Big XII in General

[YemenBear]

First let me establish my creditials. I'm a 1981 male graduate of Baylor University. I'm a member of the Baylor Bear Foundation and I hold season tickets to football, men's basketball, and ladies' basketball. I live in Yemen, so my family uses my tickets much more often than I'm able. However, due to events of 11 September I was in the US from October through mid-February, allowing me to see the Bears in action in football and basketball.

I just want to take the time to say thanks to the core members of this website for your intelligence, passion, and devotion you show to Big XII women's basketball. I love Baylor University but get HIGHLY frustrated with the message boards on our website. It seems everyone but the coach is an expert on everything. Bickering among fans of the same school gets old very quickly. It was a refreshing change to stumble across this site (referenced on the Baylor message board). I never post but enjoy reading the thoughts of others. A number of things impress me about the members here. First and foremost is the devotion shown to the Big XII. Competition and rivalries during conference play are natural, healthy, fun. It's uplifting to see support for conference teams in the nonconference and post-season portions of the season. Also the deep devotion to one's own school without dragging everyone else through the mud.

I'm also deeply impressed with the intelligence consistently displayed by posters. So many posts show great insight and research....coaching changes, recruiting, game strategies and post-game analysis. HoopScoop has become addictive and helps keep me current lo these 15,000 miles from home.

Remain mindful to a certain extent this site will become a victim of its own success. It was discouraging to see an ISU fan sign off recently. Texas Tech and ISU, to a certain extent Texas, have been the anchors of the league. Great to see the recent success of OU, KSU, CU, and of course Baylor. As more and more people learn of this site (I've shared it with my family), you'll get some of the know-it-all, in-your-face, taunting remarks that come so easily when your identity is unknown.

Please take this as a pat on the back for sharing your thoughts and remarks, your insights and knowledge of the game.

Sic em Bears,

[HoopScoop]

Thanks YemenBear and good to hear from one of our lurkers out there.

I've stayed out of these discussions recently and let others handle the replies basically because these boards are for and about all those who post here. In a way I let the direction of this board go where the posters want to take it. So, in a way it is a democracy, but I will always hold final say in all matters. Thus, that means when you have a beef (beef = you are very offended) about something that is said here you can always find me at mailto:cwp@hoopscoop.netcwp@hoopscoop.net</A> . In that way we will keep the riff-raff out.

ISU3PointLand expressed concern at some things in general that have been said and decided not to return. I wish he would reconsider. Sometimes you have to ignore the bad to take in all the good. And I cannot simply boot someone off this board for making one bad post or a post that hasn't been blatenly offensive to a number of people - which was the case in two earlier incidents. But those incidents have both been dealt with and, I think, HoopScoop is a better place as a result of them.

On to other things. I'm sure this board will stay active during the offseason because we all seem so much more interested in the WNBA this season. It's going to be tough to pick a team to root for.

I will also add an off-topic board for those who want to vent or discuss any other topic that doesn't include women's basketball. Maybe we can get Chipper to give us some Osama bin-Laden ballad or something of the sort.

And as always I'm very much open to any input anyone wants to provide on this website in general. You can either post on this board or send me email. Thanks!

[This message has been edited by HoopScoop (edited 04-20-2002).]

[Jennifer]

Welcome Yemenbear! Hope to 'see' you around this off-season and next season.

[elfdenmom]

Welcome YemenBear it's nice to hear from someone who appreciates this site for its unique and positive qualities.

[swok34]

welcome, welcome, welcome Yemen Bear....I've been watching the "registered" counted users for a couple of days now and you are
#200.

I Loooooooooove hoopscoop and almost had a coronary one day when I couldn't logged in. You are correct in the that as more fans come aboard, the more dissension.....that's okay. We all have our opinions and most of us don't attack individuals, players or coaches and are sincere in our "disection" of game discussions.

We are trying to get our own little convention started where we meet some of the members of the hoopscoop board, like meeting in Kansas City as several of us did this past Big XII tourney. It's really neat to meet and put a face with those you talk to all year.....Hopefully, we will have a really good showing in Dallas next year........ http://hoopscoop.net/ubb/smile.gif

What's it like living in Yemen?.....I suspect they have no women's basketball, but may be mistaken. Israel has a women's basketball league. Are you able to follow any sports over there, or are you interested in such?

[This message has been edited by swok34 (edited 04-20-2002).]

[This message has been edited by swok34 (edited 04-20-2002).]

[YemenBear]

Sports in Yemen, specifically women's sports in Yemen, are very limited. Yemeni women wear the burqa (long, black, robe-like dress worn from head to toe). It's a part of their culture and religion. Perhaps 50% to 60% of the women also wear veils. I've helped in a local high school track meet. Yemeni girls compete at a distinct disadvantage....scarf to cover the hair and long pants or warm-ups.

Society in general does not allow for women to mix with men. If invited to dinner at a Yemeni home, I never see the women in the family. It's strictly an all- male affair. That said, if there are women sports on a national level, I'll probably not be aware because I'm a guy. The only sporting events mentioned in local papers deal with male athletics. There's certainly no Title IX.

Apologies for getting off topic. I hated not to respond to the general question.

[KSUron]

Welcome to HoopScoop YemenBear. We like all WBB fans. Keep safe!

[Bob_Ballew]

Welcome Yemenbear. It is good to have another Baylor fan on the board. I hate to show my ignorance, but I don't know where Yemen is located on the map and I thought I was pretty good when it came to geography.

[YemenBear]

Yemen is located in the Middle East just south of Saudi Arabia.