2008 Woodie Awards
Katie Douglas and the Fever: What more could Hoosiers want?
Commentary
Maurice M. McKiernan
Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: Sports
Katie Douglas is as close to a hometown sports-hero as Hoosiers will ever find. She would truly bring a new level of definition to that prophetic description if she could jolt this city into embracing women's basketball.
She was born in Indianapolis. She excelled at Perry Meridian High School in Indianapolis. She won a NCAA championship while at Purdue.
Indiana is her home.
It was not until the 2001 WNBA draft that Douglas was selected by a team from another state and finally pulled away from Hoosier Hysteria.
Thanks to a recent trade from the Fever, she's back.
Don't be fooled, Douglas is not merely another player who grew up in Indiana - she is an elite athlete who last year ranked ninth in the WNBA in scoring, 12th in assists, fifth in steals and ninth in minutes played per game.
As a typical Indiana-native who has grown up loving basketball, I'm excited about this move - but it also concerns me.
I am concerned that even with Douglas added onto our title-contending team that Hoosiers will still show a low amount of support for the Fever.
That's a sad thing: the Fever have arguably the best player in the league in Tamika Catchings and a team that was within one win of making the Conference Finals last season - still, the majority of Indiana natives don't seem to care.
The attendance for the Fever last year ranked 11th out of 13 teams.
Since I know Hoosiers love basketball, I cannot help but wonder if some of the holdup is based around the "macho persona" where men do not like watching women that would beat them senseless on the court.
If so, get over it.
Tamika Catchings is one of the most exciting players in the league. In her five professional years - all of which have been playing here in Indiana - Catchings has racked up a robust five All-Star appearances and five All-WNBA Team selections. She is one of -if not the - major faces of the WNBA. Still, she walks with a comfortable level of anonymity in the city she plays for.
She was born in Indianapolis. She excelled at Perry Meridian High School in Indianapolis. She won a NCAA championship while at Purdue.
Indiana is her home.
It was not until the 2001 WNBA draft that Douglas was selected by a team from another state and finally pulled away from Hoosier Hysteria.
Thanks to a recent trade from the Fever, she's back.
Don't be fooled, Douglas is not merely another player who grew up in Indiana - she is an elite athlete who last year ranked ninth in the WNBA in scoring, 12th in assists, fifth in steals and ninth in minutes played per game.
As a typical Indiana-native who has grown up loving basketball, I'm excited about this move - but it also concerns me.
I am concerned that even with Douglas added onto our title-contending team that Hoosiers will still show a low amount of support for the Fever.
That's a sad thing: the Fever have arguably the best player in the league in Tamika Catchings and a team that was within one win of making the Conference Finals last season - still, the majority of Indiana natives don't seem to care.
The attendance for the Fever last year ranked 11th out of 13 teams.
Since I know Hoosiers love basketball, I cannot help but wonder if some of the holdup is based around the "macho persona" where men do not like watching women that would beat them senseless on the court.
If so, get over it.
Tamika Catchings is one of the most exciting players in the league. In her five professional years - all of which have been playing here in Indiana - Catchings has racked up a robust five All-Star appearances and five All-WNBA Team selections. She is one of -if not the - major faces of the WNBA. Still, she walks with a comfortable level of anonymity in the city she plays for.
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