Finally!
On December 30, 2010, something happened that hasn't occurred since November 16, 2008 - the U-Conn women lost. Ironically, the last time they lost was also to Stanford. However, this loss snapped their winning streak at 90 games.
However, something more important happened with that victory. Now, everyone can go back to their normal routines. We can watch SportsCenter again. We can go to sports related websites again. We can watch highlights of the previous nights sporting events again. Why? Because now these Clydesdales are no longer going to be forced down our throats as every media outlet tries to make us care about this 'accomplishment'.
Women's college basketball can now go back to the same corner reserved for sports no one cares about, like curling, luge, cribbage, footbag, and unicycle hockey. You have your four fans. You have better mustaches and more armpit hair than I do. Good for you. Now go away.
Hopefully this squad will continue to lose at random points in time so that they can stop being forced into the national consciousness. This is a niche sport - like kyudo. Once again, thank you to the Stanford women for getting rid of them from my television. If any of you were attractive, I'd take you out for a beer.
Showing posts with label U-Conn Huskies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label U-Conn Huskies. Show all posts
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
If a Tree Falls in a Forest....
We all know the ancient question - if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there, does it make a sound. Well, there is a new question for modern times - if a women's college basketball team wins 89 games in a row, does anyone care? While we may never truly be able to say what the answer to the first question is, the answer to the second question is a definite and resounding NO!
Now, this is a solid streak. Winning anything 89 times in a row is impressive. However, this is not a streak on par with the UCLA winning streak in the 1970s. This is not a streak that compares with the LA Lakers winning 33 games from November 5, 1971 until January 7, 1972. Why is that? Because, despite sharing the same name, these are two completely different sports.
Take the U-Conn women's basketball team and put them in the Division One Men's side, and they get destroyed. Not only do these Clydesdales with a ball simply not have the athletic prowess that men do, but they also do not have anything near the talent of even a mediocre program. Watching women's basketball is the sports equivalent of watching paint dry. No one can hit a shot. Games are routinely in the 50's. The only thing it is good for is to have something on in the background when taking a nap if you happen to be one of those people that cannot sleep without a television on.
What could change this? Maybe lowering the hoops in women's basketball by a foot. Maybe the games would be more interesting if they had token 'basketball players' who were nothing more than hot chicks dressed up in the team's uniforms. This has proven to be a strategy that works; after all, how many people paid any attention to women's professional tennis before Anna Kournikova put on the mini skirt and 'played'? Or, maybe the mainstream media should recognize women's sports as what they are - a niche sport that perhaps four people in total care about. And this estimate may be high.
There are the arguments that these programs help to boost the self-esteem and mental toughness of females. These are valid points. Having women's sports can keep impressionable females from getting pregnant, ending up on a pole in some seedy club, or having a career on a street corner. Of course, this is not exactly something that any of the women on the U-Conn team have to worry about, but it is nice that these options do exist to keep people from following these paths. Just don't expect anyone to care about this 'accomplishment'. After all, this isn't even a real sport.
Now, this is a solid streak. Winning anything 89 times in a row is impressive. However, this is not a streak on par with the UCLA winning streak in the 1970s. This is not a streak that compares with the LA Lakers winning 33 games from November 5, 1971 until January 7, 1972. Why is that? Because, despite sharing the same name, these are two completely different sports.
Take the U-Conn women's basketball team and put them in the Division One Men's side, and they get destroyed. Not only do these Clydesdales with a ball simply not have the athletic prowess that men do, but they also do not have anything near the talent of even a mediocre program. Watching women's basketball is the sports equivalent of watching paint dry. No one can hit a shot. Games are routinely in the 50's. The only thing it is good for is to have something on in the background when taking a nap if you happen to be one of those people that cannot sleep without a television on.
What could change this? Maybe lowering the hoops in women's basketball by a foot. Maybe the games would be more interesting if they had token 'basketball players' who were nothing more than hot chicks dressed up in the team's uniforms. This has proven to be a strategy that works; after all, how many people paid any attention to women's professional tennis before Anna Kournikova put on the mini skirt and 'played'? Or, maybe the mainstream media should recognize women's sports as what they are - a niche sport that perhaps four people in total care about. And this estimate may be high.
There are the arguments that these programs help to boost the self-esteem and mental toughness of females. These are valid points. Having women's sports can keep impressionable females from getting pregnant, ending up on a pole in some seedy club, or having a career on a street corner. Of course, this is not exactly something that any of the women on the U-Conn team have to worry about, but it is nice that these options do exist to keep people from following these paths. Just don't expect anyone to care about this 'accomplishment'. After all, this isn't even a real sport.
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