The Meltdown Watch is On

Originally Published: Dec 22, 2010 6:31 PM CDT&lsquo;Tis the season for&#160;meltdowns.&#160; You had Arizona Cardinals quarterback Derrick Anderson two weeks

Thursday, May 26th 2011, 1:30 pm

By: News On 6

Originally Published: Dec 22, 2010 6:31 PM CDT

‘Tis the season for meltdowns.  You had Arizona Cardinals quarterback Derrick Anderson two weeks ago.  And two more good ones in the last 4 days.  UConn women’s coach Geno Auriemma erupted Sunday after his ladies tied UCLA’s consecutive wins record.  And then on Tuesday night Kansas State coach Frank Martin grew tired of the media’s line of questioning following his Wildcats loss to UNLV.  Who’s next?  Jets vs. Bears Sunday afternoon.  Rex Ryan, please report to the podium. I completely respect what Auriemma has accomplished.  They are the Bill Snyder-Kansas State football resurrection story of women’s basketball.  The program had produced one winning season in its history when Auriemma arrived in 1985.    Part of the problem is that the Huskies are victims of their own success.  They are like Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France.  It seems that their dominance of their sports de-legitimizes the sport itself in the minds of casual fans.   Lance Armstrong beats cancer, takes a year off, battles the European press and still wins 7 Tour de France championships.  It makes critics of cycling wonder just how difficult the competition is.   Same thing with the UConn women.  It seems that every time I hear someone discussing how great and dominant the Huskies are, someone follows with the comment “well nobody else is any good.”  It’s far from the truth, but it’s an easy way for the casual fan to dismiss UConn’s accomplishments. My advice to Auriemma, not that he would ever listen, is to not worry about what outsiders think.  He can win 200 straight games and still many will not consider the streak as great as that of John Wooden’s Bruins.  Enjoy his program and its success.  If the mainstream sports media wants to cover his sport, the more the merrier. When we compare the men’s game to the women’s game, we’re not comparing apples to oranges.  We’re comparing apples to applesauce.  It’s essentially the same product in a different form.  I happen to like both.  Others don’t.