From 1971 - 74, John Wooden's UCLA Bruins basketball team won 88 consecutive games. It became one of those sports records that most people thought could never be equaled. Times are different now, the pundits said. There is too much parity.
It turns out that vaunted record wasn't so untouchable after all. Yesterday, the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team defeated Ohio State, 81 - 50. The game marked the 52nd time in the past 88 games that the Huskies have defeated an opposing team by 30 or more points. It also marked their 88th consecutive win.
After the latest win, coach Geno Auriemma had a few choice words for the media and quite a few basketball fans.
It's true that women's collegiate sports don't get the ink that most men's sports do. Attendance and fan attention tends to be a lot less too. While American society has made great strides in some areas, it is sad to admit that gender bias remains prevalent. Women continue to earn less than their male counterparts for comparable work. In many fields and businesses, women still face an implicit glass ceiling.
I don't care what gender a person is or what level of competition they face. Eighty-eight consecutive wins is a big stinking deal! If UConn defeats Florida State in their next game, the Huskies will own the NCAA Division I all-time record.
I, for one, will be rooting for them to do so. Hail the Huskies!!
It turns out that vaunted record wasn't so untouchable after all. Yesterday, the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team defeated Ohio State, 81 - 50. The game marked the 52nd time in the past 88 games that the Huskies have defeated an opposing team by 30 or more points. It also marked their 88th consecutive win.
After the latest win, coach Geno Auriemma had a few choice words for the media and quite a few basketball fans.
"All the women are happy as hell and they can't wait to come in here and ask questions. All the guys that loved women's basketball are all excited, and all the miserable bastards that follow men's basketball and don't want us to break the record are all here because they're pissed," Auriemma said. "That's just the way it is."What he had to say may not have been the most politically correct, but I think he said what needed saying.
The no-nonsense Auriemma had downplayed the significance of the streak as his team closed in on UCLA, promising that once the run was over he would finally open up.
But the Hall of Fame coach, known to rub folks the wrong way at times, has never been afraid to say what's on his mind.
"Because we're breaking a men's record, we've got a lot of people paying attention," Auriemma said. "If we were breaking a women's record, everybody would go, 'Aren't those girls nice, let's give them two paragraphs in USA Today, you know, give them one line on the bottom of ESPN and then let's send them back where they belong, in the kitchen.' "
It's true that women's collegiate sports don't get the ink that most men's sports do. Attendance and fan attention tends to be a lot less too. While American society has made great strides in some areas, it is sad to admit that gender bias remains prevalent. Women continue to earn less than their male counterparts for comparable work. In many fields and businesses, women still face an implicit glass ceiling.
I don't care what gender a person is or what level of competition they face. Eighty-eight consecutive wins is a big stinking deal! If UConn defeats Florida State in their next game, the Huskies will own the NCAA Division I all-time record.
I, for one, will be rooting for them to do so. Hail the Huskies!!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are unmoderated, so you can write whatever you want.