Buddy Ryan or Pat Summitt?

Obviously Summitt accomplished more in her field but it is Women's College Basketball. I'm sure most of us recall the '85 Bears and his 46 defense or maybe even Ryan punching the OC Kevin Gilbride on the sideline with Houston. And Buddy has two rather well-known sons coaching in the NFL.

What say ye, people of WifS?

People watched football before Buddy Ryan. Nobody knew there was women's college basketball before Pat Summitt.

Point taken. But how many people follow WCBB now?

Not the numbers the NFL brings in, since that's where you were leading with the question, but they do well.

While Ryan had success, he didn't do anything as far as growing the NFL. It is widely believed that Summitt deserves much of the credit for the growth of WCBB.

If you didn''t live in the Philadelphia area in the late 80's/early 90's, I can tell you that that was the most intense I have ever seen fans of any sport. The fans were so into it I can't even describe it. By Tuesday you were already talking about next Sunday's game. That all came from Buddy. That defense was ferocious.

And if you think about it, Buddy probably coached 3 of the 5 best defenses ever - Vikings (70s), Bears (mid 80s), and Eagles (late 80s).

Buddy came to Minnesota as the defensive line coach for a unit that was already established as a defensive force in the league. He did coach them in two Super Bowls, but he was hardly the architect for the Viking defense that he was with the Bears' and Eagles' defenses later in his career.

I had read that Buddy made the Vikings more versatile. But, that defense was usually a top 1 or 2 before he got there.

Buddy's thing has always been blitz schemes. I'm sure he had a good deal of input, but yes, they were already dominant.

I'm actually not "leading" anywhere. Perhaps, 50 years from now, Summitt will be looked upon as a pioneer of a very popular sport. Right now, she's looked at as a driving force of non-descript athletic competition.

Buddy has his legacy, in the USA's most popular sport, and two offspring still contributing.

Personally, I think Summitt had more impact but my question really centers around who knows it?

The PC answer would be: Pat Summit elevated women's basketball to relevance, allowing female athletes a chance to perform on a national stage and get both recondition and equal scholarship opportunities for both the sport of basketball and all other formally organized female college sports and most Universities. Buddy Ryan, while certainly a contributor to the sport of football, was a crude, and derisive personality and his sons have carried on that tradition.

The answer that Dougout hears at the local VFW (and the answer most of my friends would give a few beers in without the wives there) would be: Most College Basketball players are tall, ugly lesbians. No one goes to their games, and no one watches their games. Buddy Ryan was all about tough football. His players destroyed WRs in the open field, shut down running backs, and hammered QBs. And thats all we want to see anyway. If there was a Mt Rushmore for CTE Buddy would be on it. **** women's basketball and all praise the L!!!!

Personally I go with #1, but I really don't defend it when #2 is brought up. I don't want to be called a variety of offensive names and get into dead end debates about it.

Let's try it this way.

When HBD first came out, I was one of the first to "understand" it. I shared what I figured out and, obviously, others got better at it than me.

Now, who gives a ****?

I think that's a fair Summitt to WCBB comparison. There is a tiny little sector of society that cares about WCBB.

Let me ask this -
Buddy Ryan or Kim Kardashian - who is more impactful?

I think this is an easy one. But perhaps not.

Hard for me to be fully objective since I live right in the heart of the current WCBB universe, but I'll agree that Pat Summitt put the sport on the map. The NFL is and always will be much bigger and more popular, but it was around and successful a long time before BR came along. WCBB . . . . not so much before PS.