JSULL60 wrote: ↑Fri May 26, 2023 7:52 pm
Even when OU is the top seed it seems like lower seeded teams get an easier path to the CWS. I know that OU had the very first game televised by ABC but can you believe the Tenn vs Texas* game tomorrow is going to on ABC. You would think that the number one seed who is one game away from breaking a winning streak that has stood for over 20 years and is playing their last game on their home field and pushing towards a 3 three peat would be on ABC !!!
What you said is such a slight that it is hard to comprehend that whoever made that decision was acting to satisfy fans of the sport of softball...that is, until you remember the nature of college sports.
There are 2 types of college sports fans:
1)Sooner fans
2)Sooner haters
JSULL60 wrote: ↑Fri May 26, 2023 7:52 pm
Even when OU is the top seed it seems like lower seeded teams get an easier path to the CWS. I know that OU had the very first game televised by ABC but can you believe the Tenn vs Texas** game tomorrow is going to on ABC. You would think that the number one seed who is one game away from breaking a winning streak that has stood for over 20 years and is playing their last game on their home field and pushing towards a 3 three peat would be on ABC !!!
What you said is such a slight that it is hard to comprehend that whoever made that decision was acting to satisfy fans of the sport of softball...that is, until you remember the nature of college sports.
There are 2 types of college sports fans:
1)Sooner fans
2)Sooner haters
Maybe it is to drive people to buy the + network?
I love the hate from all other schools. Look how well it has worked for Alabama football.
JSULL60 wrote: ↑Fri May 26, 2023 7:52 pm
Even when OU is the top seed it seems like lower seeded teams get an easier path to the CWS. I know that OU had the very first game televised by ABC but can you believe the Tenn vs Texas*** game tomorrow is going to on ABC. You would think that the number one seed who is one game away from breaking a winning streak that has stood for over 20 years and is playing their last game on their home field and pushing towards a 3 three peat would be on ABC !!!
What you said is such a slight that it is hard to comprehend that whoever made that decision was acting to satisfy fans of the sport of softball...that is, until you remember the nature of college sports.
There are 2 types of college sports fans:
1)Sooner fans
2)Sooner haters
Maybe it is to drive people to buy the + network?
I love the hate from all other schools. Look how well it has worked for Alabama football.
Yep! you can absolutely bet on that. Why show the biggest draw ever in softball on free TV? That's just business stupid. We've got a huge fired up fan base. Make 'em pay for it. You bet there's an ulterior motive here. You can take that to the bank.
I must be the only one that has come to grips with ESPN+. During the entire softball/baseball season, I have been able to watch more games than ever before. If you watch ESPN+ from a computer, you can have as many games on "tab" as you want, whereas on the "free" TV you are limited to only those being aired in your area. But the way I see it is that the Big12 and SEC (and those are only two that I have interest in) have crawled in bed with ESPN and I don't travel well, so ESPN has been a godsend for me. As a bonus, the "on demand" feature allows you to go back and watch most games, if you so desire (because I can't record ESPN+). The price of admission has been well worth it to me.
AllSooner, I really am glad that this approach works for you. I'm just old and cranky, and miss stuff just being on regular tv--which I pay for also.
I still think this was a business decision by espn, and a smart one at that. However, I do realize that many folks have jumped on board with the new setup and like it really well--and I am truly happy that you--and they--can enjoy watching our Sooners with the new setup.
One thing I notice following ESPN and their coverage of softball and gymnastics - they like the individual story line, much less the team story line. If you watched the gymnastics finals, the main broadcast focuses much more on the individual, to the point that they ignored the team competition for large segments of time - never mind that the individual awards had already been decided - the only remaining competition was the team.
They seem to do the same thing in softball - Fouts, Cagle, Brady and other individuals get the focus of the attention. Alo did too, a year ago. Unfortunately for the Sooners, no one stands out on our 2023 team (well, said more correctly, we have 6-7 superstars, so they blend in), so I think we don’t get as much attention. If you listen to the ESPN podcast, that is particularly true.
As far as the abc game, I think ESPN thinks the ugly orange UT battle will draw more eyeballs than OU Clemson. I think Clemson may be a bit of a drag here, but who knows. We’ll see how the ratings do. I happen to think there are about 10-12 programs that drive 80-85% of the attention in softball right now. UT and UT are on the fringe of that list, imho. The Knoxville UT also gets the benefit of being in the sec, which means outsized attention from ESPN. I have a number of good friends that are avid UT-K fans here in middle Tenn. they have no idea that the Vols are even playing in the regional this weekend - no awareness at all. I’m talking football/basketball (several women’s basketball) season ticket holders.
For all the hoopla about the growth of softball, I saw a lot of empty stands at several of the regionals when the home team wasn’t playing. Even sometimes when the home team was playing. And, Hall of Fame for the Big 12 was pretty sparsely attended when the OU contingent wasn’t there, even when osu was playing. I think the Big 12 will look silly in Hall of Fame without the Sooner fans.
Washington punches their ticket to the WCWS. They won 2-0 after having a base runner steal home on the catcher's throw back to the pitcher. That's a play you rarely see at this level.