Sue Bird Interview (HuffPost Sports)

[Orangutan]

Didn't see this posted yet: LINK

Haven't read the whole thing yet but I skipped to the part referenced in the title and wanted to share it just for that.

"You don’t see them comparing Serena Williams to Djokovic, you don’t see them comparing Abby Wambach to Landon Donovan. There’s no need to. It’s the same sport, but a different game. And people, for whatever reason, like to do that. It makes no sense, one thing has nothing to do with the next. And I guarantee you that 90 percent of the people that do like to talk trash about women’s basketball haven’t even been to a game anyway. It’s just a bandwagon thing for them to do. And that’s fine -- everybody’s entitled to their opinion -- but for whatever reason, it’s become the cool thing to do and I don’t really get why."

Preach, Sue.

 

[RedStickHusky]

This is like arguing the Great Man theory of History - whether the time defines the person or the person defines the time. Stewie is obviously going to leave UConn as the most accomplished player in Husky history which still leaves the very subjective question of who was best able to take ownership of any specific moment in time; I'd lean to D and then Maya in that regard but it's largely a function of opportunity. The best argument for Stewie will probably end up being her frosh year when her late season surge had such an impact.

 

[UcMiami]

I think her complaint may come down to just how similar the two genders are on a basketball court - unlike soccer where the leg strength makes a huge difference in the speed and distance the ball travels within the field of play, men and women are equally able to perform all the necessary actions on a basketball court with similar accuracy - three point shot, bullet pass, dribble, mid-range, block, whatever. The one action that distinguishes men is their leaping ability added to their greater height. It allows them to dunk a ball with minimum effort - the dunk doesn't count for more points than a lay-up, but it has become the 'signature' of men's basketball. It makes the sixties version of men's basketball alien to the modern game and more similar to the current women's game.
I think the denigration in a weird way is a direct result of that so close approximation, in a similar way that a lot of people are uncomfortable with women doing 'traditional' male roles that are defined that way because of strength requirements. The 'yeah, but you couldn't carry a 250 pound man out of a burning building' response to women fire fighters has morphed into 'yeah, but you can't dunk a basketball!'

 

[huskyd]

Didn't see this posted yet: LINK

Haven't read the whole thing yet but I skipped to the part referenced in the title and wanted to share it just for that.

"You don’t see them comparing Serena Williams to Djokovic, you don’t see them comparing Abby Wambach to Landon Donovan. There’s no need to. It’s the same sport, but a different game. And people, for whatever reason, like to do that. It makes no sense, one thing has nothing to do with the next. And I guarantee you that 90 percent of the people that do like to talk trash about women’s basketball haven’t even been to a game anyway. It’s just a bandwagon thing for them to do. And that’s fine -- everybody’s entitled to their opinion -- but for whatever reason, it’s become the cool thing to do and I don’t really get why."

Preach, Sue.

There's a psychology (some might say pathology) to tearing something down. Most often it's done to build oneself up. Why isn't it enough for fans of certain sports to just watch, discuss, and enjoy those sports? Why the need/desire to actively rag on others (especially women, who, I might add, have really significant upsides in all areas of life)? Secure folks don't need to demonstrate their alleged superiority or to defend themselves against the insecure. It's not about "hate" of the other; it's about self-hate.

 

[sarals24]

I think men's and women's soccer is a lot closer than men's and women's basketball. There's really nothing that men can do on a soccer field that women can't - obviously at a different speed/strength level. But in basketball, there are things that just don't happen in women's games - dunking, goaltending, playing above the rim, etc. It looks like a different game when played below the rim.

Soccer gets a pass for some reason - maybe because the women are so good while the US men aren't, or maybe because people only watch it once every four years, so it's easier to catch an audience. I mean, the women's soccer league hasn't exactly caught on, though. So who knows.

 

[Blakeon18]

Geno compared EDD to Dirk Novitzki....and clearly meant it in a very favorable manner to Elena.
Those types of comparisons are not necessarily trashing either game....though that certainly sometimes happens.
BTW: you also see trashing men's college hoops...and especially the NBA game...in certain circles in these parts.
I have read a comparison of Stewie to Kevin Durant...it most certainly wasn't meant to denigrate Breanna in any way.

 

[Deadrody]

The one action that distinguishes men is their leaping ability added to their greater height. It allows them to dunk a ball with minimum effort - the dunk doesn't count for more points than a lay-up, but it has become the 'signature' of men's basketball. It makes the sixties version of men's basketball alien to the modern game and more similar to the current women's game.

Eh, it's a little more than that. The greater height and leaping ability make men far more capable of getting shots off and preventing women from doing the same. A lot of basketball comes down to who get to the ball and release the ball to / from the basket at the highest point. Women are at a severe disadvantage compared to men in that regard. The gap is narrowing, but it is unlikely to ever diminish to the point of making it so men and women can play against one another in a competitive environment.

