Why is the WNBA failing?

[shesulsa]

Have you SEEN women's basketball?? It's EXCITING!! So why is it failing as a national pastime?

 

[mrhnau]

Have you SEEN women's basketball?? It's EXCITING!! So why is it failing as a national pastime?

Just my personal opinion here... Certain womens sports just have a hard time catching on. We have the NBA, which in many ways is a higher caliber. Fans like seeing the dunks, the flamboyant personalities and the age old rivalries. Alot of the players have magnetic personalities, and try as they may, the WNBA can not seem to be able to exude that.

I think alot of it has to do with the lack of interest (in most schools) in womens college basketball. With a few exceptions, schools/fans/students simply don't care.

Now, I don't think it will ever become a "national past time", it might increase in popularity, but not to the extent of the NBA or any other major sport in the US (NFL, NBA, NHL perhaps, NASCAR, MLB).

From what I can tell, the only womens sports that have exceeded mens sports in popularity are tennis and gymnastics. Maybe some others... What you have in those sports is deliberate sex appeal. Does it distract from the sport? Perhaps, but it generates interest. The WNBA has not done much to generate that kind of atmosphere, at least from what I can tell... Its sad, but a reality...

 

[HKphooey]

I live in Connecticut where it is still very strong. But I will have to say that they started off the wrong way with too many leagues (I think they had 3 at one point). They should have pooled all the resources, financial backing and fans to support one league (the WNBA would have made the most sense).

 

[Grenadier]

Have you SEEN women's basketball?? It's EXCITING!! So why is it failing as a national pastime?

Even though the gameplay is exciting, the technical skill levels involved are high, and that nobody can question the drive and desire of the WNBA players to win, the fact remains that it really doesn't have much of a fan base, and that fan base isn't likely to expand by much.

As mrhnau stated, most people who watch basketball games, and aren't part of the WNBA devotees, want to watch action that is a lot more flashy. They're much more likely to be impressed by the sight of Michael Jordan leaping an unholy distance during some irrelevant blowout game, both horizontally and vertically, and smashing a hard dunk, than they are to remember who even won the WNBA finals. God forbid, they would even rather see Dennis Rodman get into one of his usual fights, than to see someone the likes of Cheryl Swoopes in action. Unfortunately, it has a lot to do with the "glitz and hype," and the WNBA isn't generating it.

As sad as it is to say, for the WNBA to really take off, they would probably need a representative who can really play up to the cameras and start generating that hype.