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Now let’s just clear this up right out of the gate.  I am not really a women’s basketball fan.  The WNBA is a joke to me, and I live in the hometown of the last year’s champion.  I’ve been a basketball player, and a woman, my whole life, and you couldn’t convince me that a Monarch’s game is even half as fun as a King’s game- where they lose by 20.  I will not defend the game I love to play, nor will I argue that “fundamentals are exciting” or that the mid-range jump shot is more awe-inspiring than a windmill dunk.  But, I am a fan of good basketball, at any level, and as a high school coach, I think I can appreciate a well-played game no matter what the name on the jersey.  And, in my opinion the college game, any college game, is better than the watered down, me-first NBA.

On we go. To protect his masculinity, my friend only agreed to participate on the condition of anonymity.  The first task was to find a nationally televised game.  In my part of the country, there isn’t a rich college basketball tradition, let alone a Women’s College Basketball, well, anything.  But, it’s tournament time, something has to be on, right?  Leave it to “The Deuce.”  ESPN 2 was broadcasting the SEC Championship game between #3 LSU and #9 Tennessee.  Here is what transpired over the course, of what I must admit, was a pretty entertaining game.

Even the most casual or uninterested fan has to know that these are two of the top programs in women’s basketball.  Do we care, probably not, but we know.  And if nothing else, the rapid NCAA fans are familiar with one of the game’s biggest and brightest stars, Tennessee’s Candace Parker, for what she did during the McDonald’s All-Star game two years ago.  Her dunk, a one-handed blindfolded job, out-scored some monster jams by some real high-risers, including future NBA champ Josh Smith.  Her college dominance was put on a hold for a year when she blew out her ACL in early 2005, but she has come back strong to lead Tennessee to a likely #1 seed in the tourney as a red-shirt freshman.  And their coach is the legendary Pat Summitt, with 882 Division I wins, 349 SEC wins, 11 SEC titles, 7 Coach of the Year Awards, and 6 National Championships.  Okay, that’s impressive if you’re coaching Curling.  And LSU?  Well, they’re coached by a guy named Pokey.  Oh, and they have a pretty good team as well, led by last year’s player of the year, Seimone Augustus.

We turned on the game for the second half, and it appeared that so far, the contest had lived up to the hype- however much hype there is for a women’s game at least.  Dave Barnett and Ann Meyers worked hard to keep the energy level high as it came through the TV screen.  Meyers, who was an All-American at UCLA and has the street cred that comes from being married to the late Don Drysdale, obviously knows the game.  Barnett on the other hand, knows the game, but probably felt a little slighted.  His usual assignment on ESPN is “The Big Ten Game of the Week”, and he’s done quite a bit of college football as well.  But he does have a family to feed, so maybe he was looking for some extra cash.  I feel like when men are announcing the game, they often come across overly excited about the game, though it’s pretty obvious they would rather be somewhere else, or they come across bored and uninterested, and okay with that fact.  

It’s also interesting to note that any women’s game I’ve ever stumbled across has had at least one man in the booth, usually with a female partner.  But I have NEVER, in any sport, seen a woman anywhere but as a sideline reporter.  How would I feel if I turned on an NBA game and Ann Meyer, Nancy Lieberman, or Rebecca Lobo were calling it?  I don’t know.  I very rarely turn off a game because of a bad announcer, and none of those women are particularly bad anyway.  But it’s akin to seeing Violet ref an NBA game.  It’s weird, right?  I can’t be the only one that feels that way.  And while we’re on the subject, have you ever seen a women’s game, any game, on ESPN’s flagship station?  You might stumble on something during the day, but primetime?  Never.  Not unless there is NO other competition.  

During the NCAA tournament they might put a late round game on, but that’s about it.  But, their target audience isn’t me, it’s that golden 18-49 year old male.  I think the programming has opened up more to women lately, and they seem to be working on gaining the female sports fan.  But the advertising dollar runs the world of media, and women don’t watch sports in anywhere near the numbers that men do.  It’s a very small and pointed audience for a women’s basketball game, and you really almost have to direct the broadcast at that audience.  So I guess I can’t blame them.

 But, I digress.  Back to work.  Going into this experiment, my friend, we will call him John to protect his man-ness, had this to say about women’s hoops:

“People probably should care more about women’s hoops, and probably would if they made more of the games themselves.  Two inherent problems:  One, you can’t gamble on women’s games unless they are nationally televised.  And let’s be real, there aren’t very many that are.  Two, there is no money coming in, so no money goes out into marketing, advertising, etc.  How many Candace Parker jerseys have you seen?  And she’s a big star, right?”  He also made an interesting corollary to NCAA Hockey- middling pro leagues, little play in Vegas, and no revenue what so ever.  Point taken.

On to the game.  With an 11-0 run to end the first half, UT took a 3-point lead into the locker room, 36-33. 

John:  “That’s the first problem.  36 points in the half to lead?  Boring!”   

Melissa: “My high school team outscored some men’s games this year.  That’s on pace for 70 plus.  Not a fair argument.”

