Ladies, you built this game
With March Madness at an all-time high, it's time to honor the ballers (and wannabes) who came before.
I’ve been caught up in March Madness this past week, and I heard something right before Monday’s game between Iowa and LSU that stopped me in my tracks.
ESPN analyst Elle Duncan was signing off with her co-hosts Chiney Ogwumike and Andraya Carter, who have been stealing pregame hearts all tournament.
They were tossing to the game, where Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were going head-to-head in a rematch of last year’s title game. Duncan knew that a whole lot of people were watching her in that moment, and she wasn’t going to let it pass.
As the transition music started to play in the background, Duncan talked directly to viewers. I couldn’t grab a pen fast enough to type what she said, so I’m going to have to paraphrase.
As we head into one of the most anticipated games in women’s basketball history, I want to take a second and address all the players out there who gave their blood, sweat and tears for this sport, all those hours on the court to lay the foundation for what you are about to watch tonight.
Ladies, you built this game for these women to play. This is your night, too.
I’d never heard a sports analyst break the fourth wall that way, delivering a message to a particular segment of her viewing audience, all those women who had practiced lay-ups until they couldn’t miss, high-fived their teammates when they did, and wiped the dirt off the bottom of their shoes with their bare hands so they didn’t slide all over the court in their two-year-old Converse high-tops.
All those fans who showed up, game after game, long after they graduated from college. (Like my buddies Belinda Hare, Dorsey Barger and Susan Hausmann who haven’t missed a game in decades and are kind enough to ask me to join them from time to time.)
She wanted them to know — she wanted us to know — that no matter how small our contribution, every player, every parent, every season ticket holder, every coach who had anything to do with getting young girls on the court and developing their talent along the way had played a role in creating this monumental tournament.
The game drew more than 12 million viewers, an incredible number by any measure. That’s more than any MLB game last year and all but one NBA game.
But as my pickup basketball buddy Fran Harris said on Facebook, don’t forget that Cheryl Miller’s Southern Cal team drew 11 million viewers in their title win over Louisiana Tech in 1983.
A few years later, Harris led the Longhorns to their first and only national championship title with an undefeated streak that still hasn’t been replicated at UT.
She’s an entrepreneur, producer, and business coach now, bubbling with ideas and energy that top-tier collegiate athletes have in spades.
You know what else they have?
A sense of legacy.
Harris’ post echoed what Duncan said on Monday night. Women’s basketball has been around for a long time, and many people have been dedicated to the sport without the sponsorships, endorsement deals, and the 24-hour media spotlight.
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