DT sounds off on the W

[Adios]

“Tier 1 professional team”? Umm, just because they outlasted the Whalers and quite a few other WNBA teams, not sure I call it a Tier 1.

I would. Best players in the world in their sport?

Anyone else think the new WNBA logo looks like Diana Taurasi?

 

[vtcwbuff]

Time for the players to refuse their salaries, pray for forgiveness at their egocentric ways and pay out of their pocket for the privelage of playing to the team owners and dont forget that the players should also pay the fans to come to their games.

Having been to a dozen or so WNBA games years ago, I can honestly say they couldn't pay me to go to a WNBA game.

 

[eebmg]

Having been to a dozen or so WNBA games years ago, I can honestly say they couldn't pay me to go to a WNBA game.

ok. Off the mailing list.

 

[Argonaut]

Having been to a dozen or so WNBA games years ago, I can honestly say they couldn't pay me to go to a WNBA game.

In contrast, if there was still a team in Charlotte, I'd probably have season tickets.

 

[UConn990411]

Prolly because most people on here would love for their "work" to be playing basketball for 4 months.

Of course it’s a fun job, but I think it’s absurd when people act like it isn’t work. Professional athletes get paid a lot of money to play a game, but they also work extremely hard, put in an insane amount of hours, and have crazy schedules. I feel like many fans overlook those aspects far too often.

 

[meyers7]

Of course it’s a fun job,

I think that's the point, most people don't have a fun job.

I agree they work really hard, if it was easy everyone would do it. But a lot of people work really hard, but at sucky jobs......12 months a year.

 

[Trappist]

The situation will not improve until women become dedicated sports fans and buy tickets, support teams and bring their friends and families to the games. Men aren't going to do it in sufficient numbers to sustain the WNBA. Being a fan starts at a young age and mothers need to pass the "fan gene" on to their daughters. Go to games together and watch games on TV together. Women should consider bringing a date to a game. Once there is a significant fanbase made up of women who love basketball, the WNBA will succeed. Until then, the league will depend upon the whims of owners who treat it more as a "hobby" than a serious business.

 

[j66kicker]

I would. Best players in the world in their sport?

Anyone else think the new WNBA logo looks like Diana Taurasi?

No, but it should. I think the consensus here when they made the change was it looks like Kiah Stokes. IMO the logo should look so much like DT that no one would ever have to ask.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

The situation will not improve until women become dedicated sports fans and buy tickets, support teams and bring their friends and families to the games. Men aren't going to do it in sufficient numbers to sustain the WNBA. Being a fan starts at a young age and mothers need to pass the "fan gene" on to their daughters. Go to games together and watch games on TV together. Women should consider bringing a date to a game. Once there is a significant fanbase made up of women who love basketball, the WNBA will succeed. Until then, the league will depend upon the whims of owners who treat it more as a "hobby" than a serious business.

While I surely don't disagree that there are numerous groups, women with children included, that are under-represented in the W's fan base, I really think your post is a bit simplistic.

Put very simply - there isn't a huge fan base out there that has a "gene" to pass along. They don't go to games but they also don't (in large part) watch on TV either. They are not interested, in the same way that I am not particularly a soccer fan or a men's basketball fan. Some just don't choose to take the time and effort to follow the sport - I was at one time in my life a hockey fan and it is sure can be exciting to watch, but I don't, because I have enough other things keeping me busy.

As I have posted often, I'm not a big WNBA fan, really. Love the game experience, enjoy watching (as far as it goes) but . . . I much prefer following college women's basketball and find it much more accessible to the fan base as well.

One difference is that if you are a W fan, unless you live near a team, you are probably following players rather than a particular team. In college, I root for Rutgers and Arizona, pretty much regardless of who the actual players are.

 

[wbbfan17]

First time poster. But i believe the W misses out the most on college fans. Many college fans don’t carry to the W. I love the college game but don’t pay any attention to the W. Game times are atrocious, storylines don’t continue, and even tho they are the best players in the world people just love their schools more than the actual players. Uconn being an obvious exception. The girls are way better than they’ve ever been and more athletic but IMO they are not given the opportunity to succeed. When was the last time an nba game was at Noon on a Wednesday. And on espn+ nonetheless

 

[Cuango]

Time for the players to refuse their salaries, pray for forgiveness at their egocentric ways and pay out of their pocket for the privelage of playing to the team owners and dont forget that the players should also pay the fans to come to their games.

Maybe just the second one.

 

[JimGunther]

FWIW: I've been out for a late lunch several weekends this Summer. There's been a men's basketball game on the TV. I guess it's a "feeder league" but, candidly, it appears to be a much lower level of "game". Surprisingly, there seem to be a good number of filled seats.
My queston: Why is the NBA counter-programming against the WNBA and what kind of advertising dollars are supporting this "filler" content?

 

[Trappa]

It’s strange how Dee played in Russia all those years and seems to have zero idea how she ended up straight paid by those two oligarchs, or even how the top of the Russian economy works.

 

[triaddukefan]

In contrast, if there was still a team in Charlotte, I'd probably have season tickets.

I wouldn't have season tickets, but I'd be there for quite a few of the weekend games.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

There is no profit motive or effort in European women's basketball. They have far worse attendance at most games. There are corporate and government sponsors who burnish their images with these teams. Europe offers no economic model.

If they offer "no economic model," why are all of the best American players playing in Europe? And why are American players taking off the summer and the WNBA, but making certain that they play their European seasons? Seems to me that the simple facts suggest that the European teams are doing something right, while the WNBA is the one in trouble.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

If they offer "no economic model," why are all of the best American players playing in Europe?

