Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1528584
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 9, 2024 5 FAN FORUM TOUGH TICKET I heartily applaud the new nation- wide discovery of the exciting sport of women's basketball at both the college and professional levels. But this popularity, of course, is being accompanied by a fierce competition for game tickets. And that means some of us longstanding fans of the sport are being left out — and priced out — of the action. My particular comedown came when I attempted to buy tickets for this season's Notre Dame game at USC on Nov. 23, a very rare opportunity for us West Coasters to see the women's team in person. I got on the USC ticket site on the day single-game tickets went on sale and found just two way-upper-level areas with a few tickets available — at more than $150 each. Knowing the excitement surrounding the game, I was prepared to pay close to that amount for floor-level seats close to the action. But I was surprised to find the Gallen Center nearly sold out already, and those available tickets, at least for me, were not worth such a price. My future in attending women's basketball games evi- dently is at an end unless I win the lottery. Of course, I was spoiled (and the sport was ill served) by the easy availability of tickets for away games over the years. While living in Central New York, I could get in to see the Fighting Irish up close for like $30 a ticket at Syracuse Univer- sity, where they were lucky to draw a crowd of 3,000. In 2010, I watched from near courtside as Ashley Barlow made a game-winning three pointer and Skylar Diggins made her freshman debut there. (Confession: I also was drawn to check out the dominant UConn teams featur- ing Maya Moore and Tiffany Hayes.) I truly understood even then that I was getting an incredible opportunity to see some of the best athletes in their sport, or any sport, up close. I remember walk- ing a few feet from Maya Moore as she gave a post-game interview. And she smiled in our direction. I also remember Notre Dame's Becca Bruszewski smiling up at us few arriving Notre Dame fans in the nearly empty Syracuse Dome during warm-ups. Muffet McGraw came out and talked with fans (mostly young girls and their parents) after the game. Out here in Los Angeles, just a few years ago I had no trouble getting good seats to see USC play the University of Washington as its star Kelsey Plum was on the cusp of breaking the NCAA all- time scoring record. There were plenty of empty seats. (I also had little trouble getting tickets to see the ND men play at UCLA a few years back.) What can be done? Perhaps Notre Dame can get a few hundred qual- ity tickets set aside for its fans at away games? And make them available through Blue & Gold Illustrated or some other venue that diehard fans access, with plenty of advance notice? Well, anyway, go Irish — and go broadcast TV (now my only way to see the Irish)! Gary Meyer Los Angeles Mr. Meyer, there is no doubt that women's basketball is exploding in pop- ularity. The 2024 NCAA women's cham- pionship game between Iowa and South Carolina was the most-watched college basketball game (among both men's and women's hoops) since 2019 with an aver- age of 18.7 million viewers. Visiting NCAA women's basketball teams typically receive a small ticket al- lotment for away games, although the exact number of tickets provided can vary depending on the host school's poli- cies and arena capacity. It also probably doesn't help that this year's matchup is the first between USC and Notre Dame — the Irish lead the all- time series 8-2 — in Los Angeles since 2006. BE HEARD! Send your letters to: sdowney@comanpub.com or mail to: Blue & Gold Illustrated, P. O. Box 2331, Durham, NC 27702 After sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love extended his touchdown streak — eight straight games and counting heading into the Navy game — against Georgia Tech Oct. 19, Irish fans took a few mo- ments to express their appreciation on our message board at BlueandGold.com. hbmikeoc: Best ND back since [Jerome] Bettis. Rockne1988: I thought [Dexter] Williams' year in 2018 was special, but it was his last and really only big year. Love is special. jpm34_NFFI: Kyren [Williams] and Audric [Estimé] say hi. Love is great. [Jadarian] Price is great. Both need more touches. Llenas: He deserves more carries for sure. However, he certainly would not replicate anything [Boise State Heisman trophy candidate Ashton] Jeanty is doing with 50 more carries. He has 77, not a ton, but doesn't have near the explosive runs as Jeanty, 50 more isn't gonna suddenly add the long runs he lacks compared to him. And to be fair, Price is still averaging more yards and has more runs over 40. Both are studs, but I still think he's missing that part of his game. I guess I'm gonna die on this hill, haha. apegambino: Imagine if he and Price ran behind a good OL. Gvl_Irish: Love behind the 2015 OL … my goodness. [CJ] Prosise had 1,032 yards, [Josh] Adams had 835 and [DeShone] Kizer had 520. KWSUSMC: Love his passing game ability, his blocking ability and that he doesn't sulk or show bad body language. Dude is NOT only a great RB in every facet of the position, but a great teammate. I understand keeping hits on him down to keep him fresh and using J Price who is a great RB in his own right! But IMO, if he's healthy he needs at least a half dozen more touches per game! TeeMill3: Love will win or be in NY for the Heisman in 2025 season behind an experienced healthy and deeper OL. What he's doing now with no blocking is insanity. FROM THE WEB .com .com JOIN THE CONVERSATION AT BLUEANDGOLD.COM! Use Promo Code Join50 To SAVE 50% off your first year! The popularity of women's basketball is surging. Last year, the Irish played in front of 106,301 fans in 16 home games (an average of 6,644). PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER