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The WNBA is BACK!!!!!


Uncle Boobs

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If you like sports, you should root for this league to run seamlessly through its championship. This Marlins business shows how public opinion is just waiting to jump on any failure to discourage other sports from even starting. (Maybe they're right? MLB is in for a nervous week)

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1 hour ago, Bartles said:

If you like sports, you should root for this league to run seamlessly through its championship. This Marlins business shows how public opinion is just waiting to jump on any failure to discourage other sports from even starting. (Maybe they're right? MLB is in for a nervous week)

Bubbles will work.  Non-bubbles will fail.  This isn’t rocket science.  Expecting professional athletes to behave responsibly away from the facility is a fool’s errand. 

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Just pointing out waves of negativity towards sports in general as the Marlins story was unfolding. Mainly directed at football, since so many other sports are already underway with only a handful of problems.

I know the WNBA could run flawlessly, or they could have a 28 Days Later outbreak, and neither would really move the needle for sports in general.

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1 hour ago, Bartles said:

Just pointing out waves of negativity towards sports in general as the Marlins story was unfolding.

Well, why don't you point it out then?  Because I didn't see any of it.  99% of what I saw was directed squarely at MLB for not having a clear policy on when to postpone a game.

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1 hour ago, Brothahorn said:

The WNBA should plan on going balls to the wall, no matter what happens. Even if that means 3 on 3. In a worst case scenario where everything else is cancelled, this is their best chance to gain viewers.

They should also swallow their pride and play with 9-foot hoops so dunking is possible. Would immediately up the entertainment level.

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  • 9 months later...
I love watching layups and jump balls. Never seen so many “tie balls” than women’s basketball.
I like watching professional/college athletes do things I could never dream of. At no time have I ever watched a WNBA game and thought wow, wish I could make a layup like that.
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4 hours ago, Brothahorn said:

And that's cool. That's their spot.

But for the average sports fan(men and women) there is no interest. The sooner the league accepts that, the better for them.

I mean, I don't see why they wouldn't try to drum up interest. I mean, I'll never watch, but they could convince some non sports fan to watch for equality reasons and gain advertising dollars.....on a different network lol

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14 hours ago, ChickenSandwich said:

 

Sorry. I’m out of the WNBA loop but what does this mean?  Who thinks the WNBA is the problem and what is the problem?  
And who at Nike thinks “if you think the WNBA is the problem” is a complete sentence? 

Edited by Lhorn
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20 hours ago, Kermit said:

I care. My daughter loves basketball so we sit down together and watch it. 

I can readily admit that I have watched very little of the WNBA. I am a Lakers fan so what little I have watched has been the Sparks. Needless to say Derek Fisher has an odd way of running the franchise in showing Candace Parker the door.
 

Defector has a writer, Aitreyi Anantharaman, that is so well-versed in the league that she makes me want to sit down and watch some games because of the preview she did. Her writing on the site overall is as good as anything this side of Drew Magary and David Roth. I would enjoy talking hoops with her as she is also really good at discussing the NBA as well. 

https://defector.com/well-well-well-if-it-isnt-the-2021-wnba-season-a-preview/

Let your daughter read it. I think she’ll enjoy it. I think you might enjoy reading it too. 

 

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4 hours ago, UpperWestside said:

I can readily admit that I have watched very little of the WNBA. I am a Lakers fan so what little I have watched has been the Sparks. Needless to say Derek Fisher has an odd way of running the franchise in showing Candace Parker the door.
 

Defector has a writer, Aitreyi Anantharaman, that is so well-versed in the league that she makes me want to sit down and watch some games because of the preview she did. Her writing on the site overall is as good as anything this side of Drew Magary and David Roth. I would enjoy talking hoops with her as she is also really good at discussing the NBA as well. 

https://defector.com/well-well-well-if-it-isnt-the-2021-wnba-season-a-preview/

Let your daughter read it. I think she’ll enjoy it. I think you might enjoy reading it too. 

 

Thank you. Will do. 

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The one thing I admire about the WNBA is it's staying power I would have expected it to fold over a decade ago.
 

As long as big brother NBA is subsidizing their costs and making sure they get media coverage it will survive. It’s not called the WNBA for nothing.
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Not a whole lot of of info out there 

“The WNBA says it has lost significant money the last 22 years, including $12 million last season.
 

"On average (we've lost) over $10 million every year we've operated," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told The Associated Press in October.
 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2018/12/28/wnba-looks-for-new-president-profitability-in-2019/38809289/

Only a $220,000,000 loss. Seems like a good investment. 

Edited by ChickenSandwich
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Losing 12 million on the entire league’s season during a pandemic sounds pretty good when I see that Chicago paid Otto Porter 29 million this year to play like the 3rd guy off the bench. 
 

