletes, but typically female sports usually leave me unimpressed in comparison with men’s sports.
Female athletes are often deemed “successful” by the media are overhyped in order to better market the sport. For example Danica Patrick, Anna Kournikova, and David Beckham (Get it!? Because Beckham is woman… never mind). I can really only name a handful of what I deem contemporary successful female athletes. That is probably because they are among the most dominant in variations of my favorite sports – for example Jennie Finch in softball and Gina Carano in MMA. But every now and then something special emerges from the world of female athletics, and it catches my attention and warrants some praise. Apparently my inattentiveness to the realm of women’s sports has caused me to miss out on the development of a dynamic dynasty – the University of Connecticut Women’s Basketball.
The UConn women’s basketball team has gained national attention by becoming an absolute juggernaut in the sport, and apparently there are some misguided individuals that think this is bad for women’s basketball. Seriously, they actually believe that bringing notoriety to an underexposed sport through competing at an unbelievably high level somehow harms women’s basketball. This makes absolutely no sense.
As ESPN writer Jemele Hill points out, this is hypocrisy that tends to reek of a double standard. When men dominate the sporting world we praise their accomplishments, and when women display the same dominance we question what it means for the credibility and future of the sport. Did Tiger Woods success hurt the PGA? No, obviously not. In light of his recent leave of absence we can see that golf struggles to stay relevant without him. How about the dominance of the Michael Jordan era Chicago Bulls or the New York Yankees teams of the mid to late 1990s… did they ruin their respective sports? Again the answer is no. If anything these super-dominant teams encouraged their rivals to elevate their game, yet when the same type of dominance occurs in women’s sports the media cries fowl. Crying? Crying? There’s no crying in women’s college basketball… that is unless the UCONN team begins beating opponents by 40 points, then apparently there is some crying. But it is unnecessary.
Still, detractors are complaining and painting UCONN as a sports monopoly that needs to be dissolved. Former Arkansas head coach, and current Florida assistant coach Susie Gardner, criticized the Huskies saying, “Personally, I’m not certain it’s great for the game, and that’s from a personal standpoint. I’m not saying that no one can beat them, but it appears that way, this year. And it kind of takes some of the excitement out of March Madness in all honesty.”
Coaches that resign their teams to losing before they’ve even played hurt the competitiveness of a sport far more than dynasties do. Unfortunately, Gardner’s sentiment was echoed by the Vanderbilt Melanie Balcomb coach, who said “They are now beating people by 40, and it’s not as competitive as you wish it would be and that can hurt to have one team so much better and people lose interest in that.”
I believe comments like these reveal more than just a hint of jealousy. These women should stop drinking the Hatorade and focus on improving their school’s team, because I guarantee the UCONN ladies are not sitting around worrying about how much it is going to hurt someone’s feelings when they win by thirty plus points.
Those who are over concerned with the fairness of UCONN’s reign of supremacy are missing the big picture – women’s college basketball is really doing just fine. If anything this “controversy” has gained the attention of those in the sports media and given lots of free publicity to this season’s women’s tournament. As Graham Hayes of ESPN.com points out, there are other great success stories occurring around the country. Star players are leading very good women’s teams at schools like Nebraska, Stanford, Texas A&M, Baylor, and Iowa. Should anyone of these teams upset the Huskies, it would be a major headline story that would help bring more attention to the sport, let alone provide a storyline worthy of a Disney sports movie.
In the meantime the UConn ladies should keep doing what they do best – winning basketball games and letting the fans decide if it is entertaining. Because after all, if the UConn women can gain the respect of a self-professed women’s basketball loather like myself, then they have to be doing something right.
