Column: Support all Missouri sports
Published Feb. 2, 2010
A couple of hours after the Missouri men's basketball team defeated Oklahoma State on Saturday, a few thousand fans could still be found at Mizzou Arena.
By this time, the bright lights of ESPN were gone and announcer Fran Fraschilla was stowed away for departure.
No, these fans were not soaking up the men's victory, but watching a thriller between the Missouri women's team and Kansas in the notorious Border Showdown Series. The Tigers came up short, 61-59, after a missed shot at the buzzer.
The game had all the components of a men's game: rousing pregame introductions, cheerleaders, a band and the usual fan critiquing of questionable shot-taking or refereeing to the tune of "What are you seeing out there?!"
But it lacked the intensity of 15,061 fans who showed up only hours earlier. Rather, the game resembled that of a high school game, comprised mostly of family and friends. Certainly the 3,179 attendees cheered and waved to the Missouri Waltz; there were just fewer of them.
Actually, this game offered one of the better turnouts. The usual "Event Staff" was nowhere to be seen; students with an ID could simply walk right in. If not lucky enough to be enrolled at MU, the ticket stub from the men's game provided free admission to the women's game.
At a major university with thousands of students, the variety and quantity of options available can detract attention from sports with less exposure, such as wrestling, gymnastics and swimming and diving. Indeed, part of the responsibilities for being on these teams includes advertising upcoming matches through fliers, etc.
I recall attending a football game last semester when midway through the game, members of the volleyball team were desperately trying to hand out fliers for their match later in the day. The flier also made students aware that admission to the match was free. (Students receive free admission for every sport other than football and men's basketball.) The match against No. 2 Texas attracted 2,549 fans, after 65,298 packed Faurot Field earlier in the day to watch Baylor.
According to its guidebook, the NCAA is composed of more than 400,000 student-athletes. When watching the two revenue-generating sports (football and men's basketball) on TV, I for one don't think of the NCAA as an unblemished organization always placing the needs of student-athletes before its own profiteering. And in the case of football and men's basketball, I still feel like I need to be proven wrong.
The NCAA tries to dispel my thinking when they air commercials showing student-athletes morphing into professionals or displaying academic talents while holding a tennis racquet, etc. It's just hard for me to fully accept the commercial when immediately following it, ESPN returns to a football game attended by 100,000 people and broadcast to millions around the world.
These two sports comprise only a fraction of student-athletes. They are the exceptions to the rule. The NCAA provides competition and the opportunity for teams to win national championships, surely the high-water mark for any student-athlete and a moment they'll never forget.
Student-athletes often have the busiest schedules of any college student, no matter how many fans attend their games. Balancing traveling and practices with schoolwork can be demanding for anyone, let alone a 20-year-old.
The innocence in these sports represent a continuation of high school, as players give it their all for both themselves and their team. College simply adds the chance of eventually playing on a national stage. Now it's our responsibility as fans to go and support their journey.