Why do you watch women’s basketball?

[Bigboote]

I'm a 50-something male. I had a close friend in college who played women's hoops at our D3 school and went to a few games a year. The play generally involved the players looking at the ball when they dribbled.

I was amazed a few years later when I was in graduate school at UVa, when the local station started broadcasting WBB games. Even before Dawn Staley they had some girls with some size and skill. Then Dawn and Tammi Reiss showed up and were an incredibly skilled back court. A few years after I left C'ville, UConn had the '95 game with Tennessee, and my father was hooked. Any time I went home during the season, we'd watch a game or two.

I was a jock growing up, and watched a lot of sports when I was a kid. The only men's sport I still watch is MLB, although it's not much, pretty much the Red Sox when they play the O's or they're nationally televised playing the Yankees. I watched a lot of ACC men's hoops in the 80's, then got kind of disillusioned when Len Bias died.

I watch WBB and some women's soccer because they're still comparatively unspoiled. The "scholar-athletes" really are. Allisha Gray didn't graduate in four years, but she forewent the overseas season in order to go back to school to get her degree. The vast majority of women at elite BB schools get their degrees. Same for soccer players. I think Saniya Chong was more proud of getting her degree (I think she may have been the first in her family) than she was of playing in the WNBA. That's what college sports should be about. The sports should enhance the academics, they're not instead of the academics.

 

[ochoopsfan]

L-O-U

 

[Bigpetunia]

I was born and raised in the DEEP South, where I was an avid, multi-sport fan and an eager , if not particularly talented, multi-sport participant. I had little-to-zero interest in organized female athletics of any kind. Truth to tell, in my era, Southern girls did not, in fact, sweat...they would merely gently perspire (a word, down there, that contained three syllables - work with me here). Later in life, when circumstances allowed my wife and me to adopt a lifestyle that included dividing time between residences down South and in Connecticut, all of that changed, mainly as a result of one episode: Driving around, and acquainting ourselves with our newly-adopted Connecticut town, we passed by an extensive outdoor sports complex adjacent to a lovely shoreline. A group of about ten very attractive high school aged girls, I surmised probably school teammates, were scrimmaging one another on one of the full-court venues. Over my wife's predictable objections, I pulled over to observe for a bit. What I saw was unlike anything in my prior experience. These girls may indeed have been cute, but the game they were playing was cutthroat. They were hustling fiercely up and down the court, at times fouling the **** out of one another, in short, playing a game of which any group of sixteen or seventeen-year-old guys would be proud. I found out that these girls did, in fact, play for a local high school team and were big fans of, and largely inspired by, the example set by UConn women's basketball. I was hooked, and have never turned back. In more recent years, female athletics have much more fully evolved in my old Southern stomping grounds, a fact of which I heartily approve. Now that men's basketball has become a game played, to my dismay, almost entirely above the rim, the women's game, and the hugely competitive way it is played at the highest levels, is a source of great appeal!

 

[paisan]

Man...I am a fan of women’s B.B. because uconn ,N D , Louisville, etc. play the game as it was meant to be played. It is a beautiful thing to watch.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I feel a bit compelled to stick up for men's college bball at this point. As far as the: no teamwork, one on one, all above the rim type of comments....did anyone watch Villanova's championship run this year? That was beautiful basketball. Great ball movement, working it around for an open shot and a ton of 3's, most of which they made. Seems like they had different players step up almost every game. Didn't matter to them who scored, as long as they were winning. And a bunch of upperclassmen, no one and doners on the whole team.

 

[DefenseBB]

Man...I am a fan of women’s B.B. because uconn ,N D , Louisville, etc. play the game as it was meant to be played. It is a beautiful thing to watch.

