I am a fan of women's college basketball and have been for many years. I watched several WNBA games for the first few years the league existed but have barely watched it since. Professional sports don't excite me as much as college for a variety of reasons. I pay far less attention to the NFL than NCAAF and outside of the Super Bowl hardly ever watch it yet every fall Saturday I'm glued to the TV.
The WNBA has tried multiple marketing techniques over the years that doesn't seems to have increased interest in the product from the public. Several women's professional leagues have been attempted in sports and none have survived for very long. I don't think the "league" has done a poor job at trying every medium to reach an audience.
My perception is individual teams don't do enough to reach their individual communities. Because of the short season, summer schedule, and the fact players are almost forced to play overseas for money, it's difficult for teams to create any sort of cohesion or sense of belonging in their community. I live in Atlanta. The Braves and Falcons are a huge part of this city. The Hawks don't seem to resonate with as many fans here and I see no specific marketing of the Dream, despite the fact McCoughtry has been here for years and is a true star.
Just my thoughts. I do hope the league survives long term because I don't feel it's a bad product at all but there needs to be some honest discussions about how many people actually want to experience the product.
