McGraw says goodbye to five seniors
Tim Casey
Assisant Sports Editor
Muffet McGraw grew up before Studio 54, Mandy Moore, and the invention of the Internet.
So don't expect McGraw to recall every detail of her storied career as a player and coach, especially those that do not even exist.
"I don't think they had Senior Day back then," McGraw said on Saturday. "They didn't even have videotapes then."
"Back then" was 1977, McGraw's senior season at St. Joseph's University in Pennsylvania. That was also the first year Notre Dame had a women's basketball team.
On Saturday, 24 years after the Irish placed fourth in the AIWA Small College State Tournament in their first official season, the senior women's basketball players [Imani Dunbar, Niele Ivey, Meaghan Leahy, Ruth Riley and Kelley Siemon] and their parents walked out to center court to celebrate Senior Day.
With Billy Joel's "This is the Time"providing background music, each player was presented with flowers, embraced McGraw, and waved to the sell-out crowd.
"It just hit me, it came over me a little bit because so many times you come out on the court in practice and in games, you don't take it for granted, but you don't realize how lucky you are to be out there,"center Ruth Riley said. "It was so special just to see all five of us seniors just because we've been through so much in the last few years."
So has the program.
Sure, Notre Dame evolved from a good mid-conference team in the 1980s to a perennial national top-10 team by the middle of the 1990s. But even when the Irish became one of the country's best squads, they were still virtually unknown to most of the local community.
Check out the numbers: in 1995-96, 96-97 and 97-98: an average of less than 2,000 fans attended the Irish home games. In the past three seasons, they have averaged crowds of 2,996, 3,567 and 5,960 fans per game.
Judging from personal experience, it's pretty clear that the students' appreciation for a sport other than football and men's basketball has not changed much. More students would rather attend daily mass than go to women's basketball games.
But the townies have embraced the nation's No. 2 team. Scan the crowd and the vast majority are under 15 or older than 40. Parents and children. Older couples. Families.
Some are probably fair-weather (who ever came up with that term?) fans. Yet if the majority only cared about records, why didn't they flock to the Joyce Center from 1993-97 when the Irish won at least 20 games for five straight seasons?
Credit the more talented players, the increase in marketing and advertising, the growing acceptance of women's athletics in a male-dominated sports culture and the current Irish 36-game home winning streak for attracting the larger crowds.
There's another reason, however, for the increased ticket sales: the bond between the current players and South Bend teenage girls.
After every game, the girls greet the Irish players as if they were the Backstreet Boys. They line up outside the locker room, notepads and pens in hand, awaiting the autographs of their idols. And for nearly an hour, the players sign, chat and laugh with the young girls.
Maybe it's because they realize that they are role models for these kids. Maybe it's because they never really had female athletic role models when they grew up, before the WNBA and the growth of women's college basketball. Or maybe it's just because they understand the importance of giving back to the community.
Regardless, the teenagers seem to enjoy the post-game even more than the game itself. Where else can you pay less than it costs to go the movies and interact with arguably the best player, best shooter and best point guard in the country, not to mention the nine other players who all treat you like a little sister?
No other senior class has ever attained the on-court success of this crew. They have won 100 games in four years, have participated in three NCAA tournaments, and took part in the finest regular season victory in the program's brief history, the win over Connecticut.
But forget the W's.
Look at the attendance figures. Glance at the smiles on the girls' faces when one of the players signs their notebook. Notice the tears in the fans' eyes when these seniors walk off the Joyce Center floor for the last time in the middle of March, either after advancing to the
Sweet Sixteen or after their dream season ends with a stunning loss.
Therein lies this group's most significant achievements.
The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Observer.
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 26, 2001
