The X Chromosome and Basketball

I did the unthinkable last night...I actually watched 3 straight minutes of women's basketball (at any level)! Maryland played St. John's in the "other" NCAA tournament so I watched it by default because the men's team has been piss-poor for the last 3 years and will be so until the 2007 season. It also helps that the women's team is #3 in the country. MD won with some key offensive boards and clutch free throws so I'll continue to root them on, especially when it gives me another reason to hate on duke.

I see jumpshots like this all the time in pickup games. The YMCA jumpers just don't go in as often.

I'm not about to hate on the women's game because they're very talented, but watching an entire women's basketball game is running neck and neck with crochet. The women's play is akin to my friends and I - not much hangtime with plenty of jump shots. The lady Terps and their opponents are very very very skilled YMCA players. Meaning there isn't any real above-the-rim action. Lots of women hold their own with guys and lots of women beat them too. I'm not arguing that topic. I'm saying the style of play in a women's game isn't as appealing as a men's game. I wouldn't be interested in watching my pickup games in person or on TV, even if we made more jump shots.

Women's hoops...the last place a coach's word matters.

I've heard and read that the women's game is pure, unselfish, and the last area of the sport that still understands the importance of fundamentals. That's all well and good if you're teaching your kid how to play or if you enjoy coaching - all a coach wants are players who'll listen. However, for the casual attention deficit disorder fan of my generation, we don't have the patience for that and would rather see the ego-driven drives to the basket while someone is double-teamed or 3-pointers shot despite 3-on-1 fast breaks. If I want exciting basketball, give me plays that I can only dream about doing. Anyone can make a layup or hit a jump shot, but not everyone can throw it down or hang in the air before laying it in.

Hey! I can do a layup too...just not at this level.

Maybe I should have let sleeping dogs lie, but I prefer the men's game because they play at a higher level. Just as I infamously said in my final project for a women's studies class (it knocked out 3 core requirements at once), "at the highest level in all sports, men outperform women." Well you'd have thought I said, "women should only cook, clean, and make babies." The class had heard what it wanted to hear, but I stood my ground and corrected them...for all mankind I might add! I appreciate the talents of female basketball players. I'm just saying I enjoy watching athletes do things I can't do. Of course, God willing, should I have kids of my own, they'll probably be girls and I'll watch their basketball games and even go to higher-level (WNBA) games. But I'll still enjoy my windmill dunks and rebound slams over any YMCA jump shot anyday.

Use anything you can, even a tree, to get above the rim.