[Goose]

ara: "I'm a fan of aggressive play, but I think it is a problem when all season long hand checking is supposed to be called and when we get to the tournament all of a sudden there are different rules.  I think it should be consistent from the season to the tournament.  I am in favor of aggressive play but I think that overly physical play--and I am not saying that that game was overly physical--but I have seem some games that I think are--an overly physical game takes away from the strength of women's basketball which is our athleticism, our fluidity of the game--what I call beautiful basketball.  If you are allowing defenses to cling on you, and body you, and people are flying all over the court, then I think that's a problem."


I have heard Tara say similar things before.  I agree with her, and reflect on how her views mirror recent developments in feminism--in which equality is not always thought to be achieved simply by equivalency with men, but by giving equal value to uniquely female strengths and characteristics.



So I wonder how the rest of the WBB fans feel.  Do you like WBB because it can be a "beautiful game" that has characteristics that the men's game might lack--Tara mentions fluidity--or do you like it in the same way you like MBB, and for the same reasons?

I actually don't agree that "beautiful basketball" is "feminine". Men can and did play that game until the professional game pushed the envelope towards a style of play that is much more physical and frankly I believe outside of the rules. The refs let them play, partly because the game became so fast that it is impossible to see all the fouls and if they tried to actually enforce the rules it would be a whistle fest. Palming the ball, as many steps as you need to take, etc. The advent of "positionless" basketball and the ability to shoot from very long range will continue to change the men's game, possibly back towards the "beautiful basketball" Tara cites, but it has a very long way to go. Meanwhile, as the women continue to get bigger, stronger and faster due to their adaptation to the game, their game will become more like the men's game IMHO, and that isn't necessarily a good thing.

[Goose]

ara: "I'm a fan of aggressive play, but I think it is a problem when all season long hand checking is supposed to be called and when we get to the tournament all of a sudden there are different rules.  I think it should be consistent from the season to the tournament.  I am in favor of aggressive play but I think that overly physical play--and I am not saying that that game was overly physical--but I have seem some games that I think are--an overly physical game takes away from the strength of women's basketball which is our athleticism, our fluidity of the game--what I call beautiful basketball.  If you are allowing defenses to cling on you, and body you, and people are flying all over the court, then I think that's a problem."


I have heard Tara say similar things before.  I agree with her, and reflect on how her views mirror recent developments in feminism--in which equality is not always thought to be achieved simply by equivalency with men, but by giving equal value to uniquely female strengths and characteristics.



So I wonder how the rest of the WBB fans feel.  Do you like WBB because it can be a "beautiful game" that has characteristics that the men's game might lack--Tara mentions fluidity--or do you like it in the same way you like MBB, and for the same reasons?

I actually don't agree that "beautiful basketball" is "feminine". Men can and did play that game until the professional game pushed the envelope towards a style of play that is much more physical and frankly I believe outside of the rules. The refs let them play, partly because the game became so fast that it is impossible to see all the fouls and if they tried to actually enforce the rules it would be a whistle fest. Palming the ball, as many steps as you need to take, etc. The advent of "positionless" basketball and the ability to shoot from very long range will continue to change the men's game, possibly back towards the "beautiful basketball" Tara cites, but it has a very long way to go. Meanwhile, as the women continue to get bigger, stronger and faster due to their adaptation to the game, their game will become more like the men's game IMHO, and that isn't necessarily a good thing.