The money the players are paid is not generated by operations. Large government, corporate and mogul infusions of $ balance the budget. Some teams are subsidized with revenue from hugely profitable associated men's football(soccer) teams. So "the simple facts" say we are comparing apples and oranges to no purpose. The Euroleague in which the US stars play have average attendance well below the WNBA and a large number of tickets are given away. The quarterfinals last March had 3 games with 1500 in attendance and one at 4500 (UMMC v. TTTRiga).

 

[Plebe]

Someone please help me understand this.

The list of countries where women's players are (apparently) making more money than in the WNBA is long: China, Russia, Turkey, Israel, South Korea, Poland, Italy, Australia, Spain...

WNBA Players Playing Overseas - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA

After the WNBA season, many players across the league head overseas to continue playing. Take a look at where around the world they will be competing below. Overseas Hubs: Atlanta | Chicago | Connecticut | Dallas | Los Angeles | Minnesota | New York | Seattle Players Playing Overseas WNBA Team...

www.wnba.com

Are ALL of these countries, leagues and clubs bucking the principles of profitability with infusions of "large government, corporate and mogul infusions of $" just to pay women more than market value?

This is clearly more than just a couple Russian oligarchs feeding their egos.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Are ALL of these countries, leagues and clubs bucking the principles of profitability with infusions of "large government, corporate and mogul infusions of $" just to pay women more than market value?

YES. That simple. But there are a lot of club teams who cannot spend big bucks. Euroleague top tier where WNBA players play has just 16 teams and not all of them pay the big bucks of UMMC or Dynamo Kursk. Some WNBAers play in leagues making far less than you hear about in the top tier teams of Euroleague.

 

[Plebe]

YES. That simple. But there are a lot of club teams who cannot spend big bucks. Euroleague top tier where WNBA players play has just 16 teams and not all of them pay the big bucks of UMMC or Dynamo Kursk. Some WNBAers play in leagues making far less than you hear about in the top tier teams of Euroleague.

I just don't understand why so many parties are willing to take hits to support an unprofitable system.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I just don't understand why so many parties are willing to take hits to support an unprofitable system.

There isn't any one reason of course. For China it was a matter of state interest in successfully projecting the policies of authoritarianism into the international sports arena, the most dramatic push being for Olympic gold. The last decade has seen a shift in China toward encouraging private market forces. Europe is a mixed bag, but Eastern Europe was aclimated to statism for generations and now Western Europe is more socialist than anything else, with the EU regulating the number of plies in you toilet paper and the amount of water in your flush.

 

[Trappa]

There isn't any one reason of course. For China it was a matter of state interest in successfully projecting the policies of authoritarianism into the international sports arena, the most dramatic push being for Olympic gold. The last decade has seen a shift in China toward encouraging private market forces. Europe is a mixed bag, but Eastern Europe was aclimated to statism for generations and now Western Europe is more socialist than anything else, with the EU regulating the number of plies in you toilet paper and the amount of water in your flush.

To add, in Russia it’s not so much seen as an investment in the sport but as an investment in their factory workforce. They don’t sell many tickets at all, most are comped to underpaid workers for entertainment. Most of the crowd is there for free. The men in charge of the big Russian teams are financially and politically corrupt, so a couple million is nothing to them. Besides, there’s always rumors about them needing to get dirty money clean.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Perhaps the answer is to have the government subsidize the league with taxpayer monies. That would be fair. Think of it as reparations for having been born female.

It's a BUSINESS not a social experiment! If the product you are selling is so inferior that there is little demand and no profit, where is the money going to come from? Maybe Oprah?

 

[Plebe]

I don't pretend to have all the answers, but one obvious step, as mentioned by @bballnut90 , would be to raise or even abolish the salary cap. What purpose does the cap serve in the WNBA? If the answer is parity, that's a really lame answer.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Someone please help me understand this.

The list of countries where women's players are (apparently) making more money than in the WNBA is long: China, Russia, Turkey, Israel, South Korea, Poland, Italy, Australia, Spain...

WNBA Players Playing Overseas - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA

After the WNBA season, many players across the league head overseas to continue playing. Take a look at where around the world they will be competing below. Overseas Hubs: Atlanta | Chicago | Connecticut | Dallas | Los Angeles | Minnesota | New York | Seattle Players Playing Overseas WNBA Team...

www.wnba.com

Are ALL of these countries, leagues and clubs bucking the principles of profitability with infusions of "large government, corporate and mogul infusions of $" just to pay women more than market value?

This is clearly more than just a couple Russian oligarchs feeding their egos.

Exactly. There are women's teams from Israel to Russia to Shaanxi, China. And that list shows that almost all of the WNBA players play overseas- between 8-11 players per team. And let's keep in mind that if their overseas seasons overlap with the WNBA, these American players make sure to play out their contracts overseas before mozzying on back to the W.

Hard to believe that it's just a couple of oligarchs who are propping up an unprofitable pro system. Too many teams are attracting too many top American players- and mid-ranking players- and their checks don't seem to be bouncing.

 

[vtcwbuff]

So you pay the team stars/vets more? Where would the money come from. If most of the teams are in the red, how does paying top players more work? Maybe paying the other players even chumpier change than they are getting now? Maybe the real answer is for the W to switch to 3 on 3 basketball.

Can anyone name a women's professional team sport that was/is a money maker?