Would they like to break even on this venture? Sure. The WNBA has cultivated and grown the overall basketball fanbase and that’s a good thing. That leads to higher merchandise sales (Almost entirely talking about NBA gear sold) and more interest in the game. If the overall loss is 220,000,000 over that amount of time I think they’re doing alright. If Adam Silver and the governors really had a problem with the league they would shut it down. 10-12 million a year is nothing to them. 

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Thanks chickensandwich. I was actually going to ask that, but also, who owns the WNBA or its franchises?

I know for most sports teams they are owned by individuals or groups but that would be a tough model for people to invest in considering the almost guaranteed loss of $$$.  
I get that WNBa might have value in growing basketball as a whole but I’d be surprised if the reality wasn’t the opposite - that NBA or college fans grow to like the WNBA, not WNBA fans growing to appreciate the NBA or college ball. 
 

In the end it’s no skin off my teeth. I am not their demographic - the hardcore sports fan that needs to get their fix between other sports’ seasons.  There are a lot of other low level sports out there that exist in obscurity like minor league baseball, alternative football leagues etc and I am indifferent to their existence as well.  
I agree with the above.  Nikes got more than $12 million in the cushions of their sofa. Those aren’t the kind of losses needed for the WNBA to go away. 

Edited by Lhorn
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3 hours ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Not a whole lot of of info out there 

“The WNBA says it has lost significant money the last 22 years, including $12 million last season.
 

"On average (we've lost) over $10 million every year we've operated," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told The Associated Press in October.
 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/wnba/2018/12/28/wnba-looks-for-new-president-profitability-in-2019/38809289/

Only a $220,000,000 loss. Seems like a good investment. 

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2021/4/7/22367915/pay-disparity-between-nba-wnba-is-a-numbers-game

Quote

The NBA is 75 years old, the WNBA 25. The WNBA is 50 years behind in building its brand and working out labor issues. WNBA players want what NBA players spent decades trying to obtain.

The NBA’s average attendance is 17,760, the WNBA’s 6,535. The 2019 NBA Finals averaged a little more than 20 million viewers per game; the 2019 WNBA Finals averaged about 400,000 viewers per game.

The NBA has 30 teams, the WNBA 12.

The NBA’s average ticket price is variously reported at between $51 to $89; the WNBA’s $17.

NBA games average 2 million TV viewers per game; WNBA games averaged 246,000 viewers during the 2019 regular season, according to Sports Media Watch (we’ll ignore the 2020 season impacted by the pandemic). And that’s a 7% improvement.

The NBA’s annual revenues are $7.92 billion, the WNBA’s $60 million — which would not even cover the combined salaries of NBA players Kevin Love and Damian Lillard. Revenues, of course, are not to be confused with profits.

 

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2 minutes ago, Blotto said:

Thanks for posting that. I think overall it is just hard getting a woman’s professional league to a profitable position. I don’t know who the player or players are that will take the WNBA to a higher profile than they currently have, but she’s out there already I think. People forget or perhaps do not realize that Magic Johnson game six performance in the 1980 finals was on tape delay. The NBA has come a long way from that. 
 

If I have a daughter and she wants to watch the WNBA I would be cool with it because there are some great role models in that league. Instead of denigrating these women I think it’s important to just be positive. Even if women’s basketball is not your cup of tea sometimes it’s good to just wish them well and not delve into negativity just for the sake of being negative. I will likely watch more games this year because of Maitreyi and her articles on Defector, but that’s just me. I watch very little football anymore, but I am not going to denigrate the sport or the people who thoroughly enjoy it. 

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1 hour ago, DonkeyCigars said:

At least the WNBA is self-aware enough to not be asking for equal pay or complaining about resources/investments compared to the men's league. They know they are a subsidized loss-leader, for whatever reason.

I'm not sure you know what loss-leader means. They are a subsidized PR move. 

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On 5/22/2021 at 7:01 AM, Kermit said:

I care. My daughter loves basketball so we sit down together and watch it. 

That's very cool and wholesome. 

I actually think the product is decent - especially playoffs. I just never watch it because it is way too far down the totem pole of sports I'm going to tune in for. 

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Meh, I enjoy watching the W.   Much more than the college game (mens or womens).    The playoffs last yr were great and there were a number of very good (and a few very good looking) young ladies drafted this yr adding to the talent pool.   

Edited by d2o
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6 hours ago, ztejas said:

I'm not sure you know what loss-leader means. They are a subsidized PR move. 

Exactly, which means they won’t make a big ignorant stink about not making as much as the men, because the disparity in the revenue and profits are laid bare. It bothers me when other sports feel entitled under the banner of “equality” without doing the business math.

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