It's that time, when the best college basketball teams in the country face off against one another, and the public is unified by their intense interest in young men whose names they had never heard a week earlier. It is also that time of year when some person of note makes a loud, public ruckus about the obvious social flaw revealed by our national apathy toward the woman's tournament.
This year, the ruckus-maker is Geno Auriemma, coach of the UConn woman's team, who used his post game press conference after an early-round win, to blast the UConn fans for not showing up to cheer. His premise was that the fans are spoiled and consider it "a given" that the team will make it to the final four. He surmised that they are all waiting until the more important games before showing up.
History and market research both tell us that he is wrong.
I think that most agree about certain, positive aspects of school sports programs. They are great opportunities for student athletes to learn about dedication, teamwork, and leadership. Many participants learn invaluable life skills and important lessons about winning, losing, commitment, and sportsmanship. For those who choose to participate, these programs can change their lives in many positive ways.
However, benefits to the student athletes do not translate directly into "interesting spectator opportunities" and, unfortunately, woman's basketball is boring to the masses. You can put it on TV but it won't pull a large viewing audience. You can play it in a big arena but not many will come to see it. And you can attach heightened importance to each game in a championship tournament, but most don't really care.
Memo to Geno, the fans aren't spoiled, they just have more interesting ways to spend their time and money.
