It's probably not a complicated recipe when it comes down to it: Win the first 22 games of your season the way LSU women's basketball has this season, and the fans will be raring to go night in and night out.
But even with that caveat, with the No. 3-ranked Tigers eking out an 82-77 overtime win against Georgia this week, the upturn in interest and fan support is noteworthy. Kim Mulkey has wasted no time turning around a winning program the state can be proud off in Year 2 with the Tigers, and she explained part of that method when she joined SportsTalk this week with Mike Detillier and Bobby Hebert.
“If you’re watching the elite, and you’re watching how hard they play, how good they are, and you’re watching teams like that, you’re going to turn it over," Mulkey said. "Now, you’re always going to have the male ego at play. Some are never going to do it, they’re just not interested. I get that. I have a son. I have all these male friends. I understand it, but I tell them this: If you come one time and you don’t like it, don’t come back. Ironically enough, they come back and they bring friends and they say ‘this is fun. This atmosphere is crazy.’ ”
Listen to the full interview with Kim Mulkey in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
An example of that interest level peaking? The LSU women drew a record crowd 15,157 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center last week for their victory over Tennessee. Another example was shared by Detillier, as he shared an anecdote from WWL's weekly show out at the Silver Slipper Casino earlier in the week. It might technically be Mississippi, but the casino-goers made sure the lady women were on the TVs, and they were watching intently.
"Well, that’s an honor, if you can say it that way," Mulkey said. "It’s fun, and you said something that’s really meaningful to me about my career. I’ve always wanted to bring the male into our arena that didn’t give a flip about women’s sports or women’s basketball, and I’ve been able to do that."
Related
MORE FROM MULKEY
ON UPCOMING SHOWDOWN WITH TOP-RANKED USC
LSU has an upcoming matchup with Texas A&M on Sunday, but then will get a week off prior to an SEC-shaking clash with the juggernaut Gamecocks. Yes, that's Super Bowl Sunday, but the 1 p.m. start time should save fans from having to make any difficult choices.
“Our game is before the Super Bowl starts, so maybe that’ll give people a chance to watch that game and then tune into the Super Bowl. Yes, the fans, I get it, they’re looking for that game, I understand it. But I’m thinking about [the upcoming opponents].
"So yes, I understand. But I’m going to make it perfectly clear, Bobby, South Carolina is so good, I don’t know that anybody can beat them. Will we fight like heck? You better believe we will. But they are so deep and so talented that sometimes I think they play bored because they know they can turn it on at anytime they want. They are that good. And we hope that we can give them a game there. We hope that we can grow in that game. And what did Herm Edwards say, ‘that’s why we play the game?’ And if the ones that are supposed to win always win then let’s just forfeit and you don’t have to worry about it. But it doesn’t work like that in athletics. … If the 12th comes and we’re still undefeated and they are, it’s gonna make for good talk.”
Related
THOUGHTS ON PAYTON GOING TO DENVER/IMPACT OF COACHING
“Well, I can only speak coaching-wise, pro sports is so different from college, guys. But let me just talk a little bit, I think all of us thought Kim Mulkey would stay at Baylor, retire, live happily ever after, dynasty built. I think all of us also thought Sean Payton would do the same thing. … So I don’t think any of us saw that coming, and then when it did happen, you thought ‘he’s burnt out. He needs a breather.’ But then you realize he’s too young to step away permanently.
"He didn’t leave under bad circumstances or anything like that. So now he’s rejuvenated, and it sounds like to me from what I’ve read that the right situation presented itself to him. He liked what he heard and he’ll win. He knows what he’s doing. You can’t deny that. What you will tell him is, bro, have you ever shoveled snow in the morning? We’ll take hurricanes any time over snow.”