Just a Minute!

Shedding a little too much light on college athletics (6/5/09)

     OK, it’s too late to complain about sports being co-opted by television. That ship sailed a long time ago. But something must be said about how ESPN and the NCAA treated the University of Washington on its way to the Women’s College World Series softball title.

     During the Huskies’ thrilling march through the tournament this past fortnight, ESPN’s announcers repeatedly discussed the team’s long and winding road. It was a reference to the Huskies’ having to play all their tournament games on the road, even though highly seeded teams – the UW was considered third-best in the field – usually host early-round games in their home ballparks.

     The Huskies got no home games because their softball field has no lights and could not accommodate portable units. Since ESPN wanted the option to televise early-round games at night and the NCAA nixed the UW’s bid to host games at a lighted field in Yakima, the Huskies had to hit the road.

     They did – and they won it all, defeating the top-seeded Florida Gators in the championship series.

     Clearly the result is poetically just. But a bad taste lingers. Private donors have now ponied up the money to install lights, which would suggest college athletics is emphasizing extortion and coercion over sportsmanship and fair play.

JUST A MINUTE! is a weekly essay intended to be read in about 60 seconds. Find more online at seattlepostglobe.org.