Jezebel 
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New York, 6:15 AM
Wed Nov 11
68 posts in the last 24 hours
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10/21/09
I've made this point here before, but it tooks decades for the major male professional leagues to catch hold, with some of the same "are they doomed" talk at the time. But, because they weren't part of the 24-hour news cycle, everything must turn an immediate profit world of today they were given the time and nurturing to grow a fan base. Sometimes I think the WNBA tried to start too big, it's needs time to grow in a natural way. Many of the women who play in the league were major starts in college (such as Candace Parker and the now-retired Rebecca Lobo), it would be a shame if they wouldn't be able to play after graduation. It's also too bad that women's professional sports haven't been able to captitalize on Olympics momentum. The US is dominant in women's basketball, soccer and softball--why can't the excitment of 2 weeks every 4 years spill over into being able to see these ladies play all the time? #wnba
10/21/09
/Not the point. But it is kind of hard to take the whole "just take what you have" argument, rather than men ever being expected to change their ways to lead to more inclusive environments (within and beyond athletics) for women. #wnba
10/21/09
Women's basketball and men's basketball are different entitites--the players have different physical capabilities and thus the games (and strategy involved) have evolved differently. I am completely willing to admit that women play basketball in a different way, and it's ok that some people find this "less exciting". That's just an opinion, though, and some people feel the opposite way. I don't understand why "different" has to translate into "not worthwhile", or not a legitimate sport.
It's not for you--and that's fine--so go watch something else, and quit bitching about it already. #wnba
10/21/09
10/21/09
My husband and I both enjoy college women's basketball and loved watching the University of Minnesota women's team when they made the Final Four and had Lindsay Whalen and Janel McCarville on the team. Their college games were sold out and had a bigger following than the men's team. Whalen was drafted by Connecticut and has been successful there, but I am sure the MN Lynx would have gotten much more attendance and interest if she would have stayed in an area with instant celebrity/name recognition. Not to mention how that could play into endorsements. #wnba
10/21/09
On another note, It bothers me when people say that womens' athletics just aren't as fun to watch as the men's competition. Of course, it will be a different game. And of course, the average NBA player can jump higher than the average WNBA player. But its just a different type of top-level competition. College-level play is different than professional play in most sports, and people still watch both, appreciating it for what it is (because when it comes down to it, its entertaining as hell to watch teams, who devote themselves to training and being premier athletes, compete against one another). #wnba
10/21/09
This is a good point -- I think people are often into sports for emotional, not logical reasons, and may be turned off of them for emotional reasons as well. I don't doubt that there are fans who will never like women's basketball because it is, in some ways, a different game -- but I worry that many also just can't root for women on the court the same way they can for men. #wnba
10/21/09
And somehow, the lingerie football league is considered a source of awesomeness and not degradation and joke fodder. #wnba
10/21/09
10/21/09
Count up the number of WNBA jokes vs. the LFL jokes during the average week and see which tally is higher. #wnba
10/21/09
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10/21/09
It really is time for the WNBA to stop actively pushing away its fan bases. #wnba
10/21/09
10/21/09
And California has what, four NBA teams? One is in Oakland, but nothing in San Francisco. I bet the SF LGBT community would really embrace a WNBA team there. #wnba
10/21/09
It's great that women are staying active and competing with each other, and I thoroughly enjoyed my days playing, but the professional women's basketball doesn't appeal to me as a spectator sport as a Red Blooded American Female Sports Fan. #wnba
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10/21/09
Focus on girls and their mothers. Make it into girl power and sisters doing it for each other. Let's face it, the expendable income in this country is in the hands of 13 year old babysitters who don't pay taxes or need to buy gas money. All their income is discretionary and they'd eat that up. Focus on middle and high school basketball teams. Hold basketball clinics for the community. Endorsement deals will follow if you can attract the girls now. #wnba
10/21/09
10/21/09
Hell, hitch your wagon to the Girl Scouts horse. You know if they offered group discounts or did a special scout deal, the Girl Scouts would visit and make a big deal about it. #wnba
10/21/09
I personally have never been to a Women's match I was not involved in but do follow both the England Ladies team as well as the Arsenal Ladies (Arsenal Mens are my true love).
England got to the Final of the European Championships this year (the men haven't done this in something like 40 years) and still noone seemed to care.
Although the profile and respect for the Ladies game has risen as The england team improve and succeed, it bugs me that they get less respect and attention than the Mens tema will get in mediocre years. #wnba