What a difference 38 years makes in NCAA women’s basketball

The 2024 NCAA women’s basketball national championship has been decided – South Carolina beat Iowa today 87-75 in Cleveland, Ohio. The game was played at Rocket Mortgage Field House, home arena of the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team, with capacity of 19,432. From this shot, it looks like it was pretty darn full! I attended one of the regional semifinal games in Portland, Oregon, and was happy that Texas (my team!) beat Gonzaga. The arena (Moda Center, home of the Portland Trail Blazers, capacity 19,393) was pretty full, probably 8000-10000 (media coverage had total Portland attendance at over 40000). Attendance overall has been up (sources: NCAA.com, Front Office Sports overall season attendance, Front Office Sports Iowa-UConn attendance/viewership, Oregon Public Broadcasting).

To contrast, I attended the University of Texas from 1980-1985, and began attending women’s basketball games in 1982. The number of fans at games was so small, and so quiet, that the main sound during much of the game was the squeaking from the player’s shoes. As a member of the Longhorn Band, we had a great impact at games (since almost no one else was making any noise). At the Moda Center, although all teams playing had bands and cheerleaders, the general crowd noise limited the effect of those groups. In the Texas-Gonzaga game, there was a point in the second half where Gonzaga was making a run to get back in the game, and the Gonzaga fans were pretty effective in cheering “Let’s Go Zags” for 1-2 minutes, but when Texas stopped their run, that was pretty much it for the Gonzaga crowd. It was fun being able to make an cheering impact like we did in the 1980s, but I am glad that the sport has progressed through the excellent play of Iowa, South Carolina, Texas, Gonzaga, and many great teams, and has had great increases in attendance. I’m looking forward to next year!

Do not mourn for the US women’s soccer national team

I read that the USWNT lost to Sweden on a shootout after the match was a draw. There are a number of stories/analyses about the loss and the meaning of it. Perhaps the team felt expectations to be able to win a World Cup for the third time in a row. Some picked at how one of the shootout goals was determined using electronic equipment. This same kind of equipment was used to determine that Michael Phelps won a race in the the Olympics by 1/100 of a second. It is the way that the game is played. To say that using shootouts or technology is “cruel” does not make sense. These are the rules of the game, this is how the game is played. This is sport – someone wins and someone loses.

As for the question of dynasties or multiple championships, it can happen. The New York Yankees, the Golden State Warriors, the Boston Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Tennessee and UConn women’s basketball teams, all had multiple championships in their respective sports. Was it “cruel” that they had their period of domination? And over time, as those teams lost key players and other teams developed their talent, those teams fell. This is the eternal cycle of sport.

The main thing to remember is – this is why they play the game – sometimes the favorite is upset (think NCAA mens and womens basketball tournaments – indeed ALL athletic tournaments) – you have to go out and do your best, and even then, it may not be enough to win. However, if you gave it everything you had, and still lost, you still have the knowledge that you did all you could do, and that day someone else was better. Again, this is the eternal cycle of sport. There will be another World Cup in 4 years – let’s see what happens then.

Watched the Blazers-Warriors game last night, Steph Curry looked really good! I hope that Portland can rebound and make this a good series – or even win it!