What’s So Unappealing About the WNBA?

[beishuizen91]

Not a big WNBA fan, but great article. I guess I just dont really have a team to root for. I live in Indiana, but near Chicago, but I am a Dallas Mavericks fan, so maybe a Dallas team? Idk haha. Again, great article!

[garnett_21]

Thanks for the comments, all. This may end up being the thread with the most replies on the WNBA ever on SCF! lol

Mike:
But I think it's disproportionate. There are more women watch NBA, NFL, etc. than guys who watch the WNBA, women's soccer, golf, tennis, etc.

I also watch tennis (mostly because of Sharapova, though ), and occasionally golf as well...lol

That was also one of my reasons for thinking why alot of people are not interested, is because of gender bias, but I couldn't come up with a good way to say that without offending anyone...

[jeebus86]

Nice article Nathan!

I’ve thought about this for awhile, and I came with two reasons why most people, especially men, don’t get into the WNBA too much, one is the lack of personal attachment we have to a particular team or player, and the other is the lack of a huge historical background.

Speaking for myself, it comes to no surprise that I’m a huge Laker fan, and I’m probably a bigger Laker fan then I am a basketball fan. I’ve grown up with the Lakers, I have relatives who are huge Laker fans, so naturally I have a huge personal attachment to that team. I really can’t say the same thing with the Sparks, I’ve tried watching there games, and I enjoy the fact that LA does have a WNBA team, but I just can’t get into there games, and think it’s largely because I don’t have any personal attachment to that organization. And this is the same with other sports like baseball or college basketball. I enjoy the fact that there are LA teams in those sports, but because I never really grown up with those teams, I occasionally loose interest in watching the games.

And then there’s the lack of a rich historical background, we have to remember, the WNBA is still in its infancy when compared to other sports. I think a huge reason why we enjoy watching our favorite teams or sports, is because of the rich history that comes with it. You really can’t say that with any WNBA team.

Anyways, those are my reason’s why I just can’t get into that sport.

[tutall]

I think a couple things, first off you have your championship during football season... Really? No way you are going to compete with story lines in the first couple weeks... in the media who is going to get more attention... Brett Favre and Mike Vick or Candace Parker and Lisa Leslie.... Second they play indoors during the summer.. not a good idea. I would much rather enjoy an evening at the ball diamond as opposed to spending 3 hours watching girls do lay-ups. Third, I just dont think there is star power in womens sports. You dont see them on TV doing commercials, you dont see many highlights on ESPN because there just isnt something there to draw interest from most people. No one is hitting a baseball 450 feet, dunking, or breaking 4 tackles on the way to score a TD.

[WilyWestbrook0]

I think there are a variety of reasons, but I'll pose what I think are the two main reasons.

1: Women just aren't as athletic as men. I am speaking as a female myself, but I'm being honest here - I'd rather see the guys play. On average, we women are shorter and less muscular by nature. I know that race is a hot topic athletically, but while that is still under debate, women around the world are indisputably shorter and less muscular than their male counterpoints on average because of clear hormonal differences. So, we just won't be going around and banging in the paint and dunking on people like mad, y'know?

2: There is also some bias against women who are more athletic than what is "usual" for women. I can't tell you how many times I've read how men simply find female athletes "ugly." And I think it's not so much about the face as it is about body type. According to scientific studies, typical guys are simply not drawn toward looking at women with narrow hips and/or WHRs (waist-to-hip ratios) above 0.7, even if she is "thin." And since the 36-24-36 "ideal woman" is almost never athletic (could you imagine Marilyn Monroe playing hoops, seriously), we hear all the time how women athletes are "too ugly to look at" and so forth because of their muscle tone, thicker/stronger waists, and lack of "childbearing hips." So even if the ladies are great players, some guys just can't stand to look at them because these women do have more testosterone on average than the majority of women and thus don't have tiny waists and wide hips.

Still, with that said, I think the main reason is primarily difference in athletic ability (reason #1). Even the best women just aren't big and strong enough to throw down monstrous dunks and the like.

[molly1984]

I haven't really given the WNBA much of a chance. I watched some games as a kid during the first seasons but it didn't grab me. I also don't watch men's college basketball. I guess for me, I am a fan of the NBA and not a fan of basketball in general. The NBA is entertaining to me and maybe it's because of how the players are marketed and the matchups and history etc.

[jbark223]

JUST MY OPINION: WNBA is absolutly boring,its not interesting at all. Nothing against women or anything (I watch womens college softball), all they do is just throw up 3-point prayers,lay-ups are the exciting part of the game i guess,i mean the only top 10 WNBA play in the past month was when a player hit a 3 at the buzzer and her teammate started celebrating, but they were down by 4, did anyone catch that not that was hilarious. I actually dont watch the nba that much anymore i am more into college ball,they just play harder and try to win. Dont have much time to watch nba anymore so i just catch the highlights. AGAIN THIS IS JUST MY OPINION.

[garnett_21]

I'm honestly surprised at how many replies this thread has received...honestly, I was thinking that this would not be read much at all, and that it would be a typical WNBA thread with next-to-no views, let alone replies...but, I was wrong, and am quite pleased with that - this thread is approaching 20 replies and 200 views! I am very pleased that so many have taken the time to read what I wrote, or at least took the time to read this thread.

[GriffeyJr.FAN3]

first off, nice writing nate. my opinion of the wnba is not a very good one, nothing against women i just dont like to watch it. in the wnba threads on this site i dont post disrespectful things like i have seen done before. i dont like it so i wont post in there. i am curious though how many people watch the wnba finals compared to the nba finals, because i had no clue it was the wnba finals until i came on here. congrats to those ladies playing at the professional level but its just not for me.