Ok, I will give you ND, but “Louisville, etc” play the game as it was meant...umm NO, this year for Louisville was the exception, rugby style was its prior mantra. Very few other schools in that “etc.” grouping play it well. I would say only Stanford for now.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Male under 50 who coach a lot of girls in pick-up/rec leagues that I threw together... and when I heard about Nykesha in Bloomfield, along with Tracy Lis (Killingly) and Nadine Domond (Bridgeport) in High School (reading the boxscores on them, big points)... I followed them onto the college level.

and 1995 sealed the deal

Greater Hartford and Connecticut also had some great girls AAU basketball teams and I followed those girls in High School and into college.

I played basketball but in my 20's I got out of shape, never recovered but still got out there with kids (teen boys) and thats when the "crossover" was popular and I lost interest cause people where exciting about "breaking ankles" but could finish at the basket. Also job duties took me away from the courts. I worked at the YMCA for 22yrs, early on I was hands on then I moved on to desk duties and eventually got "laid off" as the building was sold. (still abandoned after 11yrs).

Also as a CT resident you have no choice because the Huskies coverage is better than any team in the WNBA

 

[skilz]

I was born and raised in the DEEP South, where I was an avid, multi-sport fan and an eager , if not particularly talented, multi-sport participant. I had little-to-zero interest in organized female athletics of any kind. Truth to tell, in my era, Southern girls did not, in fact, sweat...they would merely gently perspire (a word, down there, that contained three syllables - work with me here). Later in life, when circumstances allowed my wife and me to adopt a lifestyle that included dividing time between residences down South and in Connecticut, all of that changed, mainly as a result of one episode: Driving around, and acquainting ourselves with our newly-adopted Connecticut town, we passed by an extensive outdoor sports complex adjacent to a lovely shoreline. A group of about ten very attractive high school aged girls, I surmised probably school teammates, were scrimmaging one another on one of the full-court venues. Over my wife's predictable objections, I pulled over to observe for a bit. What I saw was unlike anything in my prior experience. These girls may indeed have been cute, but the game they were playing was cutthroat. They were hustling fiercely up and down the court, at times fouling the **** out of one another, in short, playing a game of which any group of sixteen or seventeen-year-old guys would be proud. I found out that these girls did, in fact, play for a local high school team and were big fans of, and largely inspired by, the example set by UConn women's basketball. I was hooked, and have never turned back. In more recent years, female athletics have much more fully evolved in my old Southern stomping grounds, a fact of which I heartily approve. Now that men's basketball has become a game played, to my dismay, almost entirely above the rim, the women's game, and the hugely competitive way it is played at the highest levels, is a source of great appeal!

Love your story. You did miss out on a few great females in the deep south in the early 80's (won't mention names)! However - we are missing the Jazz Fest right now too.....

 

[hoopingcrane]

Male, late 60's. Loved playing basketball and watching when it is played the right way- teamwork, passing, help defense. Was a fan of the 69-73 Knicks, who exemplified their hat type of basketball, later attracted to the UConn men's team of Smith, Henefeld, Burrell, who also had those qualities, especially on defense. I was an instant fan of the UConn women, because Geno teaches and coaches his players to play that way. It also is a plus that the players stay four years, so we can see them grow and improve. Lastly, it's a kick to see women who had no opportunity to really play ball when I was young, have the chance to compete like the warriors they are.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Male in my 60's. I have always enjoyed watching sports, I didn't have an athletic bone in my body. Baseball, mostly, growing up. Introduced to Hockey in high school which continued into college. Always watched (some) football. Never basketball, oddly enough.

After my marriage (in my mid 30's) I kind of cooled on watching baseball (the length of games, I'm not complaining about it, life just was busier in a fun way), watched a lot of football (my wife was a big fan) and continued with hockey.

I went through a (short) period where I wasn't sleeping well, and would wake up during the night and throw on the tiny bedroom TV (how times have changed) and I came across my alma mater, Rutgers, playing women's basketball on a local station (3 AM replay). And, oddly enough, I actually enjoyed the game in a way that brief watching of men's bb hadn't enticed me. Can't explain it, but it was interesting.

