The Wake

The University of Minnesota women’s basketball team’s success relied on a highly-touted senior leader, a pillar-like presence in the paint and confident players riding an emotional tidal wave.

But as the team progressed further into the season, adaptability also proved vital to its success. The Gophers were still adapting to a second-year head coach and learning how to deal with high expectations heading into this season. Now they have to deal with the pressure of being labeled the best basketball team on campus. Considering their track record, I won’t be the one to say this group of players will fail.

Coming off a Sweet 16 appearance in the national tournament last year, the Gopher women knew opponents would be gunning for them this season as a top team in the Big 10. The Gophers were ready for the challenge and steamrolled through the first half of their season without much resistance. Then, basketball player turned rock star Lindsay Whalen, took an unfortunate fall and so did the Gophers losing 4 of their last 7 games through the Big 10 tournament. But with Whalen’s return, they quickly hit their stride and regained their swagger just in time for the NCAA tournament. And the Gophers proved to be ready for the big dance on the national stage.

They dismantled more storied programs like Duke which, according to voters and not those sporting the maroon and gold, had the nation’s top player. The women didn’t seem to be fazed through all of their success. It was like they expected to be there when nobody else did.

They took on every challenge with the same attitude. One of confidence and aggressiveness that they rode all the way to the Final Four. They lost to the Connecticut Huskies, one of the most prominent women’s basketball programs in college-basketball history. So what?

The Gophers generated an unbelievable buzz on campus as parents, kids and students flocked to Williams Arena to watch the tournament on the big screens and to throw welcome-home celebrations at 3 a.m. The Gophers implored a fast-paced style of play with back-door passing and behind-the-back dribbling along with a punishing inside game that won over fans who never considered watching a women’s basketball tournament.

Some basketball fans’ seasons ended when the men’s team lost in the Big 10 tournament. Hockey fans’ maroon-and-gold attire was stowed away in the same closet as the men’s basketball fans’ jerseys when the team lost to Minnesota Duluth. But a new interest for women’s basketball was born just as the men’s seasons perished.

The women’s team intrigued general sports fans because behind any great team is a great story. Nobody expected the Gophers to advance deep into the tournament, especially with Whalen’s health as unpredictable as spring temperatures in Minnesota. The bandwagon rolled through the campus and to many people’s surprise, there weren’t many seats left.

A male friend and I were chatting on the phone and he said, “I can’t believe I’m saying this to you, but I’m really excited to watch this team play in the Final Four.”

Why the change of heart? Because he actually sat down to watch a game. No sports fan can deny the excitement surrounding this team, even if you were the person who vowed never to get together with a group of buddies to watch a women’s game. And when my roommates and I sat down and watched the Final-Four game together, the team won us over just like the other thousands of fans coming out of the woodwork.

I don’t think I ever would have imagined saying this before the season began but in the self-proclaimed hockey state, the Gophers women’s basketball team became the program to watch. Not only for little girls dreaming of playing in Williams Arena, but for naïve sports fans who consider women’s basketball to be inferior to men’s.

Was I one of those naïve fans who would watch ESPN Classic’s Greatest Upset men’s games before a current women’s contest. Yeah I was, but I am no longer.

This admiration for women’s sports is nothing new to campuses like the universities of Connecticut or Tennessee because their teams succeed every year. I believe the attitude toward women’s programs at the “U” is swinging in a positive direction but at a slow pace. The women hockey and basketball teams will need to consistently make runs at championships to retain the loyal audiences formed this year. But even if that doesn’t happen right away, students have a great story to tell about these women and the impact they made on campus in 2004. And that’s a story many of us didn’t think we would be telling when classes began last September.

Now I look to see how the Gophers will adapt to the loss of Minnesota icon Lindsay Whalen and the pressure of being one of the top four teams in the country. I want to see if Janel McCarville can take on the All-American role and use her physical and boisterous play to lead to Gophers deep into next year’s tournament.

I won’t be the one to doubt them. I did enough of that this year before I actually got the memo and turned the channel. I guess I have adapted to the fact that Gopher women’s basketball is a hot ticket. But for those who haven’t, sit and watch a Gopher women’s game because the model of adaptability is one to learn from.