In a previous thread the BY spend time analyzing the difference in men's and women's basketball from the perspective of equality. After the wonderful weekend in Tempe I thought it might be useful to look at some data reflecting an argument I made in that thread.
In that thread I made the observation that the difference in pay and conditions is not discriminatory but is simply a reflection of free choice made by those in our society.
That choice calculus was reflected this past weekend and I've provided attendance data for ASU and U of A men's and women's last two home games.
First I recognize that Tucson is a basketball town and Tempe is not. The program on the men's side in Tucson has been wildly successful and the current coach Sean Miller continues the string of sellouts.
Looking at the comparison of men's and women's attendance at ASU it's startling and stark. The women played the second and third ranked teams in the country while ASU men last two home games played unranked mid-major and below teams.
As I said previously, on Friday and Sunday there was a sea of green and orange. This was a reflection of interest of the higher rankings of those two Oregon schools and the fact that we have lots of snow birds in Tempe. So I would guess 1/3 to 1/4 of the fans in attendance this past weekend were Oregon fans.
But what is notable is the significant difference between the attendance between men and women.
in addition to looking at this current data I've been thinking about the death of David Stern. He was a huge advocate for women's basketball and was critical and prodding the NBA to help with the formation and supported the WNBA.
www.espn.com
Over that 20 years we've seen wonderful athletes on the women's side perform at a very high level in the WNBA. But it's also apparent over that time that there has not materialized a great deal of interest among the greater society. This is reflected both in the number of WNBA franchises and the attendance of those franchises
At a time when most of our fellows in the United States have demonstrated little or declining interest in women's sports those of us that follow women's basketball have greater opportunities than ever before. With the advent of ESPN, streaming, and the proliferation of media sites the opportunity to watch women's basketball had increased significantly. However that opportunity has not been used by most sports fans.
The attendance figures below are an indirect measure and reflection that I think shows the wide chasm between those who watch men's basketball and those of us who watch women's. So rather than discrimination the difference in opportunity, working conditions, and salary is a result of the choices that spectators have freely made over the last 20 years. While most of us lament the lack of support it's one that was freely made by fans just as we have to freedom now to take advantage of opportunities to watch the women's game.
They're just not enough of us.
In that thread I made the observation that the difference in pay and conditions is not discriminatory but is simply a reflection of free choice made by those in our society.
That choice calculus was reflected this past weekend and I've provided attendance data for ASU and U of A men's and women's last two home games.
First I recognize that Tucson is a basketball town and Tempe is not. The program on the men's side in Tucson has been wildly successful and the current coach Sean Miller continues the string of sellouts.
Looking at the comparison of men's and women's attendance at ASU it's startling and stark. The women played the second and third ranked teams in the country while ASU men last two home games played unranked mid-major and below teams.
As I said previously, on Friday and Sunday there was a sea of green and orange. This was a reflection of interest of the higher rankings of those two Oregon schools and the fact that we have lots of snow birds in Tempe. So I would guess 1/3 to 1/4 of the fans in attendance this past weekend were Oregon fans.
But what is notable is the significant difference between the attendance between men and women.
in addition to looking at this current data I've been thinking about the death of David Stern. He was a huge advocate for women's basketball and was critical and prodding the NBA to help with the formation and supported the WNBA.
In launching WNBA, David Stern helped grow women's basketball
Without David Stern's vision, personality and power as NBA commissioner, the WNBA wouldn't have started when it did -- and might not exist at all.
www.espn.com
Over that 20 years we've seen wonderful athletes on the women's side perform at a very high level in the WNBA. But it's also apparent over that time that there has not materialized a great deal of interest among the greater society. This is reflected both in the number of WNBA franchises and the attendance of those franchises
At a time when most of our fellows in the United States have demonstrated little or declining interest in women's sports those of us that follow women's basketball have greater opportunities than ever before. With the advent of ESPN, streaming, and the proliferation of media sites the opportunity to watch women's basketball had increased significantly. However that opportunity has not been used by most sports fans.
The attendance figures below are an indirect measure and reflection that I think shows the wide chasm between those who watch men's basketball and those of us who watch women's. So rather than discrimination the difference in opportunity, working conditions, and salary is a result of the choices that spectators have freely made over the last 20 years. While most of us lament the lack of support it's one that was freely made by fans just as we have to freedom now to take advantage of opportunities to watch the women's game.
They're just not enough of us.
Home Attendence
*14655
*14655
| Women | ||
| ASU | Oregon 3958 | OSU 2491 |
| UArizona | 7680 | 5694 |
| Men | ||
| ASU | Creighton 9395 | Texas Southern 8795 |
| UArizona | sell out* | sell out* |
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