I sit here at my computer with mixed feelings about the state of the women's game today as revealed in the 2007 NCAA women’s basketball tournament to this point. In the 21 years I have been following this sport, I have watched the women’s game grow by leaps and bounds. From the days of no more than a handful of people in the gym two decades ago to sell-out crowds in many arenas today, the women’s game is coming into it’s own. Names like Fowles, Latta, Parker, Prince and Price are now bandied about by sportscasters and fans across the nation. And it’s not just women anymore who are keeping up with the sport. I am approached daily at my day job by men who, knowing I write about SEC women’s basketball, want to talk up the game. I couldn’t be any happier to spread the word about a sport I love -- a sport filled with athleticism, ability and class. I’m glad more and more people are paying attention. And yet, at many of this year's sites there are a plethora of empty seats. For all the strides that have been made, the women's game still has a ways to go. This fact isn't lost on administrators, coaches or the players. Nothing would be more pleasing to the women's game than to put up the attendance and viewing numbers like those on the men's side. But I'm afraid that in our quest to become more like the men's game, we are adopting their negative attributes as well.

I used to keep up with men’s college basketball almost as faithfully as I follow the women’s game, but I grew disenfranchised down through the years. The men’s game disintegrated into a slam-dunk fest and in-your-face posturing and posing for the nearest TV cameras. The women’s game was still about the purity of the sport -- crisp half-court execution, making the extra pass and good solid defense -- something many of the men’s programs abandoned long ago. I feel like I need to bring a bottle of mustard with me to the arena when watching a men’s game, there is so much hot-dogging going on. Several years ago, legendary men’s coach John Wooden said, "if you want to see the best basketball in the world, watch a women's basketball game." I am afraid the women’s game is on the verge of losing some of that appeal when I watch some of the actions on the court today.

When I see Jessica Davenport in frustration throw a cheap shot elbow at the head of Marist’s Meg Dahlman, it reminds me more of Kobe Bryant swinging an elbow at Mike Miller than it does of the women’s game I admire, a game long filled with sportsmanship. When I see Candace Parker screaming “Are you serious?” at an opponent she has just resoundingly blocked, it makes me angry. But more than that, it makes me sad. I am not trying to take anything away from the phenomenal athletic abilities of either of these two athletes -- the record books speak for themselves. Davenport is a 2-time All-American and 3-time Big Ten Player of the Year. Does that make her actions any less distasteful? No. Parker is in the process of rewriting the record books at a school which has the most storied history of any women’s basketball program in the nation. The Tennessee Lady Vols are synonymous with championship women’s basketball, and Parker may wind up as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Does that excuse her unsportsmanlike conduct towards Shantell Black? No.

There is a fine line between exuberance and a lack of sportsmanship, and it is a line the women’s game would do well to avoid. If I wanted to see a player screaming at an opponent, I’d just tune in to watch Joakim Noah’s latest antics. If I wanted to see cheap shots taken at an opponent’s head, I’d go watch WWE. I’d much rather see a player, after setting a good pick and flattening the defender, help that player up, give her a pat, and take it right back at her on the next play. I don’t mind seeing celebration after a perfect pick-and-roll execution or a back-door cut or a monster block. Part of the joy of sport is the sheer exhilaration one feels during those fleeting moments of perfection. By all means, high five or chest bump your teammates, but don’t direct your antics at the opponent. It cheapens a game I love. Let your talent and execution speak for themselves. Anything else is unnecessary. Players and the coaches who coach them would do well to remember another great quote from the Wizard of Westwood: “Sports do not build character. They reveal it.” I hope those who coach and play the women’s game today step back and take a serious look at the character being revealed.

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