Who I root for doesn't determine my dedication to the whole sport and who I choose to have knowledgeable basketball conversations with. There may have been a time in my life where that was the case, however, I now feel mature enough to have conversations with people I may not agree with in a civil manner about sports. I have friends on multiple WCBB forums. I contribute on about 10 of them (Baylor, Oklahoma, UCLA, Stanford, Notre Dame, Duke, South Carolina, Ohio State, Maryland, and this one). I'm not bent out of shape and said I respected your opinion and was trying to have a friendly discussion. I will reiterate, my suspicion was that your issue was with the who and not the what. I was inquiring whether you'd watch a Tennessee blow out or not.
I'm not sure who is saying UCONN and USF are rivals. They are obviously the best two in their conference but rivals, no. I don't know a knowledgeable WCBB fan who would say that.
As far as ratings go I will say this. Interest & demographics. You hinted at it in your original statement with "Why are you on a Tennessee board if you're such a huge UCONN fan?" That is the mindset of the casual WCBB fan. They don't watch or buy tickets for other teams outside of their own. Usually thy will maybe watch a conference game and not even the whole thing and that's about it. There are very few followers of the sport. Let me say that again.. THE SPORT. There are obviously large pockets of followers of a school or a team but the sport itself isn't a draw. It has nothing to do with UCONN. There are 364 D1 teams and now a days nearly all games are streamed either online or are on TV somewhere. UCONN plays on average 35 games a year w/ the vast majority going online and SNY. That means there is likely 10k games to watch in a season if you like the sport. You're telling me people across the nation are going to not watch their team because UConn is playing and killing someone? UConn's games on the major networks are usually vs a ranked opponent w/ the exception of the first 2 or 3 rounds of the tourney which they can't help who they draw. How many non-Tennessee, non-SEC games are you watching? You get what I'm saying? It doesn't add up.
The point I'm trying to make is I had this exact conversation on the Baylor forum a while ago. Many think they are WCBB fans but they really aren't. They are just a fan of their school. If you only watch your school and no other teams. You don't love the sport you love that team. That's okay but don't call yourself a WCBB fan say you're a UConn fan or a Baylor or a Kentucky or whoever fan.
That's why I find it hilarious when someone says UConn is the reason the ratings are bad then you find out they don't know a damn thing about the sport as a whole because they have only been watching 1 team or 1 conference play for 10 years. How on earth are you going to say anything about the sport as a whole when you haven't seen it? Furthermore, if you as a supposed WCBB fan are only watching one team how then would you expect as fan for the sport to grow if you don't even watch other teams yourself but you want others to? It makes no sense.
People need to understand the demographic in which the sport appeals to first, then understand how that demographic interacts within that industry. WCBB doesn't have a large number of fans as a whole. It instead has pockets of fans dedicated either to a certain team/region/or conference. The NCAA needs to build on that and go from there. You can't force nation wide acceptance. You take what you are given and spend your resources there.
I agree UCONN plays great defense, but it isn't the same playing against someone from Tulsa vs. an elite level athlete that can blow by you. Sure I would want them in a better conference and I'm sure if they had a choice in the matter they would move out of the AAC. Just like those who shout, "I back Pat and roll with Holly" I made the decision to be a UCONN fan in 2004 and haven't looked back.
I'm sure people do get tired of the same story line especially when it's not their team. Unfortunately, its up to the stewards of the sport (the coaches) to rise to the occasion on that and deepen the pool of teams that a can compete. Also it's up to the media to showcase others. I would love it if they didn't write a story about UCONN for a whole year and let them do what they do. Wouldn't bother me one bit. As it stands that isn't happening. You can bank on maybe 8 really good teams year in and year out in WCBB. That's the way it goes.
Like I said for me it's about the conversation. I appreciate a person who supports the sport no matter who they root for. I just like to pick people's brains when they say something I truly don't understand. Hopefully you aren't taking that as me being mean or whatever. I've had plenty of good conversations here.
They had a similar recruiting year the year they got Saniya Chong and the sky was falling then, and then it wasn't. Didn't Tennessee have a tough recruiting year a couple classes ago? Same for a few others South Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio State? For whatever reason WCBB fans have real short memories when it comes to recruiting. Recruiting goes in cycles for UCONN just like every other school.
