Enough With The Sexist Commentary Regarding The UConn Women's Basketball Team

On multiple occasions since the UConn women's basketball team broke the all-time Division I-A record for consecutive wins at 89, breaking the UCLA men team's record of 88, I've heard/read several people compare the two streaks and contend that there is really nothing to compare. On television, that's usually where the commentary stops, but I read some posts in the ESPN message boards last night and as usual, it appears as if people don't fear reaction to the written word as much as they do the spoken word.

I read such comments as: "Come on. If my kid were to break Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak record, would I claim that my kid is as good or better than DiMaggio? Same thing with this. Just because the UConn women's team broke the streak, that doesn't mean they're as good or better than UCLA. If anyone says that, they don't know anything about basketball."

Someone else said, "UConn didn't break UCLA's streak. They're completely different sports. They own the women's record and UCLA owns the men's record. It's as simple as that."

Another said, "What, do you think UConn could beat UCLA? How about if we see the UConn women's team play the men's team and see what happens. Let's see the UConn women's team beat men's teams 89 straight times."

There was more, "The talent isn't even comparable. Women don't like basketball. They like tennis and volleyball, but not basketball. That's a man's game. So, if a coach can recruit well, they can dominate."

I read a few other rotten comments, but those are the ones that stood out for me.

Why? Why must we do this? I don't think many UConn fans are claiming that their women's team could beat UCLA's men's team from way back. But, that doesn't make the streak unimpressive or any less impressive. Back in Wooden's day, there were only a few juggernauts and a bunch of cupcakes, very similar to women's basketball today. How can we dismiss a team, regardless of gender, who won 89 consecutive games? 89? Not 19, not 29, not even 79, but 89 and counting? That's amazing! Think of the discipline and the focus necessary for a team to win 89 straight. Every team, regardless of the sport, has their off games. Nobody is on their game every single time out. Due to this, it's nearly impossible to do what the UConn women's team did (and the UCLA men's team). Let's not compare the two schools in terms of superiority in talent. Let's appreciate the streaks, both of them, for what they are, and cut it out with the sexist commentary. The more of these statements I hear/read, the more credence I have to lend UConn head coach, Geno Auriemma. Perhaps he was spot on with his comments preceding the record-breaking game, unfortunately.