Why the WNBA is so disrespected, on "Down & Dirty with Devereaux"

[Plebe]

I just recently became aware of this vlog by Devereaux Peters, and I've been impressed with the few episodes I've gone back and seen. She's spunky and articulate, and she brings a humorous edge. Quite adept with the memes as well.

In this particular episode (the second of a two-part series on the disrespect of the WNBA), Devereaux addresses the complaint, commonly heard from WNBA-haters, that female players lack athleticism. She specifically compares a highlight play by Steph Curry to a similar highlight play by Maya Moore. I think some people here will enjoy this.

 

[huskyd]

I remember Devereaux as someone who always was either in foul trouble or who fouled out in every game. She never left the court happy. Ms. Peters was, however, a fine player (while she was in the game).

 

[BroadwayVa]

I remember Devereaux as someone who always was either in foul trouble or who fouled out in every game. She never left the court happy. Ms. Peters was, however, a fine player (while she was in the game).

Ms Peters was a great post player at ND. By her Senior year she finally had it figured out pretty well.
Frankly, as a Uconn fan, I knew when she picked up her second in the first half--she'd sit. A sitting Peters was much better for Uconn's chances. Never the less a great ND player.

 

[tomcat]

I always liked Peters's play. And BroadwayVA is right. I liked our chances when she was sitting.

 

[pghhuskydoc]

Thanks for posting. The breakdown of the Steph vs. Maya tape was great. Also loved the traveling meme.

 

[Millenial23]

This is great! I love that bit about traveling in the NBA, so funny! I had no idea! And yeah, Maya is incredible, my favorite player ever!

 

[Ukonnfan]

Everyone has a personal agenda

 

[iri10]

I remember Devereaux as someone who always was either in foul trouble or who fouled out in every game. She never left the court happy. Ms. Peters was, however, a fine player (while she was in the game).

I got a chuckle out of reading your post while looking at the thumbnail of the video clip immediately above the post. The look on her face in the thumb is not too different than the look she had after fouling out.

(no disrespect to Devereaux intended; she was and is a solid basketball player)

 

[tomcat]

She had very interesting -- though I'm not sure accurate -- take on why ans follow a player through college and don't continue in the WNBA. Her take was that because the WNBAs a small league with limited spots, players sometimes get cut and suddenly are not playing in the league, so fans get discouraged and don't continue to follow a team.

I guess that may be true, but to me, the WNBA is basically a cross between WCBB and the NBA -- stressing more athleticism and less team play, but still mostly below the rim. I like the part that's below the rim, but the NBA part is exactly the reason why I am not really interested in the WNBA all that much. And yes, I've watched games on TV and went to one live. It's just not as interesting a game to me. I may be alone in that perception, but it's the reason why I don't care to follow the players I loved to watch when they were in college.

I doubt that many WNBA players would even think of that as a reason why there aren't more fans, because in the way their world is set up, the WNBA, and all the requirements of being a "pro," are the next natural progression in their careers. It's just that some of us (maybe only a few of us) don't think of it as progress.

 

[magic]

Wow, what a great job by Devereaux. A breath of fresh air and honesty, that I happen to respect and admire. Who cares about her play while in college? That 's not what this is about. Incredible to me , that in this day age , she has to go to such a length to explain some of these things. But, then again parts of our society has lost the ability to think for themselves or even worse are afraid to express opinions for fear that others won't " agree " with them. What the hell happened to independent thinking ? Over the last couple of years I have found myself watching more and more wnba games. Admittedly, some of reason is that there are so many ex-uconn players to watch , scattered around the league.

 

[Millenial23]

Wow, what a great job by Devereaux. A breath of fresh air and honesty, that I happen to respect and admire. Who cares about her play while in college? That 's not what this is about. Incredible to me , that in this day age , she has to go to such a length to explain some of these things. But, then again parts of our society has lost the ability to think for themselves or even worse are afraid to express opinions for fear that others won't " agree " with them. What the hell happened to independent thinking ? Over the last couple of years I have found myself watching more and more wnba games. Admittedly, some of reason is that there are so many ex-uconn players to watch , scattered around the league.

I agree with that last statement. I don't know which team to support because I love Maya and Tina and Stewie and Stef and Mo, etc but they're all on different teams!!!! And I'm a bit far from Mohegan to go there for Sun games all the time, if they were any good. And yes, college loyalty is a big thing, we're all fans of UCONN and part of that is growing up in the state and part is going to school there (for me). But it does seem to me that the league is on the right track. I mean, even UCONN attendance has decreased since 2004 for whatever reason and never reached those heights since.

 

[1-of-the-6]

Every year, when my favorite women's college players graduate and go into the WNBA, I vow to follow them. I never do. I wish I could change that, but it probably won't happen.

The WNBA has a huge, and unsolvable, dilemma. They play in the summer. They start right up just after all versions of winter basketball have ended. I can't keep my interest going any longer. It's baseball season, I'm a Giants fan, they play almost everyday, and with mlb.com I can watch every game. That's 3.5 - 4 hours of sports, and it's enough. Plus there's golf to be played, etc. I'm sure I'm not alone in this.

And they can't move to the winter for two reasons. First, they'd be competing against the already-saturated airwaves, so full of basketball that it's driven me away from all of it except the women's college game. There's the NBA, the men's and women's college games, and for those that are interested, local high school teams. It's crazy.

And even if they had no competition, they'd have no players, because they'd all be overseas making much more money.

Plus, when I do watch them, I really don't enjoy the games. Too much individual play and way too physical. The only way I'd probably watch is if UCONN had their own WNBA team.

 

[mntncougar]

Okay, here comes the heresy. That was a nicely worded piece, and a lot of what she said about why the WNBA is not more popular is similar to what I recently saw Candace Parker say, in an interview that I think was posted on this board.
Unfortunately, I think most of it is hogwash. As far as I'm concerned there are only 2 basic reasons, and until you get beyond them you won't make any progress. The first reason is really a part of the second but it also stands on its own. She's right, the WNBA is a small league and there are just not that many venues where they can be seen live.
But the second reason is huge and all encompassing and I don't think anything will ever really change until it's overcome. The WNBA is invisible.
As a Uconn women's fan for almost 30 years, back to the days when they were only on WHUS, I would love nothing more than to be able to follow all of our former players in their pro careers. But the fact is I have never seen a WNBA game because as far as I'm concerned they are not on television. Therefore, they don't exist.
Someone mentioned above that they would watch the games, so I presume they must be available somehow, somewhere. But like the vast majority of senior citizens I have cable with expanded basic. It's all I've ever had and all I likely will, though I have just made my first exception and subscribed to HBO to see their UCONN series.
Anyway, my point is, out of sight, out of mind. Beyond the lack of TV coverage there is hardly ever a mention that I see in the newspaper or on the radio sports broadcasts. (Possibly something about a former UCONN player or a win or loss by the SUN around here).
In plain and simple English I can't follow any of them because there simply is no way, for me at least.
But going beyond me and my personal situation (and I firmly believe, that of many others) how are you ever going to get anyone interested in something they never see and can't see unless they blindly subscribe to some service they don't even know exists.
Exposure is the only answer to making the game popular, and if that can be achieved then it will have to stand on it's own merits. Some people, I believe, would like it, many would not, but that's true of most things.
Sorry for the rant, but this is not a new thought for me.

 

[drweo]

I thought this was really well done--thoughtful, clear, frank--with humor even! Yes, the WNBA has a steep road to climb, given its built-in limitations ( # of players, # of teams, timing of schedule, etc). But she was mostly talking about the disrespect the league gets, not its structural and marketing problems. And yes, the traveling comments were funny!