tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180270631422837748.post4672781051561556056..comments2023-08-16T09:39:08.120-04:00Comments on femonomics: Hate Duke. Love UConn?Coca Colohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05951066922977616639noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180270631422837748.post-59152926528008521812010-04-11T17:28:49.790-04:002010-04-11T17:28:49.790-04:00Agreed, Duke's pro reputation isn't so ste...Agreed, Duke's pro reputation isn't so stellar, but I just don't follow professional sports regularly in general (least of all the NBA, which I loathe), so that's actually why I don't watch Redick. He's had some breakout moments and has been off the bench more and more lately. I check in on him from time to time.<br /><br />Interesting thoughts on the WUSA.Thanks! I guess it should have made sense to me that the NBA was footing the bill for the WNBA, but I didn't know that (since I don't follow either).Pearls N the Hoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02930089627189853742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180270631422837748.post-87604364077949309452010-04-11T16:02:37.724-04:002010-04-11T16:02:37.724-04:00Re: college vs. pro, a big part is definitely that...Re: college vs. pro, a big part is definitely that women's college teams benefit from the school brand name and fan & alumni networks that already exist. There's no similar allegiance that leads any NBA teams to root for their cities' WNBA team. <br /><br />Redick was one of the top two players in college, and he's a decent bench player for Orlando in the NBA, so that's probably more why you don't follow him. Duke players don't have the best NBA reputation (though the NYT last year dubbed Shane Battier the no-stat all-star).<br /><br />There are lots of reason why the WUSA 2001-2003 failed and the WNBA has not. Probably the No. 1 reason is the NBA is willing to bail out the WNBA in tough times (though at the recession trough, the WNBA was losing less money than the NBA). The WUSA had no business relationship with the MLS (and even went head-to-head with it on TV!) Other factors (1) soccer is definitely less popular than basketball in the US (2) the WUSA founders burned through money for things like oversea training trips they they'd earned -- these were all gone by year 3 of the league when reality sunk in (3) the fan base (they'd get 4,000 to 8,000 per game) is large enough to support something like minor league baseball where teams are close together in small stadiums, but not a national league with a balanced schedule playing in stadiums like RFK. I think the new league WPS will learn from WUSA's mistakes.DRDRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09998965615143790016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180270631422837748.post-14332643650049109332010-04-11T13:09:07.756-04:002010-04-11T13:09:07.756-04:00Congrats, Anonymous!
@DRDR: Thanks for your insig...Congrats, Anonymous!<br /><br />@DRDR: Thanks for your insight. I too wonder about the WNBA and other professional women's sports vs. their college counterparts. This is just a thought, but do people feel more of an allegiance to their alma maters and lose interest once these women turn pro? I know I haven't watched JJ Redick play in the NBA, but was practically obsessed with him (poetry and all)while he was breaking records at Duke. The WNBA is at least still up and running, but why did the women's professional soccer league collapse? It's kind of interesting stuff.Pearls N the Hoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02930089627189853742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180270631422837748.post-36204189863042910562010-04-10T17:55:21.521-04:002010-04-10T17:55:21.521-04:00The thing is, it's not like UConn's domina...The thing is, it's not like UConn's dominance is a recent development in the sport. UConn had big win streak in 2001-03 as well. And there have been other years where it was clear from the outset that Tennessee would run the table. Writers in w. basketball have constantly asked, "Are UConn and Tennessee's dominance bad for w. basketball?" <br /><br />Re: ratings, I don't think UConn's dominance was the big reason more watched than last year. More watched because UConn actually had a chance to lose that game. That's why I watched (and it was the only women's college game I watched all year). Stanford had been blowing out most of its opponents just like UConn all year (except for their 1 loss to UConn), so they had a legit chance, and they did lead 20-12 at halftime. Most people didn't think Louisville had any chance of beating UConn last year. <br /><br />I don't consider women's basketball to be a red-headed stepchild. In the spectrum of women's sports, it's pretty surprisingly popular from my perspective. As I posted in comments earlier, few when Title IX was passed would've imagined that every game of the women's basketball tournament would be on national television. I believe this game gets better ratings than the WNBA finals. Why is that? It's something I don't fully understand.DRDRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09998965615143790016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8180270631422837748.post-83168021417769637092010-04-09T18:15:14.324-04:002010-04-09T18:15:14.324-04:00I'm a student at UConn and the interest of the...I'm a student at UConn and the interest of the student body has been mostly been with the men's team, until they started having such a terrible season and that's when the focus turned to the women who were reaching a record-breaking streak while blowing out almost every team they played. I'll admit I didn't watch the games up until Sunday night's game in which I turned on that TV and saw how amazing they are and obviously being a Husky fan, I made sure that I watched the championship. They are really amazing and talented women, and when people realize that I think their attention will shift and become more supportive, as I have. I watched the WNBA draft yesterday and saw Kalana Greene and Tina Charles, as the number one pick, get drafted and from now on I will be attending the games because they are absolutely incredible to watch.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com