UConn’s streak a once-in-a-generation feat. Too bad the blowouts are boring.
Dec 21, 2010, 11:16 PM EDT
Connecticut makes dominance look awfully easy. And boring.
The No. 1 Huskies extended their winning streak to 89 games with a 93-62 win against No. 22 Florida State, besting an 88-game mark by John Wooden’s UCLA men’s team from 1971-74. Yeah. Raise your hand if you ever thought that would happen.
“It’s amazing. It really is,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said afterward.
Regardless how you feel about the streak – men’s record, women’s record, NCAA record, different era. different ball, take your pick – UConn’s entered into once-in-a-generation status. (President Obama called during Auriemma’s postgame press conference. That’s usually reserved for championship games.)
This isn’t about men or women. This is about excellence. Relentless, consistent excellence over a period of years. Doesn’t matter if you watch women’s hoops or ignore it all costs.
Winning 89 consecutive games shouldn’t be possible. It shouldn’t be possible to beat 31 ranked teams by an average of 25 points. Yet, here’s UConn, steamrolling yet another Top 25 opponent.
Perfection demands a level of effort most athletes and teams can’t fathom. It’s routine for UConn.
“One thing that’s non-negotiable is that the one thing we have in common is we settle for nothing less than the absolute best we give you every single night. They did it and we’re doing it. Everything else to me is meaningless,” Auriemma said.
Winning 89 straight wouldn’t be possible without a demanding, hyper-competitive coach like Auriemma. He’s built his program into a machine that stockpiles top-flight players, meshes them into a single that crushes all comers.
“He comes to practice every day expecting you to play well, play perfectly,” former UConn star Sue Bird told the Hartford Courant. “It’s about going out every night and playing well and beating somebody. That’s what he expects. So for someone like him to have built this streak, well, it’s almost fitting.”
It’s exactly what Wooden had at UCLA during from the mid’60s and into the mid-‘70s. Seven national titles and four perfect seasons since 1995? I never thought I’d see something like it in my lifetime and would be forced to rely upon grainy images and old video of the Bruins. But this is what UCLA’s dominance was like. The programs have the same aura.
The streak is just an easy way to tie them together.
“My grandfather would have been thrilled. He would have been absolutely thrilled to see his streak broken by a women’s basketball team,” said Wooden’s grandson, Greg, who attended Tuesday’s game. “He thought, especially in the last 10 years, that the best basketball was played at the collegiate level — and it wasn’t by the men.”
Still, the streak has one fault.
(And it’s not that Tennessee – the other dominant women’s program of the last 20 years – hasn’t been on the schedule since the streak began. Vols coach Pat Summitt is Auriemma’s longtime rival, but her squad isn’t any better than the others UConn’s beaten since the streak began, such as Baylor or Stanford.)
The games are a snore. UConn’s even vanquished any sense of drama!
I switched off Tuesday’s game before halftime. The outcome was never in doubt. Same with 87 of the 89 games during the streak. Only two teams – Stanford during the 2010 title game and Baylor earlier this season – have come within single digits of beating the Huskies. UConn’s killing everyone, including the viewing audience.
That’s not a rip of the women’s game or of UConn. It’s just a by-product of being exceptional. For now, it’s routine. UConn won again. No surprise there.
The streak will get its due after it ends. A little space will provide more perspective and provide a greater appreciation for just how frickin’ unreal winning 89 in a row is. (Or whatever the final number is.) That was true for Wooden’s teams, too. It wasn’t until he retired and the Bruins stopped winning the title every year that people realized they were seeing history.
Not that Geno wants to be reminded of UCLA every time someone asks him about the streak. His Huskies have earned their own place in the record books.
“I don’t want my team to compare themselves to anyone,” Auriemma said. “I’m not John Wooden and this isn’t UCLA. This is Connecticut and that’s good enough.”
Want more? I’m also on Twitter @BeyndArcMMiller.
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- shiv1623 - Dec 22, 2010 at 3:07 AM
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They shouldnt have broken that grand record.
Some records aren’t meant to be broken. Like Don Bradman’s 375 in test cricket or Di Maggio’s streak..
I definitely don’t place the same value on this achievement than Woodens.
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- eddyjf - Dec 22, 2010 at 5:38 AM
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That is a very compelling argument.
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- BC - Dec 22, 2010 at 9:02 AM
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UCLA had Bill Walton. UConn has Maya Moore. You get one transcendent player, and this is the result.
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- florida727 - Dec 22, 2010 at 9:09 AM
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No offense “shiv”, but they didn’t break any record… they established another one. Even Auriemma doesn’t compare himself to Wooden or his team to UCLA’s. They didn’t break UCLA’s record because they weren’t playing against MEN. They established a new WOMEN’S record, and they’ll continue to every time they go out and win. The comparisons to UCLA’s men’s streak have been a joke, fostered by nothing more than typical ignorant ESPN media hype.
Congratulations to Geno and his women for their ongoing excellence. I just wish everyone would keep it in its context, because we’re likely witnessing something that’ll never again happen in the history of WOMEN’S sports… just like UCLA’s record will never be matched in the men’s game.
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- ice90 - Dec 22, 2010 at 10:05 AM
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I agree with florida727. These are two separate records. UConn has the women’s record and UCLA has the men’s record. On another note, I hear a lot of talk about the lack of depth in the women’s game having a lot to do with UConn’s streak. It is true that the women’s game is no where near as deep as the men’s game is today. But if you go back to the early 70′s when UCLA was making their mark, the depth of men’s talent was no where near as good as it is today. Don’t kid yourself, UCLA beat a lot of doormats to get to 88 straight.
