Grinds My Gears...

I'm not sure if this will turn into a daily thing but Jimmy The Greek needs a place to vent and what better forum than The Stinky Cheese. Apparently Geno Auriemma went on another one of his attention grabbing rants last night because he was unhappy that there wasn't a sellout crowd for the Connecticut women's basketball game. My favorite comment was, "Maybe we should offer free parking, more giveaways... We should let some of the fans coach the team, maybe a guest coach every quarter." Now I get the whole Title IX, equal opportunity thing but let's get two things straight. First, it doesn't matter what sporting event you are talking about, when you have an inferior product, you can't complain when people decide not to show up so it would be wise not to criticize the fans you do have. Can the UFL afford to criticize potential fans for preferring to attend and watch NFL games? Do the Schaumburg Flyers have a right to get upset if people prefer to watch games at Wrigley Field over Alexian Field? I don't think so. It's nothing personal but when I sit down to my TV, I would prefer to watch D Rose go off on the Hawks or even Kent State play Colorado in the NIT. If you are a University of Connecticut student on a limited budget, what would you prefer to do... pay $30 (yes that was the price of admission, even for students) to watch the UConn women do a layup drill for two hours or use that $30 at happy hour tomorrow to watch the UConn men play for a trip to the Elite Eight? I think we all know the answer to that question.

Second, the only reason 99.9% of women's athletic programs can financially exist is because they are subsidized by the profitable men's athletic program's. Last night I flipped to ESPN2 (only because the guide said Sportcenter was on) and it was the end of the Georgia's women's basketball game and there was absolutely no one there. I'd argue there are more people that visit this blog than were at that game. What enables this program to continue year after year? I'm sure it has something to do with the 92,000 that show up on Saturday's to watch the football team. This maybe controversial but the facts are facts. Can Michelle Wie hit a golf ball farther than me? Would Holly Mangold (Nick Mangold's sister) dominate me in blue-white? Of course and that's why I don't have a problem with women getting an equal opportunity to play what ever sport they want. What Grinds My Gears is when a coach has the audacity to complain that only 5,000 people were willing to pay $30 per ticket to watch his team play.