why is there no support for WNBA on this forum

[power puff girl]

as a politically progressive forum, its important that we support progressive sports that empower women and fight against the testerone filled aggression of professional sports. so, i was a little disappointed when nobody even read chottamatte's thread about sheryl swoopes since she's the MVP in the WNBA. is it because the WNBA players don't wear teeny tiny bathing suits while playing, or don't use slutty cheerleaders wearing skimpy short shorts?

its not enough that we fight racism and sexism in the schools; we also need to do our part by supporting these empowering sports leagues such as the WNBA.

[thaite]

You know why people don't watch the WNBA? It's because they can't dunk. Their game lacks the explosiveness that people are used to seeing in pro ball, and is more like watching JV highschool. Not trying to play down the athletes' accomplishment, but that's why people don't watch.

However, I don't watch basketball at all, men or women's.

[Arex]

Personally, WNBA players wearing skimpy uniforms would probably turn me off of women's basketball even further. As thaite suggested, as truly talented as the athletes in the WNBA are, the reason people don't tune in is because it's kind of boring compared to the "testosterone filled agression" of the men's game.

And, FYI, I typically don't watch sports that much, but when I do, it has absolutely nothing to do with the cheerleaders. If all I wanted to do was watch scantily clad women jump around, there are better places to look.

I do, however, agree that more needs to be done to support the women's leagues. Based on what I've seen around me, most women are still more likely to want to watch the NBA than the WNBA, so it's going to be an uphill battle.

[thaite]

Case in point: The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling and the Women of Wrestling didn't work out, while the WWE still trucks along. The outcome not affected by what they were wearing.

[Faithless]

They seem to do well.

I'll watch it on TV from time-to-time.

[Seamus]

Come on, please. I support the WNBA. But people will watch what they want to watch. Some people enjoy watching men's basketball, others watch women's golf. Others like watching women's tennis or gymnastics. What sports people watch, and which ones become lucrative, pretty much boils down to the workings of the free market. Is it shaped by perceptions of gender roles? No doubt, in part. But I don't see a greater degree of interest in men's Bball v. women's Bball (or vice versa) as being in itself "sexist." Incidentally, NBA basketball totally sucks these days. I only watch college ball anymore for this very reason.

as a politically progressive forum

Also, whether this is a "politically progressive forum" depends on whom you ask. It's pretty obvious from the types of remarks that people make that most of the people here are left-of-center. But I was unaware that we HAD to be "progressive" in order to participate here. Because if that were true, I'd be out of here in a second. If you talk with me enough, it's pretty clear that I'm progressive on some things (war on "terror," civil rights, welfare reform, church-state issues), but I'm pretty conservative on other political issues (e.g., abortion, gun-control, certain fiscal issues, immigration, education policy), and I am also philosophically and intellectually conservative. I probably hold quite a few views that are anathema to the vast majority of the people on this board. I don't go waving them around or beating people down with them, but I'm prepared to make arguments in their defense, if asked.

[SunWuKong]

honestly, the WNBA needs to do a better job marketting itself. just the name itself, Women's NBA, pretty much marks the game itself as something to be measured against the NBA. it needs to do a better job of marketting itself as something that stands on its own and not an attachment to the NBA.

speaking of which, i always thought it was stupid when female sports teams in schools are called "Lady Hawks" or "Lady Panthers" or "Lady Whatever". they should just be called the "Hawks" or the "Panthers", etc etc.

[Craig]

I don't watch basketball. NBA or WNBA, doesn't make a difference to me.

[Seamus]

honestly, the WNBA needs to do a better job marketting itself. just the name itself, Women's NBA, pretty much marks the game itself as something to be measured against the NBA. it needs to do a better job of marketting itself as something that stands on its own and not an attachment to the NBA.

speaking of which, i always thought it was stupid when female sports teams in schools are called "Lady Hawks" or "Lady Panthers" or "Lady Whatever". they should just be called the "Hawks" or the "Panthers", etc etc.

Or, when appropriate, the feminine form of the noun. e.g., Chicago Bulls >> Chicago Cows. Houston Rockets >> Houston Rockettes.

[moJo]

personally, i didn't comment on the Swoopes-coming-out thread because it was old news to me. i had already read about it.

the WNBA is boring. because it just is. whoever said it's not "explosive" was right. there are other sports that aren't explosive, and i don't watch those, either (for ex, soccer - men's AND women's).

[yoMAMA]

because it's the WNBA.....

:tongue:

[mrazntre]

the wnba hasn't evolved into an exciting enough game for me to watch. just because women are playing pro basketball doesn't necessitate progress. empowering? maybe, but isn't this the type of empowering that's found in testosterone filled aggression of male sports?

i think it would be more progressive to see/watch/support a woman really ballin it up in the NBA.

