|
NEWS, NOTES &
COMMENTARY
-----
|
The
Bradsher Beat
Friday, February 23, 2007
By Bethany Bradsher |
 |
Lady Pirates, please accept my apologies
By Bethany Bradsher
�2007 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Every time a new flash of good news has been
heralded from the East Carolina women�s basketball program in recent weeks,
I have seen her face in my mind�s eye.
With the way her team has performed since our
conversation, Jasmine Young has successfully planted herself into my
subconscious.
I was over at the Murphy Center about three
weeks ago, interviewing Young and Cherie Mills for a feature story. Young�s
initial reception of me was a bit unexpected. She sat sideways in her chair
frowning while I introduced myself and told her that I was working for the
Pirate Club publication.
�Are they going to come to our games?� she
asked, still not meeting my eye.
I stammered around a little, explaining that I
didn�t know if more fans would decided to catch the Lady Pirates, but that
publicity like the article could only help. I told her that I would try to
come to one of their games personally before the season ended.
I didn�t hold up my end of the bargain. My crazy
life intervened, and suddenly I heard last weekend that ECU had just played
its final home game. Augmenting my guilt about my broken promise is this
undeniable fact: This is a team that has swept right past fan apathy on the
way to exceeding every expectation.
Six consecutive wins, all in Conference USA.
That streak, capped last night with a 68-52 drubbing of Southern Miss, is
the longest C-USA winning streak in the history of the program. Center
Cherie Mills was named conference player of the week this week, marking the
first time since 2005 that a team member has been honored by the conference.
In short, the Lady Pirates (15-13, 10-5 C-USA),
have owned everything that the men�s team could only hope to grasp: Photo
finishes in tough contests, strength and chemistry as the postseason
approaches and now, guaranteed with yesterday�s Southern Miss win, a bye in
the first round of this weekend�s Conference USA tournament.
It�s enough to warrant a standing ovation, if
only fans were showing up to give one. As Jasmine observed, the team's home
crowds have been underwhelming this season, even when widespread frustration
with the men�s team should have sent true Pirates scurrying for brighter
horizons.
If they had visited Minges for the final home
game on Saturday, they could have witnessed the Pirates breaking Tulane�s
10-game winning streak with highlights like 80 percent accuracy from the
free-throw line. They would have had plenty to cheer about, and they
wouldn�t have had to spend a minute worrying about whether they should wear
a bag on their heads.
Remember, I�m guilty too. Jasmine Young, who
scored a career-high 29 points in last night�s Southern Miss triumph, got to
the heart of the matter that day in the Murphy Center when she said, �People
just don�t think the women�s game is as exciting as the men�s.�
As a female sportswriter, I should know better
than that. As the daughter of two Tennessee alumni, I should really know
better. But I am still biased toward the type of men�s competition that
makes March Madness my favorite, bar-none sporting event of the year.
Maybe the striking imbalance between the women
and the men with their 13-game losing streak can teach us all a thing or two
as the regular season winds down on Saturday. Take a moment, as you decide
whether to attend the men�s game against Texas-El Paso Saturday night, to
check the results of the women�s road game against Central Florida.
It�s too late for me to truly redeem myself,
Jasmine, but I hope you�ll accept my good-faith assurance that I will pay
closer attention from now on. Next week you�ll be far away, in Tulsa for
your conference tournament, trying to lengthen your team�s foray into places
where no ECU women�s team has gone before.
And next fall, when schedules and preseason talk
begins, I will pick two or three games and write them directly into my
calendar. In pen.
I�m just thankful that Jasmine is only a
sophomore.
Send an e-mail message to
Bethany Bradsher.
Click here to dig into Bethany Bradsher's Bonesville
archives.
02/23/2007 01:14:38 AM |
