NCAA Women's Basketball

This year has been the most watched season of women's college basketball ever.  Records have been broken not only in viewership, but also on the court.  Kaitlin Court has become a women's basketball phenom on the court unlike any other female ever.  She's polarizing with love and hate coming from fans at the game and at home.  Tonight as she and Iowa take on LSU in the Final Four, ESPN can talk of nothing else.  It is the most hyped women's basketball game that I can remember.

Talk on sports radio has also begun to speculate on next year's women's basketball season and what this year means for the college program and the WNBA.  Clark is predicted to be chosen by the Indiana Fever as the number one pick.  Sports analysts expect viewership to rise in at both the college and professional level and attendance at the games to increase.  

As nice as that would be for women's athletics, I just don't see that happening.  Kaitlin Clark was very good and it was always interesting to watch her play.  I believe, however, that part of the hype occurred because she was from Iowa.  The Midwest always supports its basketball teams and the Big Ten brings in a lot of viewers.  The weather in this part of the country is not conducive for a lot of outside activity in the winter.  Basketball has become part of that area's culture - games to look forward to on a cold night, state teams to support, rivalries to keep track of and a way to defeat the winter blues.  The men's teams were down this year with only Purdue and Illinois ranked nationally.  Those weren't teams to rally around, so I believe that basketball fans turned to the women's game for the entertainment that they were used to getting from the men's side.  

I also don't see this year's enthusiasm carrying on to next year's when Clark is in the WNBA.  The WNBA plays in the summer when most sports fans are outside themselves enjoying their favorite activities instead of watching them. I doubt that anyone can bring up viewership in a summer sport except for maybe the Olympics.  

I hope that I am wrong.  Maybe women's basketball will continue to grow.  It definitely will be interesting to see what the future holds.  Either way, it has been a lot of fun following along this season.