Lady Lions Deserve Support. Men, not so much.
Women’s basketball attendance for their last home game, Sunday vs. Illinois: 8471
Men’s basketball attendance for their last home game, Thursday vs. Indiana: 8251
I don’t care that one game was on a weekend and the other during the week. I don’t care that our women’s team is ranked 23rd and our men’s team is 0-7 in the Big Ten. The day that any women’s sport becomes a bigger draw than men’s basketball is the day you need to press the panic button.
Thanks to all those who went out and supported the Lady Lions, and I don’t blame those who don’t support this men’s team. Since money is all the administration seems to care about–7.5 home football games a year, and the fact that in basketball. like in football, we’d prefer to schedule cupcakes than home-and-home series with legitimate opponents tell us that–I propose a boycott of Penn State men’s basketball, at least until Ed DeChellis is fired. Don’t go to the games, don’t buy season tickets or merchandise. Show Tim Curley that we’re willing to root for a winning team, but not when the objective is mediocrity.
But, by all means, continue to root for Coquese Washington’s squad. In fact, if you haven’t already done so, go down to a few games. I can’t think of anything more emasculating to a coach like DeChellis to see a packed house for a women’s game and an empty BJC when the Lions host (and, assuredly lose) to Illinois this Wednesday.
You can still watch the men play–and lose–on TV. The Big Ten Network or ESPN will be broadcasting every single one of those games, so you won’t miss out. The women aren’t so lucky. Show Tim Curley and Ed DeChellis that a winning product will bring fans, and their wallets, to the games. The Lady Lions brought in an established coach–a former assistant at Notre Dame who played in the WNBA–and in three years, she’s got Penn State poised to reach the NCAA tournament. You don’t think the men could achieve the same success if they took a coach from a real school and not, you know, East Tennessee State?