Hello & Welcome to our community. Is this your first visit? Register
Results 1 to 3 of 3
  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Posts
    715

    "Minor" college sports

    The lady gamecocks of South Carolina are leading the action in total attendance in women's basketball, averaging over 12,000 per game. The baseball gamecocks have been in the top 4 or 5 in total attendance for years, averaging over 7,000 per game.

    These facts show that the excitement of college sports doesn't have to be limited to just two sports ( football and men's basketball.) The special atmosphere of college sports can be transferred to other sports as well. Commentators never fail to exclaim over the high level of excitement and fan participation at South Carolina in these two sports, that are "minor" so many places.

    Womens' basketball is a different game from men's version: More passing and strategy, and more opportunity for gifted athletes of average height to complement tall players on a team.

    A cultural aside: The lady gamecocks, with their great fan following, are 100 per cent African-American, despite playing only a half- mile from the notorious Confederate flag that prevented their hosting an NCAA round in past years. That flag is only 50 yards from a monument to African-American history that depicts the evils of slavery and segregation. Both are on the Capitol grounds, but national news networks regularly only show the flag, not the monument. I've spoken to a CNN reporter about this, but got nowhere with him. Both stories are being told in these changing times.

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Posts
    374

    Re: "Minor" college sports

    I've become a fan of U. of Minnesota Gophers Womens' Hockey. They're a great team, which is a pleasant change of pace from my other teams (Vikings, Raiders, Twins.) What's especially neat is that they are truly student athletes. The game is surprisingly fast and well-played, and traditional rival Wisconsin also has an excellent team. Tickets are cheap, and there's usually a pretty good crowd.

    The Gophers draw about 1900 per game, but some teams, like Boston College (which also has an excellent team), only draw a few hundred, which is really sad.

    If someone is into sports for the sake of the game, and doesn't want to pay a fortune for tickets, I'd recommend collegiate womens' hockey.

    A comment on the post above: From a historical perspective, I get tired of having the Confederate flag thought of as simply a pro-slavery symbol. Certainly slavery was an issue decided by that war, but the concept of states' rights (as opposed to a monolithic federal government that controls everything) was, and is, a very valid, and Constitutional, framework.

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    1,862

    Re: "Minor" college sports

    As a GU collector, my first thought of course was about the availability of game-worn women's basketball and hockey items. My second thought was how easy it would be for a would-be collector, hanging around outside the locker room, to get busted as some kind of a pervert.

    Seriously, though, I've managed to collect a couple of ASU women's softball jerseys and a helmet, but even memorabilia from a relatively popular and high-profile sport like softball is hard to come by.

 

 

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:14 PM.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5
Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.
vBulletin Skin By: PurevB.com