12 March 2024
LAWRENCE (KSNT) – NCAA women’s basketball has grown in popularity throughout the 2023-24 season.
Due to a number of reasons, one large one being the name ‘Caitlin Clark,’ college hoops is no longer just about the men. Clark, who recently became the all-time scoring leader across genders for college hoops, has put basketball fans across the country on notice that the women’s game is exciting, competitive and fun to watch, too.
KU’s Holly Kersgieter sat down with 27 Sports Director Glenn Kinley on Tuesday for a one-on-one interview discussing a number of topics, including the increasing mainstream interest in women’s college basketball.
For Kersgieter, the motive behind watching women’s sports matters.
“We want people to watch us because we’re fun to watch, not because we want equality,” the fifth-year senior Jayhawk said.
To some, the concept is one of giving women’s sports the time of day simply because it might be the right thing to do, or because it’s ‘fair.’
Kersgieter doesn’t want fans watching out of obligation, pity or charity.
“People are slowly starting to perceive us and think about us and respect our game in a way that they haven’t before,” she said. “I don’t want people to feel like I need their sympathy or ‘Oh, the girls are trying their best.’ I don’t need you to feel bad for me.”
Generally speaking, the expectation is so often lower for the women, which she says isn’t right. Fans can, and many would say should be upset when their women’s team doesn’t execute on the final play, or turns the ball over in a crucial moment. Basketball fans showing little to no mercy for the men’s team, while just hoping the ladies give it their all and have fun, needs to go away, Kersgieter says.
“I do this because I do this and I want to be a part of this team and I want to help this team,” she said. “Not because I want to have the most fans or have the biggest crowds… I think that’s what people don’t understand is, as women we come from this disadvantage, and they think that we’re trying to fix that… we’re just trying to fix sports.”
With that being said, Kersgieter is realistic enough to know her Jayhawks, despite winning nine of their last 11 and being reigning WNIT champs, won’t get the attention Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce or even KU’s own Hunter Dickinson receive. That’s not the issue, she says. She wants people to watch her sport because it’s worthy of your time, not strictly out of a desire to uplift women.
“I watch football because I love football,” she said. “We don’t want everything that everyone else has. We just want people to know that they’re missing out on something.”
It stems from a core idea that fans don’t have to watch women’s sports because it’s women playing the sport. However, fans should never not watch women’s sports because it’s women playing the sport.
As Kersgieter puts it, the ladies don’t need you to feel bad for them. But, they’re good at basketball. They deserve your attention, she says.