Fast forward a few years and the NHL was on strike when my wife went to buy my "annual" Christmas present of Ranger's tickets (although, again due to time constraints, I didn't watch much hockey - but I rooted) so she went for front row seats to Rutgers Women's Basketball. Seeing the game in person, being excited and able to root, sold me. As time went on, we became devoted fans, watched a lot more games on TV, etc.

An interesting side-light is that we added softball and women's volleyball to the sports we watch over time. I'm quite unable to say why we prefer women's sports (if you could say that, we still root hard for baseball and watch endless football, both NFL and college), but we do tend to consider ourselves women's sports fans.

I enjoy the competition. Unlike many who are addicted to the relative high level UConn style, I enjoy virtually any competitive game between decent level teams. No, low level conferences don't hold a lot of appeal, nor other divisions, but - if competitive - I don't have a problem watching teams from the better conferences playing their equals. If the game isn't competitive (sorry, UConn fans) I lose interest unless the game features "my" team - currently Rutgers and Arizona - winning or losing.

 

[YoungFree]

1) Because I have 3 daughters and watching girls' sports comes naturally to me

2) It is a different game then men's game so it is something unique to watch

3) UConn dominates most games and its fun to watch a winning team regardless of gender or division

4) The UConn women are exciting to watch

5) More often than not women's games keep me entertained throughout the whole game

6) I don't have to worry about people showboating for NBA scouts

 

[CTFIRERETIRED]

Why do I watch? Well maybe because I am a fan of old fashioned basketball. The game played BELOW the rim. The TEAM concept. 5 players workng for the winning outcome. I don't, nor do I care for the "me first, one on one, selfish play" of the men's game. The bounce pass, the extra pass, back door, the open man.... er, ah, woman, selfless play, THAT'S the game. Team defense, team offense., the way the game USE TO BE PLAYED.
THAT IS WHY I WATCH IT.

 

[msf22b]

I started playing BB in the schoolyard of PS 94 in the Bronx as a 5th grader and never really stopped. When my parents bought a house in Queens, the center of my universe became Jewel Ave Park where a more proficient version of the game was played. We arrived in Queens the day a player was traded to the Knicks from the Fort Wayne Pistons...Freddie Schaus...so Schaus I became.

The game we played in those days, was the very game the girls play today; fast passing, sometimes, the ball never touching the floor, in/out..early versions of pick and roll, good outside shooting. Early jump shooting, effective screening, tough D.

Players to whom I was attracted: Bobby Wanzer of the Rochester Royals; Bob Cousy and Bill Sharman of the Celtics and especially Carl Braun of the Knicks.

It is this version of the game that Geno's teams still play that has brought me to UConn in particular and woman's BB in general. I suppose it's last gasp in the men's game was the Red Holzman era in NY.

From time to time, I am accused of being not sufficient enough a fan and I suppose that is correct...If Geno were coaching a Jr. College team in West Orange rather than at UConn; then (had I heard of it), I would follow it for the beauty of the game, rather than any particular university affiliation.

 

[MSGRET]

Male, played BB from grade school thru Junior high. After high school joined the Army in 73, while overseas my shop would play pick-up games, both men and woman on the same team. The woman who played were very competitive and some very physical. While stationed in The Netherlands, AFN showed the 95 WCBB NC game. It was the first WCBB game I had ever seen, UCONN reminded me of the basketball that I played when I was in school and thought of them as the woman's version of the UNLV Running Rebels teams under Tark the Shark. I used to watch the men's game before, but now they try to emulate the NBA game, while now many of the teams in WCBB play the game the way it was meant to be played, A TEAM sport. Because of the 95 game, I became a UCONN fan and would watch them whenever they were on TV and now with the internet I watch every game. There are only a few college BB coaches that I have ever thought of as great during my lifetime, John Wooden, Bobby Knight, Jerry Tarkainian, Pat Summit, and Geno. What did all of them have in common, that BB is a team sport.