[kimpossible]

I don't find basketball empowering.

[TB4000]

I don't find basketball empowering.
Shatter a backboard with your power dunk and tell me different.

[kimpossible]

Shatter a backboard with your power dunk and tell me different.

You've got the wrong gal. Me + basketball = comedy.

[SunWuKong]

Shatter a backboard with your power dunk and tell me different.

that'll get a person's adrenaline running, and in the case of us guys, testosterone as well, but i don't know if that's "empowering".

but i've never shattered a backboard and i've never power dunked. so i wouldn't know if doing so would make me feel like i'm capable of achieving whatever i want in this world and society.

i did get a few sacks back in JV highschool football and caught the ball once on an on-side kick (we were receiving) in varsity. they were quite a rush. but empowered? not really. getting A's on my report card did the trick though.

[kimpossible]

Yeah, I'd rather have a kickass LSAT score or learn to box really well.

[mrazntre]

empowering defines your self-worth, so yeah, go ahead and make that correlation between empowerment and sports. way to go.

to me, empowering is making money while you sleep. aka, the Ultimate Hustler. damon dzZash

Tb400: how many guys you know that have actually done that ?

[deez nuts]

i've bent the rim on a break away dunk in a pick up game once. actually it wasn't the dunk that bent the rim. it was more me hanging on it while taunting the opposing team that bent it and it not being a breakaway rim. does that count?

[mrazntre]

i can touch backboard, does that count ?

[deez nuts]

not a fan of the wnba.

i am however a huge fan of professional female bodybuilding.

[mrazntre]

that's so sexist.

[maestro123]

i really dont understand why women would want to get into the WNBA. it's not like you see men fighting to have equal rights in being a ballerina.

i just dont think Americans in general are ready for the WNBA to be mainstream(and especially in the rest of the world)

[snailpoo]

However, I don't watch basketball at all, men or women's.
That's my reason.

[power puff girl]

i don't buy the argument that people don't watch WNBA simply because they can't dunk or that you're not watching the best possible basketball players.

after all, you could make that same argument about college basketball where those players are not as talented or good as professional basketball players in the NBA. but, each march, many times more people watch college basketball than WNBA.

[mrazntre]

and do you know why so many people watch those games in March ?

[Keke]

i don't buy the argument that people don't watch WNBA simply because they can't dunk or that you're not watching the best possible basketball players.

after all, you could make that same argument about college basketball where those players are not as talented or good as professional basketball players in the NBA. but, each march, many times more people watch college basketball than WNBA.
If you need something to be angry about...

don't be angry at us for not supporting the WNBA. Its not a good product... It doesn't produce $$....

If the WNBA sold out stadiums and sold $$MM of sales in jerseys and apparrel, then you're argument would have some merrit.

Women have a pro baskeball league.... Most people don't like it... What's your point??

And why is it 'progressive' to support the WNBA?
Wouldn't it be more 'progressive' to do something about domestic violence? (#1 crime in Maine), or date rape? or prescription drug abuse among teens?

Freakin' WNBA... just buy a Michelle Wie poster and watch golf.

[Laz3n]

WNBA lacks players that are exciting, not necessarily players who can dunk. Even some NBA games are boring to watch. Players like Kobe, Wade, and Iverson make the NBA worth watching. It’s not just their dunking but their moves, creativity, and excitement that they bring to the game. Without these guys, NBA games would be kinda boring to watch. The only player in the WNBA that I can think of that’s exciting to watch is probably Sue Bird.

[wucifer]

wnba is boring? :eek:

[power puff girl]

I don't find basketball empowering.

yes, the WNBA is empowering in several ways:

it provides another avenue for women, and breakes gender roles that women have been asigned to by society. little girls are taught not to run and play like little boys.

there is also a corellation between financial success and athletics.

[Arex]

it provides another avenue for women, and breakes gender roles that women have been asigned to by society. little girls are taught not to run and play like little boys.

there is also a corellation between financial success and athletics.These are good points but supporting the WNBA when you otherwise have no interest in it is not the answer. Supporting athletics for young girls is a better, more direct way of ensuring that they are instilled with the same sense of confidence and competitive drive that comes with participation in organized sports.

Half of the population consists of women. But most women that I know who watch basketball still prefer to watch the NBA. Is that because they're all being sexist, or could it possibly be that there's something else at play?