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- terrathrax - Dec 22, 2010 at 4:56 PM
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Agree mostly.
UCONN can be boring, as long as they keep winning!
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- riccoker - Dec 22, 2010 at 10:24 AM
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Go back and look at the tape of the Baylor game earlier this year. UConn loses that game anywhere else!
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- eddyjf - Dec 22, 2010 at 12:32 PM
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Yes, that invalidates the record. Bring out the * mark.
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- philipmiller111 - Dec 22, 2010 at 3:28 PM
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How much money do you think the top players at UCLA were paid during the 60′s and 70′s under Woodan via boosters clubs and owners of car dealerships? How did Woodan always get the best players in the country?
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- fearlessleader - Dec 22, 2010 at 3:39 PM
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Figures….the one time women’s college sports make headlines, they’re quickly labeled as “boring.” Has it occurred to Mike Miller that a little more media respect might, in fact, lead to a climate in which women’s collegiate programs were taken more seriously, supported more generously, and played more competitively?
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- elyasm - Dec 22, 2010 at 4:22 PM
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It doesn’t matter how much respect the media gives to women’s basketball, it won’t make it any more exciting or any more fun to watch. How much more generosity are you expecting women’s sports to get? At least men’s football and basketball generates revenue for the schools, rather than sucking it out of academic programs like the Title IX-required athletic programs do. Look, I think it’s great that these women are out there competing and this is an amazing achievement, but don’t assume that America’s lack of interest in female athletics is due to the media’s perspective, it’s just not (IMHO) that much fun to watch.
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- fearlessleader - Dec 22, 2010 at 4:39 PM
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Way to miss the point, elyasm.
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- elyasm - Dec 22, 2010 at 5:10 PM
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I never claimed to be the sharpest tool in the shed, so that’s hardly a surprise. I meant no disrespect in my post; it’s just that in my opinion (and apparently Mike Miller’s, as well) NCAA women’s basketball simply lacks a certain je nai se qua that would make it appealing for home viewing. This is through no fault of the athletes in question. I’m not sure why you feel that more media ‘respect’ is going to change this situation; would you prefer that the author lie and say that he was on the edge of his seat the entire time? Should we watch purely out of politically correct social guilt?
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- oldmarathoner - Dec 24, 2010 at 11:42 AM
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Hate to nitpick, but can’t let this one by:
je nai se qua?
je ne sais quoi!
Hey, you got the “je” right.
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- fearlessleader - Dec 22, 2010 at 5:19 PM
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I’m suggesting that there’s an entire culture that’s evolved to prioritize men’s sports over women’s, and that the media plays a critical role in that culture. Suppose girls grew up reading headline stories about women’s basketball that DIDN’T slam it as “boring.” Perhaps more of them would be inspired to give it a shot, and perhaps the next generation of female basketball players would produce a hundred Maya Moores instead of just one, and perhaps the women’s collegiate basketball scene would get a whole lot more interesting.
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- elyasm - Dec 22, 2010 at 6:03 PM
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Aye, and if my grandmother had wheels she’d be a wagon! I don’t think it’s fair to condemn the author for stating an honest opinion. Why should he, and the media at large, be expected to shoulder the burden of shifting public opinion? I think it’s rather condescending to state that most sports fans are ‘wrong’ to hold women’s basketball in low regard; everyone is entitled to their own opinion of what they enjoy watching, whether it’s politically correct, or not.
On a side note, I appreciate your civil and reasonable response to my comment, sports discussion devolve into shouting matches and flame wars far too often.
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- fearlessleader - Dec 22, 2010 at 6:20 PM
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Ditto on the civility, elyasm; I had every reason to expect that my initial comment would be met with “Get back into the kitchen!” or “Make me a sandwich! Hur de hur hur!”, which is what usually happens when women comment on sports forums….
I’m not calling anyone “wrong” for not enjoying women’s sports (truth be told, basketball’s not my game no matter who’s playing it)—and I’m not condemning this author for stating an opinion, but I’m disappointed that 1) he didn’t see fit to look a little deeper to the source of the problem, and 2) MSNBC felt compelled to brand UConn’s achievement as “boring” in big letters at the top of the homepage.
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- Chris Ross - Dec 22, 2010 at 8:28 PM
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Really interesting read here. I think that the streak is fairly impressive but as streaks go I can’t say it’s at the top of my list. It’s such a touchy issue when you talk about women’s sports and how it compares to men’s and how much or how little attention women’s sports garners. I just think that it’s tough to compare this streak to some of the great one’s. The coach of UConn’s women’s team obviously thinks differently. 89 is a lot of wins in a row no matter what, but with the amount of competition they have to face is it really.
http://chrisross91.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/congratulations-uconn-women-however/
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- profootballwalk - Dec 22, 2010 at 11:52 PM
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Any long wining streak is impressive, but I don’t see the connection between this and UCLA. There may be high school teams with longer wining streaks, but we don’t compare them to UCLA. This is very simple. UConn literally doesn’t play in the same league UCLA did. In fact, as everyone knows, a good boy’s state champion team would wipe the floor with UConn women’s team. But that doesn’t matter – it’s a different sport, played by different athletes.
It’s a shame that Women’s basketball doesn’t feel secure enough to just be satisfied breaking THEIR OWN records, without pretending that they somehow compare to the men’s game. If they really want to break a men’s record, play men’s teams. Or shut the eff up.