 

[UcMiami]

Eh, it's a little more than that. The greater height and leaping ability make men far more capable of getting shots off and preventing women from doing the same. A lot of basketball comes down to who get to the ball and release the ball to / from the basket at the highest point. Women are at a severe disadvantage compared to men in that regard. The gap is narrowing, but it is unlikely to ever diminish to the point of making it so men and women can play against one another in a competitive environment.

But men play against men and women against women so within the confines of the gender competition the results are the same - the number of blocks per game doesn't change much, and the shooting percentages don't vary much. And the rule against goal tending prevents that height and leaping ability having much effect around the rim. The shooter is jumping higher with a higher release point, but the arc of the ball is very similar, and the defender is leaping higher, but the relation between shooter and defender is very similar for both genders.

 

[UcMiami]

I think men's and women's soccer is a lot closer than men's and women's basketball. There's really nothing that men can do on a soccer field that women can't - obviously at a different speed/strength level. But in basketball, there are things that just don't happen in women's games - dunking, goaltending, playing above the rim, etc. It looks like a different game when played below the rim.

Soccer gets a pass for some reason - maybe because the women are so good while the US men aren't, or maybe because people only watch it once every four years, so it's easier to catch an audience. I mean, the women's soccer league hasn't exactly caught on, though. So who knows.

The difference is the ball speed generated by significantly larger muscles - in soccer the width and length of the pitch combined with those larger muscles and greater ball speed make a significant difference relative to any minor difference in speed of players and reaction times for defenders of different genders - shots from outside the penalty box, long diagonal passes, and even crosses from the touch line are much more dangerous because of the power/speed of the ball in the men's game, so the strategies have to be adjusted.

Because a basketball court is so much smaller and shooting is all about controlled accuracy and not the speed generated on the ball there is not that increased capability that exists for male players on the soccer pitch. Charles is just as capable of throwing a full court outlet pass as any men's basketball players because while she can't throw a basketball as far as her male counterpart she doesn't half to. And her accurate on a 15' with a defender in her face is the same as her male counterpart. And her ability to make a great pass to a teammate is the same (better because what male player really wants to get an assist when he could score himself.) The only difference is that she doesn't dunk or 'play above the rim.' and that becomes the rallying cry of those that want to put down WBB.
Here are some NCAA stats comparisons for last year:
PPG - Men: 84.0, Women: 89.3
D-PPG - Men: 51.4, Women: 48.6
FG% - Men 52.0, Women: 54.0
D-FG% - Men 35.4, Women 30.9
3PT % - Men 44.7, Women 40.6
FT% - Men 79.4, Women 78.0
Assist - Men 17.5, Women 21.2
Blocks - Men 7.79, Women 7.92

I am just not seeing the difference that 'playing above the rim' makes in scoring, field goal %, Blocks, etc.

 

[hoophuskee]

Didn't see this posted yet: LINK

Haven't read the whole thing yet but I skipped to the part referenced in the title and wanted to share it just for that.

"You don’t see them comparing Serena Williams to Djokovic, you don’t see them comparing Abby Wambach to Landon Donovan. There’s no need to. It’s the same sport, but a different game. And people, for whatever reason, like to do that. It makes no sense, one thing has nothing to do with the next. And I guarantee you that 90 percent of the people that do like to talk trash about women’s basketball haven’t even been to a game anyway. It’s just a bandwagon thing for them to do. And that’s fine -- everybody’s entitled to their opinion -- but for whatever reason, it’s become the cool thing to do and I don’t really get why."

Preach, Sue.

What doesn't help is to be blasted by morons Gotlieb and Barmore for being too good. What other sport can you get blasted for being too "great?" Not to mention - but I will
UCONN has been the premiere basketball program combined men and women for a very long time. What happens? UCONN gets banished to the AAC because of football then people like Barmore, working in P5 football conferences that won't let UCONN in, criticize the team that has been banished and not the root cause-- which is football.

So Barmore is yapping away how UCONN si so bad for the sport yet his employer/school doesn't give a damn that premiere basketball team got banished, his employer/ or program cares more about football. Maybe if there was a stronger voice instead of morons like Barmore we could have gotten into a P5 conference and thus there would have been more close games and certainly UCONN would not have had just 1 loss the past three years if for example we were in the ACC. Heck, St Johns hung in there vs UCONN last year. So maybe there would have been a few more upsets and Leon would have been thrilled to watch Goliath get taken down a little more. Instead the moron's thought process is not to slam they system for burning UCONN but instead slam the team that is excellent and place them in a an awful conference - all because of football. Yeah that makes sense.

***What other sport gets publicly slammed for excellence and for that matter by prior championship coaches? The hypocrisy of the Barmores runs deep. Just isn't fair.

 

[Striper69]

Geno compared EDD to Dirk Novitzki....and clearly meant it in a very favorable manner to Elena.
Those types of comparisons are not necessarily trashing either game....though that certainly sometimes happens.
BTW: you also see trashing men's college hoops...and especially the NBA game...in certain circles in these parts.
I have read a comparison of Stewie to Kevin Durant...it most certainly wasn't meant to denigrate Breanna in any way.

Stewie comes out miles ahead in that comparison.