The first ten minutes were back and forth and competitive.  Neither team seemed to be able to pull away.  We were gifted with a lot of jump shots, occasional dribble drives, and some nifty ball handling.  The game is physical, and I think that was surprising to John.

John: “They really go after it, there’s a lot of passion, which I guess isn’t surprising.  Not like I expected them to break down weeping on the court or stop to fix a broken nail, but I didn’t expect to see so much contact.”

Melissa:  “Contact is contact, but it’s different here.  I think size is obviously a factor, you don’t have the massive bodies that you find in the men’s game, but some of these women are CUT!”

John:  “No doubt.  They are athletes, but I never disputed that.  My thought is still that the game just doesn’t have the excitement level that you find in the men’s.”

Melissa:  “I agree.  You can’t dispute that it’s still a good game, and there is a lot of energy.  But it’s the big play, the alley-oop, the monster jam, or the swat the ball into the stands block that gets a crowd fired up.  And you just aren’t going to see those in the women’s game.”

Point of reference to the question of contact.  In a championship game, between the #3 (LSU) and #9 (UT) teams in the country, you would expect to see more than 26 free throws attempted, wouldn’t you?  LSU finished the game 10 for 16, and Tennessee hit on 9 of 10.  And it wasn’t like it was a poorly called game or anything.  Meanwhile, Tennessee attempted 19 3’s and LSU shot 9 from long range.  Interesting.

With just over eight minutes to go, LSU seemed to be pulling away with a 6-point lead and momentum clearly in their favor.  Then Pat Summitt takes control with a timeout that leads to a killer 10-0 run by the Lady Vols.

Melissa:  “Does coaching make more of a difference in the women’s game?”

John:  “It would seem so after that, wouldn’t it?  I think women, as a rule, listen more.  And you have to game plan a lot more, run more set plays.  In the men’s game, a lot of guys will just fall back on their athleticism over teamwork.  You don’t seem to see that as much here.”

Melissa:  “I agree to a point, but as a coach, I know that women don’t listen any more than guys do.  Good athletes have a sense of entitlement, or think they know enough to not need your advice.  After all, they are the one’s one the court.  But the teamwork aspect is completely different in the women’s game.  Tennessee obviously has a super-star in Candace Parker, but I don’t think we’ve really seen her dominate this game.  You see guys like Kobe in the pros, or even Adam Morrison and Dee Brown in college that can single handedly win a game for their team on their own.  You don’t see that as much in this environment, except maybe in a Diana Taurasi or a Lisa Leslie back in the day.  But those players come along like once a decade.”

Meanwhile, on the court, LSU has stormed back.  But four of their starters haven’t been out yet, and they are starting to look a little gassed.  With a minute left, they are up 4.  But the tired legs of the Lady Tigers catch up with them, and Erica White missed the front end of a 1 and 1.  They hold a 1-point lead with 17 seconds left.

John:  “So what’s the last play?”

Melissa:  “Give it to your star, right?”

So with 17 seconds left, Parker takes the ball, drives the lane, and drops a left handed leaner over Scholanda Hoston, who is 6” shorter. 

John:  “Okay, she’s a stud.”

Melissa:  “I don’t care what you are, that was a nice drive.  She’s the real deal.”

Augustus would get one final shot, but it missed off the back of the rim.  Tennessee pulled off the upset with a combination of lights out shooting from long range and a 20-point performance from Parker.

So John, what did we learn?

John:  “The game was exciting in that it was a good game.  Back and forth, a lot of lead changes.  Close the whole time.  And they made some nice plays on both ends.  But it wasn’t hyped up; the crowd never really seemed ALL that into it, and shoot, there were only 8,000 people there.  (8,255 to be exact)  You think there will only be 8,000 people at the men’s SEC championship game?  No way.  Not even in a down year.  There are more people than that at the NCAA play-in game.”

Melissa:  “Again, it goes back to the marketing, or lack there off.  Improvements have been made; the WNBA seems to be growing… or at least expanding.  But there are no dollars put into women’s sports, so there aren’t any dollars to be made.  Attendance, or lack there of, is a perfect example of that.”

John:  “I think the play-by-play is a lot different in a women’s game, too.  The excitement seems almost forced, but then again, how much energy can you put into a made lay-up?  Meyer’s is knowledgeable, but she’s not very interesting or personable.  And the guy seemed like he wanted to be somewhere else.”

Melissa:  “And so have you.”

John:  “I watched, didn’t I?  Will I voluntarily watch a women’s game after today?  Probably not.  Maybe on accident.  And I’m not going to run out and by season tickets for the Monarch’s either.  I can appreciate the skills of the top players in the game, and the fundamentals displayed, but I still think I could put a wig on and score 20.  It’s good basketball, sure, but that doesn’t make it entertaining.”

And I can’t really argue with him there.  So what’s the verdict?  Should we care more?  Probably.  As a woman, should I become a card-carrying, flag waving, WNBA season ticket holding women’s basketball apologist?  No chance of that happening, sorry.  But maybe I will watch.  That is, if I can find one on TV.  Maybe I will pay a little more attention.  And if I ever get the chance, I will see Candace Parker play live.  Because no matter who you are, you have to appreciate a baller.  And the girl can hoop.