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PARIS — Most of the seats in the lower tier of the Bercy Arena, those behind the team benches, are controlled by the International Olympic Committee.
They are marked and cordoned off, used by officials, dignitaries, celebrities, corporate partners and who knows who else… plus you have to be someone influential or know someone influential to sit there.
On Wednesday, at the women’s basketball quarterfinal between Nigeria and the United States, the stands were practically empty (row after row). The United States will play Australia on Friday.
Most of the seats on the other side, at both ends of the court and in the corners, which extend 40 or more rows deep, all the way to the roof of this 15,000-seat stadium, are sold to the general public.
They were almost completely full: row after row of fans.
They were always loud, enthusiastic and engaged, even when Team USA, predictably enough, cruised to an easy 88-74 victory. It was the 59th consecutive Olympic victory for the Americans, who are seeking their eighth consecutive gold medal.
This was never expected to be much more than a display of American dominance. Nevertheless, the crowd was significant and even supportive.
American fans cheered the quality plays by the Nigerians, which gave encouragement to the overall development of the game or, perhaps, hope that the game would remain relatively close for as long as possible (the difference was six points until midway through the second quarter).
It is debatable what the disparity between the almost empty “official” sections and the completely packed “public” sections means for women’s basketball. It is probably a matter of several things.
What is undeniable, however, is that it was a strange atmosphere and it looked terrible on television. If one were to only watch the main camera feed, one would think that almost no one had come to the game.
It was quite the opposite. The rest of the place was packed.
Also nearly empty? The press courts. There is a sizable American media contingent, but this was nothing like the all-seats-filled scene at Tuesday night’s men’s quarterfinals. Apparently, the world’s press hasn’t gotten around to women’s basketball.
In the United States, before the Olympics, there was much talk of the team needing to add Indiana Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark to boost interest in the team. Perhaps it would have, especially given the television ratings at home.
But judging by the cheers, stomps and chants heard in the packed sections, there are a lot of very interested and passionate women’s basketball fans out there, more than happy to witness the brilliance of A’ja Wilson (20 points), Breanna Stewart (13 points) and Jackie Young (15 points), let alone a team that plays hellish defense on one end of the court and then has 31 assists on 34 baskets on the other.
Watching the U.S. women’s team is like tuning into one of those videos where they use explosives to take down an abandoned skyscraper. You already know the outcome, but you tune in anyway to marvel at the power that gets you there.
And many fans wanted to see it in person. It’s a high-level match.
We are probably a generation or more away from women’s basketball at the Olympics becoming a competitive event. It’s a shame. You can see the talent in the Nigerian team and recognise that, with more investment in development programmes, many countries can start to produce strong teams, as they do on the men’s side.
Could this happen without the important and connected people who would have access to the sections of this stadium controlled by the IOC?
Probably not.
If the IOC is not going to use its tickets (like whole sections of its tickets), then it should at least put them on sale for real fans to use.
Women’s basketball put on a good show here on Wednesday.
Looks like the wrong people missed it.