Women’s basketball ratings have been on the rise in the NCAA Tournament the past few seasons, thanks to the emergence of Caitlin Clark and the multi-faceted branding of Angel Reese, which all began in the tourney and spilled into their rookie seasons in the WNBA.
With the emergence of JuJu Watkins, who broke Cheryl Miller scoring records in her freshman season at USC, this year’s tournament was supposed to be all about her run to a title, continuing the brand and star power that Clark brought which raised NCAA Tournament viewership.
There are plenty of very good players in this year’s tournament, but only one brings the casual fan out and that’s Watkins.
Rob Parker Says NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Is Over Without JuJu Watkins
Sports radio host Rob Parker, who admits that he is not a fan of women’s basketball, says losing Watkins (who suffered a torn ACL five minutes into her team’s second-round game) and her star power is a devastating blow to the tournament.
“With JuJu not involved, I know everybody’s trying to be nice. It’s a wrap. I’m not interested,” Parker said on “The Odd Couple,” his daily radio show with co-host Kelvin Washington.
“You can find you some reruns of the Golden Girls marathon…It’s a wrap. The women’s college basketball tournament, it’s a wrap,” Parker insisted. “Because with the momentum they had going with Cailtin last year, JuJu this year and the pursuit of maybe winning a championship or getting to the finals…That would have been back-to-back years, Oh My God, this really puts a wet blanket over the women’s basketball tournament. I don’t care what anybody says. I’ve lost interest. I wanted to see JuJu and I’m not that big of a women’s basketball fan.”
Rob Parker Represents Average Sports Fan’s Attitude Towards Women’s College Hoops
Diehard women’s college basketball fans would call Parker a hater. But he represents the average everyday sports fan, most of whom casually watch the WNBA. They often don’t watch the tournament for the high quality of women’s basketball, which is evident. They watch when there’s a polarizing figure that transcends basketball and is expected to be the next superstar athlete regardless of gender.
With WNBA players threatening to strike for better wages and revenue sharing, Parker’s attitude towards the entire tournament is how the average fan feels. Women’s basketball does have a growing fan base, but it isn’t American men between the ages of 19-55.
Parker’s partner, Kelvin Washington tried to push back against Parker’s rant that the tournament is over, citing steady ratings without Clark and other names such as Paige Buekers and UCLA’s Lauren Betts, who are worth the price of admission.
“I know Mookie Betts,” Rob said, injecting some comedy into the moment.
“You’re trying to be nice…you’re trying to sell it, but when you lose a player (like JuJu)…, Parker insisted, unwilling to hear Washington out.
Kelvin Washington Didn’t Know Many Players Outside Of JuJu Watkins Either
In defending the brand attractiveness of women’s basketball, Washington, however, struggled to pronounce LSU and Roc Nation rapper Flau’jae Johnson’s name and couldn’t think of one player on Dawn Staley’s South Carolina juggernaut that would appeal to the average fan. Further proving Parker’s point that sports fans and casual fans of women’s basketball, and those fans who flat out don’t watch it, won’t be tuning in to the games if JuJu isn’t on the court.
Rob Parker says the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament is not worth watching now that USC star guard JuJu Watkins is out with an ACL injury. (Screenshot/Getty Images)
The WNBA has similar problems when Caitlin Clark is not in the mix.
“One thing with Cailtin Clark,” Parker said, …the numbers are undeniable that people wanted to see Cailtin Clark.”
