Where’s the Crowd?

FRIDA RIVERA — THE SANTA CLARA

Women’s athletic teams garner less support despite having more home wins

Imagine this: it’s a blustery Thursday night, and the ‘Game of the Week’ tips off in the Leavey Center. The crowd goes wild as senior guard P.J. Pipes snags the ball, and the Broncos get the first offensive possession of the game. Racing against the clock, the men’s basketball team runs play after play, much to the excitement of the rowdy Frat Bros in the stands. 

The first half ends, and the student section rests their feet during halftime. They chat amongst themselves, anxiously awaiting the return to the floor by the Broncos. Halftime ends, game play resumes, and it’s back to jeering at the competitors and gesturing obnoxiously at the refs — because yes, Kyle, your 19-year-old, cargo-short-wearing-self is totally more knowledgeable than the officials. Never mind that they go through years of training for this job — you just keep yelling “AND ONE!” whilst flexing your measly biceps when you decide a foul has occurred. I’m sure the refs are paying close attention to your thoughts on gameplay.

Then, in the last minutes of the game, the Bronco men fall behind. The shots aren’t dropping, the press break is malfunctioning — not even senior guard Jalen Williams, darling of the West Coast Conference, can save this one. The crowd dissipates rapidly, and students return to their dorms without the luster of a home victory.

Now, picture this: it’s a fresh Saturday in the crisp midday air, and women’s basketball tips off on the same court the men’s team competed on not 48 hours before. But something is off. You can’t put your finger on it, until you look around and it hits you like a slap to the face. The stands are empty. 

You wonder, did I get the game time wrong? Am I just early? Where is everyone?  Besides the few parents, grandparents and Santa Clara locals dotting various seats around the court, there’s no one there. Puzzled, you sit in the student section as the lone wolf supporter of both men’s and women’s basketball. 

The game tips off — Kyle and his band of beer guzzlers are nowhere to be seen. Luckily, you forgot about the solitary experience of being a real Bronco fan when senior guard Lindsey van Allen splashes her first 3-pointer of the game from well behind the line. On the next possession, sophomore guard Ashley Hiraki expertly weaves through the defense for a seamless layup. The Broncos rotate smoothly between offense and defense, communicating constantly on the court and supporting each other regardless of the scoreboard.

As the first half ends, you can’t help but note a difference between the men’s and women’s teams becoming glaringly obvious: actual teamwork and supportive play. Upon their return to the court, you watch junior forward Danja Stafford clasp the face of friend and teammate Anna Johnson and give her what looks to be the pep talk of the century. 

Upon further research, you find that the average home attendance for the games is 900 attendees at men’s game to a measly 250 attendees at women’s games. The more you think about it, the more confused and mildly distraught you become. You can’t get over the fact that crowd support is minimal and the stands are barren for the women’s game, despite the well-rounded and overall more “textbook” play they exhibit. Unfortunately, you realize, sport fans who know the value of beautiful, skillful gameplay aren’t usually the ones showing up to the games. 

Realistically, you’re not surprised. It’s no secret that women’s sports are both underestimated and fetishized, yet another impact of the patriarchy at work. Even so, the vast difference in support for women’s basketball inspires you to look deeper into Santa Clara athletics attendance and records. 

In the last three years, statistics from Santa Clara Athletics prove that women’s teams have done considerably better than men’s with in-league play in soccer, basketball and tennis. Yet, the attendance for women’s athletics continues to disappoint, once again showing the impact of decades of a “women can’t play sports” narrative pushed by major sport reporting outlets. 

ESPN, Fox Sports, NBC Sports, and even CBS sports perpetuate the myth that women can’t be athletic. Further, many players on men’s teams continue the “stop complaining” narrative, like NBA player Draymond Green. He was criticized after speaking on the WNBA in a press conference: "I'm really tired of seeing them complain about the lack of pay, because they're doing themselves a disservice by just complaining."

Female bodies contain a fraction of the amount of testosterone as their male counterparts — and if you didn’t know, testosterone is the hormone that allows muscle building, strength and increased athleticism. They may not be directly competing against men, but women’s teams are consistently put down for having lower-scoring games and being in a different physical condition. 

Both of those things, however, are directly related to biology — and not a valid reason to discount women’s sports. Despite the odds being stacked against them, women’s sports come back stronger each year on local, regional and national levels. Do I have your attention now, Scott van Pelt?

As the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And for fans, the skill exhibited by women’s athletics at Santa Clara is breathtakingly beautiful. Really, anyone with knowledge of sports and proper, thorough gameplay can easily see that the women’s athletics teams at Santa Clara pass the test of skill with flying colors. Continually shown by their winning records — and winning attitudes — women’s athletics should receive the support and credit they deserve.