This is silliness. Sports are a form of entertainment. There is no “catching up” to what you find entertaining. This isn’t like coffee, in which it’s an acquired taste. If people don’t like a sport, or even a sport within a particular gender…. so be it. I’ll be honest… and honest at the risk of being blasted: I find womens’ basketball to be unwatchable. On the other hand, I’d rather watch womens’ tennis than that of men. It’s a matter of preference. And it’s absurd for a.coach to be lecturing people on what they should prefer. If she wants to argue for greater marketing and exposure for her program… more effort to cultivate interest… fine. But to tell the community of Oxford to catch up… eh, I find it ridiculous.
It's been my experience that lecturing your students, alums and local community about attending games rarely works out for college coaches, of either gender or in any sport (see Saban, Nick). People will buy tickets when they're excited to watch, not because "it's time for Oxford to catch up." And in effect calling them backward for not being excited already is not going to motivate. If her real mission was to express loud support for her players, then mission accomplished I guess.
I agree with the tenor of your post, but would quibble just a bit on one thing. Some sports appreciation can be an acquired taste. I bet many of those here who are enthusiastic about Gator Women's hoops probably developed that appreciation through experience. I liken it to my own appreciation for hockey. Growing up in FL, I was not familiar with hockey until attending some Tampa Bay Lightning games as an adult. Now I live in hockeyland and appreciate the game even more. I also agree with your take on women's hoops, but would add that watching Caitlin Clark in last year's tourney was a site to behold.
That is fair. There is a component related to being exposed to the sport. Still, I think most adults in Oxford have been aware of and have had opportunity to attend ole miss womens’ hoops. And for whatever reason… are not interested. I’ve lamented lagging regional interest in basketball, and it’s a tough thing to change. She may be better served speaking to her marketing department about making the games family fun. I watched the Florida Panthers do similar … and to some degree, it has worked. But lecturing the community about “catching up”…. Nah. But yes… you are right… I did discount the fact people can experience and become fans of a sport or team.
I grew up in Chicago and played some hockey at the pick-up level at the park and loved the game. In my junior year of HS we moved to the exurbs of Chicago to a hockey crazy development. The local teens had built a rink with boards next to a creek for a source of water. Somebody had the right kind of sprayer to get good level ice. One of the kids was REALLY good and went to Bemidji State on a hockey scholarship. Most of the kids played in leagues on real rinks with real equipment. I had nice skates and played in my blue jeans. I was not at their level but I still had fun and somehow kept all my teeth. Attended countless Blackhawks games during the Mikita and Hull years and beyond. Lost a lot of interest when it became very thuggy in the NHL. Then Gretzky came along and changed the game back to skating and skills and I started watching again. My youngest son (28 years old) learned to love the game watching the Blackhawks with me when they were winning Stanley Cups. When the Blackhawks fell on hard times and he switched to being a Panthers fan but his Blackhawk interest has returned after they drafted Bedard. Every year we go down to Sunrise to see a game and we try to see them play the Blackhawks. Hockey is a fantastic game to see in person
Let’s be honest women’s basketball is hard to watch even on its highest levels. She should be lucky to have a job and not worry about fans.
It's been fun learning about your Illini basketball and modern jazz perspectives and here's yet another positive connection. Unlike football, basketball, and baseball, I never played hockey growing up. It's a next-level sport. Fun to hear about your contemporary who attended Bemidji St. Fun fact: When I arrived at my current campus, I earned a grant for me, my colleague (wife) and a handful of students to hang out at Bemidji St for a couple days with their prof in the same discipline, who is also a UF PhD grad. I'm sure Bemidji is good at hockey too, but our university has back-to-back DI natties during my time on campus. Pretty sure we have three titles in the last 20 years.
Look, she has a great job doing what she loves and gets way more exposure than the average person punching a clock, I think she needs to remember her team is popular in that regard. But to say that a certain number of people should find her job important just because she does is silly. Should I be mad because 5000 people arent pressed against my office windows watching me nail the perfect spreadsheet? Womens basketball has a problem. The problem is that it is slow and less skilled than the alternative. If a roller hockey team existed at Minnesota Duluth, I dont think that @gatordavisl is wrong for finding it boring compared to its on ice alternative. That is the issue. The alternative is more exciting to most people and always will be.
I don’t think yelling at potential fans is the way to get them in the door, And I’m with AKA, I will watch women’s tennis before men’s, women’s volleyball before men’s, softball before baseball, among others. It’s not misogyny or anything silly. But women’s basketball isn’t enjoyable for me. I want UF to do well, but can’t watch more than a few minutes of it. Judging by attendance nationally, many others feel the same.
Agreed. When I was in college on the west coast there was a pretty good semi-pro league with a team in our city. Those were some wild games (drawing a blank on the Paul Neuman film, but every game was like that. Years later I taught at a school that won an NCAA championship (and had a member of the Miracle on Ice team). Fun times. A requirement for the school mascot was that s/he had to skate to lead the team out on the ice before the game.
I love it. I grew up watching the Tennessee-UConn rivalry, and I always enjoyed watching the NCAA Women's tournament. Have to say that Caitlin Clark, Kim Mulkey and her interesting crew at LSU, and Dawn Staley's amazing program at South Carolina have made women's basketball very fun to watch.
A different perspective- Wife has a good friend that moved to Oxford and who is a season ticket holder. We actually went to the ole miss/UF game last year as her guest. I'm not a big fan of the sport but it was a fun experience, with a lot of kids in attendance. The friend loves the coach and said the coach and her team has gone door to door introducing themselves to locals and has personally thanked season ticket holders. The team had a great season last year, beat SC. Sounds to me like the coach IS the marketing dept and has become frustrated with the lack of local support. To me this is not much different than posters here complaining about the lack of gville support for basketball/baseball which I've read many times. In reality Oxford is a tiny little town and doesn't really support any sports well other than baseball and football. I'm not a big women's basketball fan, but she is a very good coach, quite enthusiastic for a team and more power to her IMO. Yea, her rant may not go over well with the locals, and I guess she is lucky to get paid to do a job she loves, but I have no doubt she will have plenty of other options if she so desires.
I have no problem with being an advocate for a sport you think is under appreciated, but she is essentially yelling at people that don't exist. There are casual fans that might want to catch their school perform against one of the best teams in the country in a sport they generally don't pay attention to. If any of them are going to catch the fever, it's going to be by catching a game that has more prestige. They did, officially drew over 9,000 fans to the LSU game earlier this month. That's what you want, showcase your team/game and see what kind of takers you get. We can talk about marketing and promotions, but, more than likely, that's not the reason that folks didn't come back with the same enthusiasm when they played us earlier this week. You can't yell at casual fans and tell them they should care more; attendance version of yelling at the clouds. Go GATORS! ,WESGATORS
i have been very frustrated by lagging fan support, but also recognize it as partially due to regional interests. The bulk of my gripes… all of em, really… revolve around the UAA and it’s marketing/promotion of the program. As I said- I think this would have been a perfectly reasonable gripe, especially considering your comments above. But instead, she seemed to suggest Oxford is “behind the times” because womens’ basketball isn’t more popular. The reality is…. womens’ basketball struggles to draw interest at any level in nearly all regions, programs and venues. So, I think it’s a bit silly for her to be arguing there “should be” 5,000 fans in the stands, much less lecturing Oxford fans to “catch up” with their interests. Her passion and support for the program is admirable; her rant was a bit misdirected and misguided, imo. I’m sure she is a great and respected coach. But sans a very select few destinations… I’m also sure she’d be continually disappointed if she left Oxford in search of a rabid womens’ hoops fan base.