[achtungbaby]

as a politically progressive forum, its important that we support progressive sports that empower women and fight against the testerone filled aggression of professional sports. so, i was a little disappointed when nobody even read chottamatte's thread about sheryl swoopes since she's the MVP in the WNBA. is it because the WNBA players don't wear teeny tiny bathing suits while playing, or don't use slutty cheerleaders wearing skimpy short shorts?

its not enough that we fight racism and sexism in the schools; we also need to do our part by supporting these empowering sports leagues such as the WNBA.
Just out of curiousity, have you been to a WNBA game?

Supporting athletics for young girls is a better, more direct way of ensuring that they are instilled with the same sense of confidence and competitive drive that comes with participation in organized sports.
I think one of the best things about the WNBA is what it's doing for young women right now. I've actually been to a Sparks game and I swear, at least half of the mostly female audience were girls between the ages of 12 and 18. I never really had much of an opinion of the WNBA but after attending a game, became sold on its benefts.

But as its already pointed out, the game (and its players) needs to evolve, and I think that'll happen with time.

[lethal]

The quality of play in the WNBA is vastly improved since its inception not too many years ago.

[kimpossible]

yes, the WNBA is empowering in several ways:

it provides another avenue for women, and breakes gender roles that women have been asigned to by society. little girls are taught not to run and play like little boys.

there is also a corellation between financial success and athletics.

I support women's participation in sports. I've been one of them. I just don't find basketball or the existence of the WNBA empowering. I hate basketball. I suck at it and find the game boring as hell.

Now lacrosse, hockey, dirt biking, and marksmanship I could kick some ass and enjoy. I don't have to find only one particular sport empowering. So, no for me.

The quality of play in the WNBA is vastly improved since its inception not too many years ago.

Though I hate basketball, I'd see a women's game over a guy's game because it seems to be more about competition and less about individual egos.

[deez nuts]

cuz women's figure skating is more enjoyable to watch than the wnba.

[kimpossible]

Figure skating sucks too.

[achtungbaby]

Figure skating sucks too.
Figure skaters do not.

http://cache.eonline.com/News/Photos/k/kwan.michelle.020206.jpg

[kimpossible]

Sucks

You guys need to discover ballroom dancers.

[deez nuts]

Figure skating sucks too.

when compared to female hot oil wrestling - which is indeed a sport, thank you very much.

[achtungbaby]

You guys need to discover ballroom dancers.
How about Stacy Keibler?

http://images.usatoday.com/life/_photos/2006/02/23/dancing-keibler.jpg

[deez nuts]

anything that involves a WWE diva is a sport

[Chinasaur]

There's no WNBA team where I'm at. If there was, I'd think about watching some games. But honestly though, I barely even watch NBA games these days, unless I'm with the boys, 'cause I pretty much know how the games are going to end...Raps are gonna fall behind in the first quarter, compete for half a game, then either deflate in the final minutes of the fourth or take it to OT and lose.

[power puff girl]

i really dont understand why women would want to get into the WNBA. it's not like you see men fighting to have equal rights in being a ballerina.


according to that logic, we should dismantle Title IX and funnel and the money for college athletics to men only.

[SUMO]

the WNBA has no support because i can see better games at the local park. who wants to see someone go on a break-away and do a lay-up? people pay to watch athletes do things they cannot do themselves. we want to see vince carter jump over a 7' stiff to dunk the ball or steve nash throw a lob to shawn marion for a crazy dunk.

[power puff girl]

better game? john wooden, the most succesful basketball coach, is a big fan of women's basketball and feels that women play a more fundamentally sound game than men do. men have transformed what were originally games of skill into brute strength. that's why many hockey coaches instruct their young players to watch women hockey for that reason.

[mrazntre]

the NBA isn't built off of "fundamentals," it's built on showtime, dunks, fast breaks, and breaking down defenses one on one. That's the reason why the Pistons vs. Spurs Finals (iirc) was one of the least watched series. The spurs have a guy called the "Big Fundamental" and we all know how LB teams like to be coached, "the right way."

Fundamentals are good, but without athleticism to go along with the fundamentals, the games are going to be boring - whether mens or womens.

john wooden would ban the dunk if at all possible. Wooden also said that a lot of guys in the NBA don't have to so many of the fundamental things because of their athleticism, such as blocking out, etc.

[SUMO]

better game? john wooden, the most succesful basketball coach, is a big fan of women's basketball and feels that women play a more fundamentally sound game than men do. men have transformed what were originally games of skill into brute strength. that's why many hockey coaches instruct their young players to watch women hockey for that reason.

Hockey is different because in women's hockey, they don't allow the checking that they allow in men's hockey so it's less physical.

I guess my post needed more clairity. By "better game", I meant more entertaining. People want to see athletes do things they themselves cannot do.

[TB4000]

Honestly, when the NCAA tourney was going on, I tuned in more to the female than the male games. The latter was too anti-climactic.