50171
By Keith Brake
The Iowa women didn’t win a national championship.
It would be nice if they could win one. But not necessary.
It’s a few hours after their loss to South Carolina as I write this, and I don’t feel defeated, and I don’t think the Hawk players and coaches, should either.
Instead, I’m celebratory, as thoughts flood my brain about what a good example of how they portrayed what can be good about athletics.
Here’s what KCCI TV morning anchor Eric Hanson posted on social media after Sunday’s championship game:
“You did it, ladies.
You filled Kinnick Stadium and road arenas.
You set more records than we can count.
You united a country when almost nothing does.
You attracted fans from 3 to 103 and made Hawkeye fans out of Cyclones.
You proved superstars can pass and younger players can rise to the occasion.
Most importantly, you did it all while proving stars can be role models worth lifting up.
Sure, we’ll remember your results.
But we’ll remember YOU even more.
Thank you for the joy.
Thank you for what you did.
And thank you for way you did it.”
Right on Eric Hanson!
I’m a 72-year-old Hawk-a-holic, going back to age 10 or so.
This run by the Hawkeye women came at a good time for me. I was diagnosed with prostate cancer about six weeks ago, when the thoughts of post-season basketball play were starting to gather.
Iowa’s run helped me to think about something other than myself for a while.
As a decades-long sports reporter, I still enjoy researching opposing teams, which I did in earnest the last six weeks.
I also thought back to great coaches and players I wrote about over the years.
I had the good fortune to cover football coach Bob Reade when he was still at Geneseo, Ill. High School.
He ended his career at Geneseo with three straight state championships. Then he moved on to Augustana College in Rock Island. It took him a few years to lay the foundation, but then he won four straight Division 3 national championships.
“We place too much emphasis on winning,” he said.
(Now, where he says, “boy” – think “young women” in it’s place).
“The purpose of sport should be to teach a boy to extend himself to his best self, to play with pain, to overcome obstacles.”
“A boy can play a game in which he has extended himself far beyond his capabilities, yet the scoreboard and the crowd may call him a loser,” Reade said.
“I have said the scoreboard is the biggest crime in America. We need all-state boys more than we need all-state players.”
I think that last statement still rings true. Another thing he told me in a personal aside, “Good teams make good players, Keith. It’s not the other way around.”
Reade’s teams won because of meticulous preparation.
I suspect Iowa’s women won a few games because of that, too. They were an experienced bunch with basketball IQs that were through the roof.
Then, there’s Sharon Goodman, a reserve center whose grade point average brought her an award for being the highest of any young woman in the Final Four.
By the way, my surgery on March 25 was successful. Pathology says there’s no cancer left.
All glory to God, who directed the hands of my surgeon and the care provided by other health care professionals. And my wife, Linda, who has had to stress this out and wait on me hand and foot.
I for one will always look back on Caitlin Clark, Coach Lisa Bluder and this Iowa team as one of the greatest to ever wear the black and gold – in any sport!
And thanks, Coach Bluder, for giving Molly Davis a few seconds of time on the court at the end of the championship game! Not every coach would have done that, or even thought to do it.
On Iowa!