Lauren Kim -- Supplemental Post 1

     I work as a student ambassador in the Admission Center at USC, and my most popular question from guests has always been "have you seen famous people at USC" or "do you know ___" especially now that USC has gained attention in the sphere of athletics. Since USC has had multiple big-name athletes join our athletic programs for this academic school year, I feel strongly that there has been an emergence of stars in collegiate athletics in a similar way to what we've seen in films and music throughout this course. To answer the original question -- the only "campus celebrity" I've ever run into was Juju Watkins (in Dulce) but I would argue that Juju Watkins is one of -- if not the best -- example of what I mean when I say athletes have been connected to the star image. Specifically in the context of gender representation in athletics, the USC Women's Basketball team has proven with their success in March Madness as well as with their first Pac-12 Championship win this year since 2014 that they have earned their spotlight in mainstream athletics discourse at USC as well as throughout college basketball. Additionally, it's very possible that I have run into other "campus celebrity" athletes and just haven't realized it since I truly don't watch any sports (including Women's Basketball). The only reason I'm able to recognize Juju Watkins is because of how dominant the women's basketball team has become in widespread discourse regarding USC. With this celebrity image, Juju Watkins, as well as the entire women's basketball team, represent ideals of gender empowerment amidst a historically male dominated field such as athletics. In their recent home game vs UCLA, the women's basketball team broke the record for most attendance in the Galen Center -- for both mens and women's sports held there. That night the head coach spoke on behalf of her experience with negative comments like "no one will care enough about women's sports for this to happen" and yet it did. This is possible because of the extraordinary success within the team in combination with the student population's tie to campus celebrities and stars like Juju Watkins who have become representatives of powerful narratives of success and determination at USC. 

Comments

  1. Emma SmithApril 18, 2024 at 1:56 PM

    Supplemental Post #5
    Hi Laruen!

    You opening the discussion about Women’s College Basketball and the star imagery and power that’s coming from there at this moment in time makes me want to explore more into this realm of sports entertainment, specifically women’s sports, that is taking the media by storm. A couple of weeks ago, the NCAA tournament concluded, with South Carolina, a predominantly team led by Dawn Staley, a black head coach, who did not lose a game this entire season, receiving considerably less media coverage than Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers, two white stars in the women’s college game. Clark and Bueckers are prolific players themselves, deserving of all the media attention they receive but it is incredibly interesting to look at race within sports and see that even in a predominantly black led sport, white players are receiving the most media attention and garnering fairer narratives. Take for example the media’s portrayal of Angel Reese, a black star at LSU and her trash talking, which was deemed as classless and villian-y, while Clark, who has done similar trash talking antics, has been platformed for her actions, deemed as “part of the game”. The LA Time’s racist article published about LSU’s team is a blatant example of how whiter teams or white-led teams receive much fairer, less damaging media narratives and coverage than the black stars or black led teams.
    To continue, Clark is not immune from criticism either both in her on-court actions and performance. She is the reason why the WNBA, a league that is the laughing stock of social media, is garnering so much attention now; its draft on Monday night achieved over 2 million viewers compared to the 500K viewers in its previous iteration in 2023. Teams are purposefully moving their match up with Clark’s new team to larger arenas to accommodate the unprecedented demand that has come with her stardom. She even received a Nike Shoe deal that is 8 figures (compared to their 6 figure salary [NBA players get paid millions – a discussion for another time about gender inequality]) and comes with a signature shoe to be put out in the market. What’s interesting with this is once again, that 3 white WNBA players, Clark, Sabrina Ionescu, and Breanna Stewart, are the only female players with signature shoes in a league that is dominated by black talent, led by black players. It becomes an interesting aspect to explore in the sports world when we specifically look at the women’s game that has been increasingly achieving media attention, even more so than the men’s college hoop scene


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