Went to the ACC women’s semifinals on Sunday with Abby and friends. I don’t watch sports now like I used to when I was a sports reporter; it’s more of a social event for me. Plus, when you have a 5-year-old hanging all over you or you’re watching her holding a bag of peanuts over her head (WHEN SHE’S ALLERGIC TO PEANUTS!!!), you don’t get to watch a game like you want to.
The women’s game has always and will for a many, many more years be different than the men’s game. The men’s game is played above the rim; the women’s game is played on the floor and ballhandling is the key. That sort of bore out during both the Duke-Maryland game and the North Carolina-N.C. State game. When pressure defense was applied, the fortunes of the team being defended seemed to fall.
On the social scene, however, two little things really touched my heart.
First, Abby and her friends V and E had been trying to attract the attention of Miss Wuf (or whatever the mascot’s name is) to no avail. When she finally made her way near where we were sitting, the girls had long since headed back up into the stands. But some other older girls who were chatting up the mascot kept Miss Wuf there and got our attention. We sent the girls back down and they had a blast with the mascot.
Second, Miss Wuf came back later and began tossing T-shirts into the stands (this apparently happens a lot during games). She tossed one in the general direction of our girls and it fell to the floor. Abby dove for it but got knocked out of the way by an older girl, who scooped up the shirt.
When the older girl sat up, she just laughed and looked at her friends. She then tapped Abby on the arm and asked her if she wanted the shirt. Abby’s eyes lit up. She took the shirt and ran straight up the stands to me. I made her go back down to thank the girl. And I thanked that sweet kid after the game.
There are differences between women and men. How they compete for one.