Is Geno Auriemma Right?

[The People's Peep]

For those who dont know, Geno Auriemma is the head coach of the Women's Basketball team at UConn. They have been the best team in the country for the last two years plus and are currently on an incredible winning streak. Yesterday, they tied the D-1 basketball record of 88 games, the longest winning streak by either a men's or women's team, tying the great UCLA team coach by the late great John Wooden.

After the game, Coach Auriemma said the following comments:

I just know there wouldn't be this many people in the room if we were chasing a woman's record. The reason everybody is having a heart attack the last four or five days is a bunch of women are threatening to break a men's record, and everybody is all up in arms about it.

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

Because we're breaking a men's record, we've got a lot of people paying attention. 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.

Is Coach right? Are we only paying attention to their streak because they are breaking a men's record?

 

[Theo Mays]

He makes a great point honestly. I think he may very well be right, but as a semi-fan of basketball I've been off and on following the lady Huskies during their streak and it is incredible what they have done. They deserve whatever recognition they get. Some people seem to be against them still like Tim Cowlishaw who tweeted these two tweets:

Is it OK to speak the truth and say that UConn women are NOT breaking UCLA's and John Wooden's record? Because they aren't

http://twitter.com/TimCowlishaw/status/16898755886317568

It's not that UConn women aren't good. But if a WNBA team wins 10 titles in row, does it break Celtics' record?

http://twitter.com/TimCowlishaw/status/16900016765411329

He also makes a solid point, as they don't bunch up records into college basketball. They are separated with men's college records and women's college records. I'm not gonna say that the UConn women's team broke the UCLA record, but what they are doing is impressive in its own right and deserves what attention it gets. They are an amazing team with amazing talent, props to them. To answer it fully, yes I think Geno is right. The main reason this is getting so much media love is due to the fact that they eclipsed the men's record set by UCLA.

 

[klunderbunker]

It's two different sports. It'll be the longest record in college basketball history, but what Geno says is true: no one would care if the longest women's record was 88 and the longest men's record was higher. I'm not going to get into whether or not it's more impressive or whatever, but at the end of the day people do not care about women's basketball for the most part. Outside of Tennessee and UConn, I would be surprised if the vast majority of casual fans of basketball in general could name any other big time women's program. Call it sexist or biased if you like, but it's true. People for the most part do not care about women's basketball, so yes the only reason people are caring about this is because it's a men's record.

 

[Chardee Macdennis]

Of course he's right, but it's a damn shame. The UConn women's basketball team has been one of, if not THE most impressive teams this decade. I can't honestly say I follow women's hoops, or any other sport, but I will stop to watch this team. They deserve every ounce of respect/credit they get. I won't go as far as saying it's unfair, because it's not. We shouldn't be forced to care about women's sports just because it's PC. But I defy anyone to tell me that what this team has done isn't impressive.