Often, when society makes what is perceived as a significant step forward, we stop and wonder if we are witnessing a movement or a moment. This question seems especially relevant today as we approach the finish line of the most memorable and important season in women’s college basketball history.
An entity once marginalized by fans and broadcast partners is suddenly as hot as fish grease. The Associated Press reports that tickets for the women’s Final Four cost at least twice as much as the men’s on the secondary market, which is understandable given that one is played in an arena, the other in a stadium. soccer. But it wouldn’t be shocking even if the two were in the same building, given the interest generated by Iowa’s 94-87 victory over LSU Monday night in the Elite Eight showdown.
The rematch of last season’s NCAA championship game attracted 12.3 million viewers, becoming the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history, despite being broadcast on cable . Sportsmediawatch.com reported that it was ESPN’s largest basketball audience since Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals, and Joe Pompliano of “The Joe Pomp Show” said it surpassed both the 2023 NBA Finals and World Series, as well as the Orange, Cotton and Peach bowls. , and Big Ten, Pac-12, Big 12 and ACC championship football games.
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Disney CEO Bob Iger was among the voices openly celebrating the game, taking a moment during Tuesday’s annual shareholder meeting to say of women’s sports: “Not only have they arrived, but their potential is huge. » The comment raised eyebrows, if only because Disney, owner of ABC and ESPN, is broadcasting the South Carolina-North Carolina State and Iowa-Connecticut semifinals on cable television Friday instead. than on ABC, where there would be access to a wider audience.
But at this point the games could be shown on the BBC and they would probably get huge numbers. The play is so good, the plots so compelling, the interest so high. And yet, the question of timing against the movement remains valid if viewed from a historical perspective.
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In 1983, a record 11.84 million viewers tuned in to CBS to see USC defeat Louisiana Tech for the women’s national title. The Trojans were led by a lanky freshman named Cheryl Miller, whose boundless energy was matched only by her sublime talents and infectious smile. Some believed that the door to a prosperous future was opening; after all, the audience increased by just over 3 million compared to the 1982 championship.
But slowly, then suddenly, the women’s championship game fell into relative obscurity, hitting the 10 million viewer mark just once in the last 40 years — in 1986, when an average of 11.22 million viewers viewers watched it. game rights moved from CBS to ESPN in 1996, meaning the game would be available in fewer homes, but this was partly due to Neanderthal perceptions that the women’s game was not as exciting, competent or entertaining than that of men.
This attitude has changed in recent years thanks to a greater willingness to recognize and appreciate the skills and talent of players and teams, as well as storylines that transcend genre. Like many others, the Iowa-LSU game was a date for me. In the meantime, I asked myself: in general, which is the bigger attraction, a great player or a great team? Fred Gaudelli, executive producer of NBC Sports and 2023 inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was one of the people I contacted for information. Gaudelli and Flora Kelly, vice president of research at ESPN, have spent much of their adult lives grappling with this question.
“Ninety percent of the time, people are listening to the players,” Gaudelli said. “It’s the expectation of seeing greatness, of seeing something you haven’t seen, of seeing something historic, of being able to converse the next day with all your friends or work colleagues about what so-and-so did last night. This goes beyond the team. They always say it’s about the front of the jersey, and that’s certainly the case when you’re in the locker room. But when we talk about TV draws, we talk about stars. When people argue and fight over the NFL schedule, we argue and fight over Patrick Mahomes. Patrick Mahomes is now one of them. You pretty much know you’re going to get a good grade if he’s in the game.”
Gaudelli grew up in New York as a University of Southern California fan. The Trojans were part of the first football game he watched with his father and he fell in love with the uniform colors, the pageantry and a transcendent running back named OJ Simpson, who would go on to win the trophy Heisman. The anticipation of something special, the belief that an incredible piece could be within reach, continues to influence his vision of what fans want today.
“In the ’90s, I played so many games with the Lions, and the Lions weren’t very good,” he said. “But, man, they had this guy (running back Barry Sanders) that you had to watch because you just didn’t know what was going to happen. And every Lions game I played, there was that run where you were like, “What the fuck?” How did he do that?’ It was this guy.
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Kelly acknowledges that big players can increase viewership, but thinks it’s deeper than that.
“To say what the bigger draw is, player or team, depends on what sport you’re talking about and what’s going on,” she said. “For a sport like the NBA, the athlete is more important than, say, baseball. In the case of Caitlin (Clark, Iowa’s talented guard), it must be remembered that she is a generational athlete who has the ability to drive ratings to a degree rarely seen outside of Tiger, Serena or LeBron. So in a way, from a research perspective, she’s like an outlier but a good one. And so she’s one of those people who can kind of improve the score to the same degree as a team. But generally when we look at what can determine a rating, we look at the team’s fan base and the team’s performance. If you think about it, a team’s legacy and the ability to build a long-standing fan base is much easier to activate once that team is doing well.
Kelly experiences slight frustration when people try to compartmentalize the discussion. Attracting Iowa-LSU’s viewership takes several factors: 1, a transcendent player in Clark, who is as comfortable breaking scoring records as she is witting opponents; 2, a dominant opponent in LSU, who was looking to repeat as national champion; and 3, compelling personalities like Tigers coach Kim Mulkey, who will not back down from competition, criticism or the press, and star forward Angel Reese, whose talents are matched only by his willingness to ‘Be authentic and unapologetic with who she is.
“In the case of a generational athlete like Caitlin, yes, she absolutely sucks,” Kelly said. “But there were Tier 1 teams involved in the Elite Eight. LSU, UConn South Carolina – these are all teams that have strong fan bases and, I don’t think, without their performances, the kind of interest in college basketball that we’re seeing would have happened as well.
All eyes are on the Hawkeyes 👀 #WFinalFour X @IowaWBB pic.twitter.com/IAVtY1Pxzq
– NCAA Women’s Final Four (@WFinalFour) April 3, 2024
Clark exists in what researchers call a halo: athletes or coaches who transcend their sport. Deion Sanders is another, according to Kelly. These individuals spark conversations that go beyond sports. They drive social media beyond their performances, potentially exploiting or fueling discussions about culture, race, or gender.
“We’re in a unique moment where social media can really turn and create a kind of hyper-awareness around these athletes, causing a moment that goes beyond sports,” Kelly said. “But there are so many other factors that people just flat out ignore and just make her a Caitlin Clark. There are a lot of stories around her that lift her up. Maybe she’s not the one Chicken or the egg. Maybe it’s both.
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The good thing for women’s college basketball is that it has both: excellent young players to fill the void when Clark is gone, whether it’s USC freshman JuJu Watkins , Connecticut guard Paige Bueckers or LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson, to name a few. And there’s no shortage of storylines, starting with No. 1 seed South Carolina, the only undefeated team in this year’s Final Four and a team that plans to be the talk of the town for years to come.
A moment? No, it looks like a movement. A movement that is long overdue.
(Photo of Caitlin Clark signing autographs after Iowa beat LSU in the rematch of last year’s championship game: Sarah Stier/Getty Images)