So, while I'll gladly tip my cap to your UConn Lady Huskies, Geno Auriemma, you'll have to excuse me for not running down the streets like Jim Valvano and jumping for joy. The 89-game win streak by Auriemma's Lady Huskies deserves its just due and should be given the proper respect for being what it is: 89 straight wins in women's basketball. You see, the dirty little secret that your "experts" and professional scribes won't dare utter on television or in a syndicated column is that women's sports will never be considered on the same level as its male counterparts. I'm sorry, ladies, but it's true. Auriemma can pound on the podium and scream for equality all he wants at press conferences, but he's going to have to settle for being the leader of the greatest dynasty in WOMEN'S college basketball(P.S. People HATE dynasties...at least until their over. Why? Because dominance is boring. It's why the people despise the Yankees and their greed. It's why the Lakers have become the John Dillingers of the NBA. Dynasties are great to reflect on, but are tiring to talk about while their going on.). He's not John Wooden. He's not Dean Smith. He's no Bobby Knight and he's damn sure no Coach K(and that's coming from someone who, like most red-blooded Americans, can't stand the Duke Blue Devils).
Now, "Why?" is the most popular question that would be asked in Auriemma's defense. Why does UConn's streak not register as much hoopla(no pun intended) as, say, Wooden's run with UCLA in the 60's or even Coach K's dominance over the last few decades at Duke?(Another side note: If Coach K won 89 straight games at Duke, it would be just as great of an achievement as Auriemma's current run, but you'd be a fool to say the streak would put Coach K ahead of Red Auerbach or Phil Jackson and be even more foolish to say the Blue Devils are a better dynasty than, say, the Lakers or Celtics.)Well, for starters, a winning streak is only as great as the teams you mowed over to get there. Again, I'm no scholar when it comes to women's college basketball, but other than Pat Summit's Tennessee Lady Vols, I can't think of another team that UConn may have ran over that would make this streak more impressive. UConn winning 89 straight games in women's basketball is the equivalent of Bill Belichick winning 89 straight games in the UFL. That's not a shot at the Huskies or women's basketball, but every great team/player/coach/entity needs an equal rival. Bird needed Magic. Ali needed Fraizer. Crosby needs Ovechkin. There isn't another recognizable collegiate powerhouse(except, again, for Summit's Vols) that Auriemma and his girls can hang their hats on. Women's college basketball doesn't have the parity of its male counterparts. The list of competitive teams isn't as deep. So, it's hard to go too ballistic over a winning streak as impressive as UConn's when the general public couldn't name another dominant team that fell victim to this collegiate powerhouse. Hell, the general public couldn't name 10 great women's college basketball players right now. There's a reason the WNBA will inevitably fold: It doesn't have the star power to catch anyone's eye. The most recognizable player in women's pro basketball never dribbled a ball for Auriemma and the Huskies(that would be Candace Parker, who played for Summit at Tennessee). As great as Maya Moore(the biggest star of this current batch of Lady Huskies) may be, there won't be a large crowd buying her jersey when she goes pro.
The only solution, and this is something "analysts" won't say on television because of the backlash but I will because, well, fuck it, it's my opinion and only 10% of our readers are women anyway, is for Auriemma to have his girls take the court against the men. You want respect from the male population, Geno? Go out there and run Coach K's boys off the floor. Because sports is dominated by men, the narrow-minded male population(which I guess I am a part of, though I try to keep an open mind even if this blog will suggest otherwise) aren't going to take women's place in the annals of sports seriously until they show up the boys. Billie Jean King was a great tennis player, but she didn't get the respect she deserved until she unleashed a can of whoop ass on Bobby Riggs. Anika Sorenson flew under the radar as the best of a decent crop of lady golfers, until she decided to take on the men(and failed, but whatever). Danica Patrick gained her notoriety by being brave enough to go up against dudes(Being relatively attractive didn't hurt her chances in the limelight either). Men don't care about women beating other women. We want to see them take on the boys. That's why women's boxing failed miserably, and that was with its biggest star being the daughter of the greatest fighter of all time(Laila Ali, daughter of Muhammed Ali, incase you're slow, or have been living under a rock for the last half century). If Laila Ali were to knock out, say, Floyd Mayweather Jr., think of what it would do for both Ali AND women's boxing. Nobody cares about her beating the shit out of Christy Martin!
The 89-game(and counting) win streak deserves it's just due as an impressive feat because Lord knows when we will see another team(women's or men's) as dominant as these Lady Huskies but the streak needs to be only taken at face value. It's 89 straight wins against teams that are unknown to the general public. No matter how hard ESPN and other major networks will try to jam this feat down our throats over the next few weeks, it will take something completely drastic to change the minds of a male-dominated sports society(myself included). It may not be fair. It may not be right, but it's the way of the world. If Auriemma wants his girls to gain the respect and recognition of the men, he's going to have to actually compete with the men. This is Auriemma's opportunity to really make his mark. If he's serious about putting women's sports on par with the men, he'll campaign hard for some sort of "Battle of the Sexes"(much like King did against Riggs, and Margaret Court did before her). ESPN spends countless airtime running poker games, spelling bees, and basketball games filmed in high school gymnasiums on its network, so I know it can spare a few hours to air a showdown between Auriemma's Lady Huskies and whomever wins the NCAA Tournament out of the men(though, I'd much rather just see UConn vs. Duke since it will allow Auriemma to go up against his coaching equivalent in the men's game). 89 wins against the best women's college basketball had to offer may be impressive water cooler fodder for the next few months, but it will be nothing compared to just ONE win against the boys.
The ball's in YOUR court, ladies and gentlemen. Go shake up the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment