Look, this article is not me parading around saying that I’m happy Uconn lost. I was 100% rooting for them to win because the amount of talent on the team is unbelieveable and Geno Auriemma can be argued as one of the best coaches in the history of sports. But there IS a positive side to their loss.
Incase you have no idea what I am talking about, the UConn women’s basketball team lost in their final four matchup to Mississippi State by a buzzer beater in overtime. Now normally, this would just be another sad loss in the march madness tournament. But for those who don’t know, the UConn Huskies were on an 111 game win streak, with their last loss being in November 2014 to Stanford. This is by far the longest streak in Division 1 women’s basketball history. Respect.
But after the final buzzer and the game-winning shot by Mississippi State guard Morgan Williams, the streak was ended. Everyone, including myself, was shocked. No one thought that UConn could be beat, which was the problem. Women’s college basketball was becoming, “UConn college basketball.” If you walked up to anyone on the street and asked them about women’s college basketball, they would most likely say UConn. That’s what everyone knew. It was becoming less and less exciting every year because they were the ones going all the way in everyone’s bracket, if people even had a bracket.
Women’s sports, professional and college, are not as well known as the men, and it is a shame. If you just take college basketball, there is a disgusting difference between the men and women’s game with popularity. At Ohio State, the men’s basketball team averages 15,000+ fans per game, while the women only have 3,510 per game. This is the same for most schools across the country. The TV ratings during march madness are also just pathetically different. The men’s tournament is covered on 4 different channels and every game is on TV, while the women are covered on one channel, and the occasional second, if UConn is playing. These statistics are not just a college basketball problem, this is the same for every college and professional sport.
So maybe UConn losing will make march madness exciting again for women’s basketball, and maybe it will start a movement for all other sports. I am not saying that starting next year everyone is going to be watching women’s basketball, I am just saying that by maybe not having a clear cut winner anymore, there will be more coverage of other teams in the NCAA, and there will be more excitement revolving around the tournament. Yeah, it is not fun to sit there and watch your bracket get busted (trust me I know), but that is what is so exciting about the tournament. Watching the buzzer beaters practically has you falling off your seat, and not exactly knowing who the champion will be makes it that much more interesting. I still have so much love in my heart for the UConn ladies, but I am just hoping as a former female athlete, that all the young girls can turn on the TV and watch their female role models anytime.
