Women's NCAA Tournament gets local love
Fans watching the Women's NCAA Tournament
MILWAUKEE - It's a whole new ballgame; two women's college basketball games could shatter viewership records.
But the effect goes way beyond ratings.
Wisconsin has just one connection to Monday night, April 1’s game: that's KK Arnold, a star at Germantown who now plays for Connecticut.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
But at sports bars around the area, this game that once was an afterthought is must-see tv and those around it say this isn't a moment. It's a movement.
Tucked in the back of a downtown sports bar, Ben Kimbell and his daughter Eleanor couldn't miss Monday night's madness.
Ben Kimbell and Eleanor Kimbell
"I look at them, and I'm like, 'Wow, if we work hard, you can really look up to them and say, I can do this,' you know? They inspire you to work harder," Eleanor Kimbell said.
They're in town from New Jersey and headed to see the women's final four in Cleveland.
"When I heard about this trip, I was like, ‘I get to see what?’ It was so amazing," she said.
And the excitement doesn't stop there.
SportClub has shown the women's games all tournament long, because fans like Lizzy Deprenger are showing up to watch them.
"You can hear the bar. It's really busy," she said. "I think people are excited to see the game, and yeah, it's a wonderful testament to what's happening now."
Her Iowa Hawkeyes may have the brightest spotlight, with the NCAA's all-time leading scorer Caitlin Clark leading the way.
"I'm a soccer player myself, so to see you know women's sports becoming mainstream is what we deserve," she said.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android.
And it’s not limited to college.
"They're obviously watching the game," said Mary Merg, girls varsity basketball coach at Wauwatosa East High School. "They know the stories."
She said the impact is already landing with her team.
"The more that I can, you know, nudge my players to watch the game and see that excitement, and know that that is real. If you work hard, if you do what it takes, you can be on that stage as well," Merg said.