Huge Coverage in today's NY Times

[bags27]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/...&gwh=1AED3E46032B9AA5F09255719A4E82FC&gwt=pay

very long, nice pictures, but not much new here except Geno's nice analogy at the end about the inevitability of finally losing a game. But coverage over 2 pages in the print edition.

Folks, not to jinx this team or all of WCBB, but the Husky story is beginning to gain a critical mass, and, if UConn manages to win this tournament, it could well lift WCBB significantly in public consciousness.

 

[2Husky]

but many Uconn opponents would say UConn is the ocean in that analogy.

 

[Kmoney]

If you love women's basketball, click on all of these articles. That will encourage more articles and generate more interest in the sport.

 

[UcMiami]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/...&gwh=1AED3E46032B9AA5F09255719A4E82FC&gwt=pay

very long, nice pictures, but not much new here except Geno's nice analogy at the end about the inevitability of finally losing a game. But coverage over 2 pages in the print edition.

Folks, not to jinx this team or all of WCBB, but the Husky story is beginning to gain a critical mass, and, if UConn manages to win this tournament, it could well lift WCBB significantly in public consciousness.

Or ... if Uconn were to lose (perish the thought!) it might do even more - certainly headlines on a lot of front pages around the country. And next year would be the 'redemption tour' story.

 

[Bonpland]

but many Uconn opponents would say UConn is the ocean in that analogy.

For WCBB to reach another level it very much needs more national exposure. The complaining by the teams and their fans that UCONN is too dominant (which is usually accommpanied by the erroneous complaint that we "get all the best players"; this year should put and end to those comments- at how many other places would Gabby and Pheesa be the players they are today?) far misses the more important point that other teams need to do more to develop their own talent and to learn to play a better brand of team ball.

Coverage in the The Times means something. I hold a position of leasdership in my work and this season I have had more people ask me about the UCONN WBB team than all the previous years combined. (It is well known, especially by the young men around me, that I am "that women's basketball nut" although no one would say that directly to me). Rebecca, Jenn, Sveta, Shea, Swin, Sue, D, Tina, Maya, Steph, Moriah, Morgan of Stewie and the eleven championships did not elicit the questions and comments that this winning streak, and more importantly the coverage it has received in the press and online, has.

I began being a serious sports fan when Johnny Unitas drove the Colts down field for Alan Ameche's winning touchdown in '58 and along the way I have been passionate about baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, Olympic sports, and later when my kids were involved collegiate volleyball, softball and lacrosse and with that lifetime of being a sports fan behind me I can't understand why more sports fans don't see the beauty of the game and follow it like we do.

The answer is that not enough people have been exposed to the game, and that like in all advertising, getting the word out to the general public is crucial. Geno may think that the streak has been a bother (does he really?), but the streak is what has inspired most of this year's more compelling news coverage.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Jere Longman and Harvey Araton do an excellent job for the Times.

 

[JordyG]

Jere Longman and Harvey Araton do an excellent job for the Times.

I generally agree. But this article was really a rehash of many articles that's been printed in the last few months. In fact the entire article feels just a bit lazy. But any publicity and all that.

 

[UcMiami]

The answer is that not enough people have been exposed to the game, and that like in all advertising, getting the word out to the general public is crucial. Geno may think that the streak has been a bother (does he really?), but the streak is what has inspired most of this year's more compelling news coverage.

Really nice post, but I am going to comment on the ending - I agree that too many people haven't been exposed, but it goes deeper than that. For too long, too many institutions allowed bad coaches to perpetuate really bad WCBB so people who actually watched a little came away saying, not for me! And even today, there is too much bad basketball being broadcast and played. As a Uconn fan we are spoiled by the quality of play and the insistence that the team keep its standards high even when playing bad teams. Other fans aren't so lucky.

And the other more insidious thing that works against WCBB and good team sport performance is the 'top ten plays' syndrome that ESPN started and is the stalwart of sports coverage now. Many of those plays in basketball are actually terrible basketball plays made glorious by someone taking a ridiculous shot they should never have taken and somehow lucking into a basket. Curry draining bombs and hitting 50%, imagine what percentage he could attain if he actually took good shots? Well, women may not have the athleticism of men, or the muscle and physical attributes, but in a team sport it means that they have to generally play as a team and to be successful, take good shots. You have the ridiculous shot making players in women's basketball as well, but they seldom play on title winning teams.

 

[DefenseBB]

Or ... if Uconn were to lose (perish the thought!) it might do even more - certainly headlines on a lot of front pages around the country. And next year would be the 'redemption tour' story.

I beg to differ. Yes, the story would be big for a day or two until the next round and then melt into oblivion for the summer and fall. Then next October with the preseason discussions, UConn becomes the dominant topic again. If they keep winning, they stay the conversation and basketballm keeps looking at it. Notice I didn't say WCBB, I said BASKETBALL.