“Simonds Says” is a column by Will Simonds, in which he shares his thoughts on sports at USC and beyond.
On Sunday afternoon, USC women’s basketball set a Galen Center attendance record, as a sellout crowd of 10,657 witnessed the now-No. 6 Trojans take down the then-No. 2 UCLA Bruins.
Just two weeks prior, UCLA sold out Pauley Pavilion for the Bruins’ victory over USC in front of 13,659 fans — another program record.
And it’s no coincidence why people showed up to both games. The programs had never met as two undefeated teams until their first matchup on December 30. Entering this season, the schools hadn’t met as top-10 foes since 1981; that’s now happened twice in 16 days.
USC head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said it best after Sunday’s game: “I’m learning — I’m kind of new here generally — that L.A. likes winners.”
She’s right, as fans are more likely to show up for winning teams just about anywhere. With a combined 27-2 record this season, with losses only to each other, L.A. natives have certainly taken notice of the amount of winning going on between the two programs.
But it’s more than just these two games. It’s the momentum of the sport as a whole.
“The narrative is changing. Women’s basketball is cool,” Gottlieb said. “If you’re not on board, you’re behind.”
The numbers back it up. A record 9.9 million viewers (and a peak over 12.6 million) tuned into the 2023 women’s basketball national championship game between Iowa and LSU, over double the prior year’s viewership. The WNBA had a 21% viewership increase in 2023 as well.
Attendance is also on the rise; people aren’t just tuning it at home because it’s what’s on TV. They’re making an effort to attend games in person. Look no further than the aforementioned Iowa Hawkeyes led by Caitlin Clark, one of the most popular athletes in sports right now. In an exhibition against DePaul back in October, Iowa set an NCAA record with 55,646 fans filling Kinnick Stadium to watch Clark put up a triple-double.
The sport has plenty of engaging personalities, from the budding rivalry between Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese, to joyful players like UConn’s Paige Bueckers and Stanford’s Cameron Brink. As Gottlieb pointed out Sunday, women’s basketball includes more recognizable athletes than ever before, both across the country and in Los Angeles. Little girls all the way up to A-list celebrities know the names of JuJu Watkins, Lauren Betts, Rayah Marshall and Charisma Osborne.
That’s perhaps most impressive in Los Angeles, of all places. Gottlieb’s sentiment about winning holds true, but even winning teams don’t necessarily fill up stadiums in Southern California. USC football was perhaps one play away from being in the College Football Playoff in 2022, but the Coliseum wasn’t selling out. The Rams are only a couple of seasons removed from a Super Bowl; their fans are often outnumbered by visiting patrons. The Clippers typically rank in the middle of the pack in NBA attendance numbers despite boasting some of the top stars in the league.
There’s so many ways someone can spend their Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles, both in the world of sports and beyond. So, over 10,000 people showing up to a women’s basketball game not once, but twice in just a two-week span, isn’t anything to scoff at. It’s a credit to many: Gottlieb and UCLA head coach Cori Close for rebuilding their programs into top-10 teams, stars like Watkins and Osborne for being appointment TV on the court, the marketing departments of both schools for promoting their entertaining squads, among others.
As Close pointed out Sunday, perhaps the biggest challenge is what comes next. She addressed both fans and the media during her postgame press conference, challenging them to keep showing up, not just for rivalry games.
“I challenge you guys to tell the stories all year long, so this doesn’t become a one-and-done,” Close said to a room full of reporters. “Don’t let it fall, and I need you guys to help us do that.”
Close is right. It’s not just on the fans to keep showing up, but the media has a duty to recognize and promote what these teams are doing. I remember showing up to postgame press conferences in Gottlieb’s first season at USC two years ago, and more often than not I was the only reporter there asking questions. After Sunday’s game, every seat in the room was filled, and both teams’ pressers lasted 20 minutes. That’s a good thing, because it shows a buy-in from all parties involved: fans, media and the programs themselves. Close herself said she’d stay as long as needed to answer questions in order to help foster strong media coverage.
But what will be the case in two weeks, when USC returns home to face the Washington schools? No, it’s not a rivalry game, and neither the Huskies or the Cougars are ranked. But both are really solid teams in the top conference in the country that could easily make the NCAA tournament.
How many fans will show up to Galen Center and Pauley Pavilion? Will the media sections at both arenas be filled again? I hope so, because both teams deserve to keep playing in front of sold-out crowds like they did on Sunday.