Photo by the University of Illinois
On Nov. 15, 2011, the Illinois women’s basketball team won their game against Memphis at Assembly Hall in Champaign.
Part of that win was a huge amount of support from the Marching Illini, since the 300 plus of us were at the game cheering on the Illini.
It wasn’t lost on the crowd that we were part of the win. Director Barry Houser received numerous letters from fans, which he shared with all of us.
That November game was probably the biggest audience the women’s basketball team has seen all season, unless Pack the Hall had more people. (I wouldn’t know; I wasn’t there.)
No matter what you tell me, you can’t argue that there’s a big difference between the Illini men’s and women’s basketball teams.
I’ve experienced this all throughout my time in the Illinois Basketball Band.
To be honest, I usually can’t see much of the game because the saxophones in front of me always stand up, blocking my vision of the court, and I don’t pay that much attention anyway, so it doesn’t totally matter to me which team I’m watching.
What I did notice was the complete change in audience from men’s to women’s. While the men’s games are packed, the band makes up a majority of the women’s audience.
And there are only around 50 of us.
After coming home from one of the women’s games last year, a friend of mine told me, “With men’s, it’s ‘we’ll come and then you’ll get good’; with women’s, it’s ‘you get good and then we’ll come.’”
Ouch. As annoyingly sexist as that comment is, it seems unfortunately true for basketball fans.
When I volunteered for the Jan. 2 women’s game against Purdue, there was a big Purdue crowd. The school is close by, but the women’s team is ranked, so they seemed to have more supporters.
Even though the Illinois men’s team has slipped below the top 25 for the second time this season, their overall record is far better than the women’s team. The men are 15-5 while the women are 7-14 (exhibition games not counted) as of Thursday.
The numbers don’t look good. But, just like the guys, some of the women’s games have come down to a basket. But, unlike the guys, it didn’t end in the women’s favor.
But back to the attendance: Because there’s such low attendance at women’s games, some people get bored.
But so what if the women’s team isn’t as good? It doesn’t mean we should support them any less.
As a band, we make sure our support is equal. We play just as loud as we do during men’s games. We cheer on the team win or lose because it’s part of our job.
Part of the Illinois Bands motto is loyalty. The women’s basketball team is fighting hard and so is the men’s team. We support them either way. Win or lose, “We’re loyal to you Illinois.”
