Women make me mad

I always get annoyed this time of year. Every single year. I know I shouldn't. I should be used to it by now, but I'm not. I'm talking about March Madness; how women are treated during this time makes me ... mad.

As a basketball enthusiast, I have played the game against guys and girls. As a former girls' basketball coach, I have seen the game up close. As a student of the game, I have studied players and plays. And I maintain that the women's game is a purer game than the guys'. Overall, women athletes are more fundamentally sound, relying less on power and more on skill. And I have found that men who truly know and appreciate the game will tell you what I just told you.

Having said that, though, the game of basketball has room for both genders. In a good romantic relationship, a woman isn't trying to compete with her man; she's there to complement him. When it comes to sports, some men refuse to do the same. They won't acknowledge women as equal in worth or as able-bodied masters of their athletic craft. There's a proper appropriate term for those men: "insecure."

As March Madness engulfed us again this year, I again allowed myself to get hot under the collar at the treatment of our sisters on the court -- working hard, running the floor, scraping and scrapping for every point, for the sheer love of the game. I admit I heard no demeaning words, no pooh-poohing of talent. Usually, talk like that comes from someone who has no clue what he's talking about. So it's not trash talking that irks me most during this end-of-the-season madness. It's the not talking, the silence, that gets me -- which, ironically, speaks volumes.

Someone once said the opposite of love is not hate; it's indifference. Love and hate are both passions. They indicate interest. They acknowledge existence. Indifference says you're not worth the effort of acknowledgment. I don't love you. I don't hate you. I just don't see you. So though I am making myself vulnerable by admitting it ("Never let 'em see you sweat"), I do confess it riles me.

I'm not a big Twitter user, but I was driven to address "Fox & Friends" after watching its coverage of the men's tournament leading up to the Final Four. I tweeted, "@foxandfriends, you did a good job recapping the Duke-Kansas NCAA thriller & that Kansas is in the Final Four, but, because I like you, I feel it's only right to point out your glaring error: Somehow, you failed to mention part of the women's Final Four is set also; what's that?!"

I post comments on Facebook about the women's tournament, and, for the most part...crickets. Silence. Hardly anyone hits "Like" or says anything. Now, I don't need "likes" and "shares," but the silence is telling -- and sad.

Now, here's what gets me most: women. Even women don't appreciate women athletes. They pretend to want women to do well. They want women to be taken seriously in the business world, they say. They want a woman to receive the respect necessary to be elected president. But they don't even respect women who are working hard to represent their sport. These silent women, who show zero support for other women in this arena, say nothing, and I'm talking about women who supposedly pay attention to sports. Some don't even know women have an NCAA tournament, while others do but wouldn't watch if their lives depended on it. They don't hate it; they just -- as we say in the black community -- ain't studdin' it. That means they ain't studying it. And that means they ain't paying it no mind. Again, it all means they don't acknowledge it. Worse than hate. Indifference. Nonexistence. That's bad enough when it comes from a dude, but when ladies have no love for ladies, it's sad, and it makes me mad -- March Madness mad.

Since most don't give a flying fig, do I shut up and leave my game commentary to myself? Nope. My Facebook posts keep coming. Folks may not care. They may never watch a game. But they will know we are here -- because I'll keep telling them. Yes, there's a method to my Madness.

By the way, by the time you read this, the NCAA women's championship has already been decided, but now, as I write this, that game has not yet been played. But what has happened already is the greatest thing in the world for me right now (okay, not the greatest, but close!): the UCONN Lady Huskies were defeated in their Final Four game against Notre Dame, thanks to an amazing shot with one second left in overtime. If you know me, you know how I feel about UCONN, so you know I am ecstatic. This sets up a championship game between Mississippi State, which defeated UCONN in the Final Four last year, and Notre Dame, which defeated UCONN in the Final Four last week. I'm not sure which team I'll root for; they have both done me a huge favor. Since my Tennessee Lady Vols didn't make it this far, my rallying cry is -- as it always is -- "Anybody but UCONN!" Mission accomplished. You know as you read this who won it all. And if you don't, you're one of the reasons I'm writing this.

Adrienne Ross is owner of Adrienne Ross Communications and a former Southeast Missourian editorial board member. Contact her at aross@semissourian.com.