Women worth watching: Where are you, fans?

The Dawg Pack is whack. I said it and I stand by it. If you don't think it's true, you're wrong. Put your foam fingers down and listen to the facts: The Dawg Pack doesn't support the women's basketball team.

I always thought student sections were filled for all home games, men's or women's. I thought they shared their immense disdain for opponents daring to set foot on the cherished home floor and the opportunity to humiliate them, equally. Whether you're a purple warrior who hasn't washed your Husky Rose Bowl T-shirt since you got it and you know the crowd taunts, or you're just there to be doing what everyone else is, both sexes provide the same opportunities (unless maybe you go to be on TV). So why not back June Daugherty's Dawgs?

Don't tell me you're all sexist [HTML_REMOVED] although I'm willing to bet the real answer falls in the same neighborhood. Last quarter, when I was first contemplating this disparity, my own editor and several sports writers reflected the majority answer without shame.

Before a staff meeting I asked, "Why not have a women's basketball pullout section if we're going to have a men's?"

Some laughed in reply, "Is that even a sport?"

Were they joking? Did I slip back in time in some DeLorean?

The Dawg Pack members at women's games [HTML_REMOVED] all 10 [HTML_REMOVED] can attest to the Thursdays they've watched 5-foot-5-inch point guard Emily Florence rip six rebounds a game, and they could vouch for the spin moves by Cameo Hicks and Stefanie Clark that would leave some IMA hoopers trippin' on their jocks at the free throw line. (On a semi-related side note, how much 'D' have the men been playing lately?)

On another semi-related side note, where has the women's 'D' been hiding? Wait a second ... people don't care about records, do they? The female Dawgs (13-9 overall, 6-5 Pac-10) got off to a hot Pac-10 start (5-0) and their record is still better than their male counterparts' (13-7 overall, 3-6 Pac-10), yet their attendance marks are astoundingly lacking.

Even with their start, the experienced women's team has been playing in front of less than 2,500 fans a game at home, while nearly 10,000 Husky backers watch the men struggle through a rebuilding year.

But none of these numbers matter.

While Hec's Hounds have been mentioned in the same breath as the Cameron Crazies of Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium, both known for their undying support for their teams, the Purple Pack has some work to do.

Duke's got it figured out. They're fanatic veterans with a storied tradition. Duke's women's home game attendance is 3,000 more fans per game than Washington's.

I say the UW's student body should start a new tradition. It would be sweet to watch the Dawg Pack shatter the tough nerves of some visiting Pac-10 veterans, while at the same time boosting the confidence of some jittery Husky freshmen, giving all involved experiences they'll never forget.

The ladies' team has four games left at home, the first of which is a chance to exact revenge on Arizona State University tonight at 7 p.m. All of the games are vital as the postseason nears.

Dawg Pack: Where you at?

Reach reporter Sam Cameron at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.