Can Diana save the league?

Holdsclaw was supposed to be the saviour and that didn't pan out. No,
Diana can't do it nor can Leslie or Catching or Riley or Jackson or any
one single player.
Here is a product that not enough people want to support. For the
life of me I cannot understand why we have fishing, tractor pulling, and
all these X games on prime time ESPN but no women's basketball. Why is
there more of a market to see the great Bass contest?

There's a lot of competition for attention. Has the NBA and the WNBA
really done a good job of marketing this product?

Whitney D wrote:

><<You never know. Stranger things:) have come true
>
>
>
>
>Undoubtedly, if things improve in the WNBA next year, Diana will get more of
>the credit for it than Detroit's remarkable turnaround and the great finals
>series. Whether that would be a deserved assessment or not is another question.
>
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Can Diana save the league? 

>
><<You never know. Stranger things:) have come true
>
>>>
>
>Undoubtedly, if things improve in the WNBA next year, Diana will get more of
>the credit for it than Detroit's remarkable turnaround and the great finals
>series. Whether that would be a deserved assessment or not is another
>question.
>


One important element in assigning credit would be the seats sold and tv
ratings when they come to town.

It looks like Poenix and Washington are two likely beneficiaries and it would
be interesting, at the least.

Irv
 >> Stay informed about: Can Diana save the league? 

I don't believe any player can singlehandedly save the league. That's a
ridiculous simplication. I remember back in 1980, people were saying that Nancy
Lieberman would save the WBL. The league lasted one more year.

V


"There is no such thing as accident. It is Fate--misnamed."
--title card, Erich Von Stroheim's "The Wedding March," 1928
 >> Stay informed about: Can Diana save the league? 

<<Here is a product that not enough people want to support. For the
life of me I cannot understand why we have fishing, tractor pulling, and
all these X games on prime time ESPN but no women's basketball. Why is
there more of a market to see the great Bass contest?>>

Have you tried talking to young girls about the WNBA? Even those who are into
basketball? They can't stand it. They like the NBA but have no good things to
say about the women. Irv will correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Diana also
say something of a similar type a while ago?
 >> Stay informed about: Can Diana save the league? 

>
><<Here is a product that not enough people want to support. <<


Predicting when something catches on is beyond me. In business you just keep
swinging. It is like when the NBA was doing lousy and them Magic and Bird came
along and stimulated it to a new high level. then michael jordan stepped in
and turbo boosted it big time


>> For the
>life of me I cannot understand why we have fishing, tractor pulling, and
>all these X games on prime time ESPN but no women's basketball. Why is
>there more of a market to see the great Bass contest?>><<

Plenty of interest
>
>Have you tried talking to young girls about the WNBA? Even those who are
>into
>basketball? They can't stand it. They like the NBA but have no good things
>to
>say about the women. Irv will correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Diana also
>say something of a similar type a while ago?<<

I don't kn ow about the WNBA having potential to catch the NBA, but sometimes i
train into manhattazn and there are a lot of girls and mooms going to see a
liberty game.

I am certainly not sure of what Diana said b ut I know she grew up emulating
and "worshipping" Magic and Michael too

Irv


>
>
>
>
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Can Diana save the league? 

<< >Have you tried talking to young girls about the WNBA? Even those who are
>into
>basketball? They can't stand it. They like the NBA but have no good things
>to
>say about the women. >>

What girls are you talking to?

Every young girl I know in basketball DREAMS about joining the league. It's
the goal of every DI college player. Kids talk about Swoopes, Bird, Hammon,
etc.

Unfortunately, that's not enough to make the big $$$.

Diana Taurasi grew up in a time when there was no WNBA. She was a basketball
player from the time she was little. And she's from LA. There wasn't a WNBA
until she was in high school.
 >> Stay informed about: Can Diana save the league? 

<< >Have you tried talking to young girls about the WNBA? Even those who are
>into
>basketball? They can't stand it. They like the NBA but have no good things
>to
>say about the women. >>

What girls are you talking to?

Every young girl I know in basketball DREAMS about joining the league. It's
the goal of every DI college player. Kids talk about Swoopes, Bird, Hammon,
etc.

Unfortunately, that's not enough to make the big $$$.

Diana Taurasi grew up in a time when there was no WNBA. She was a basketball
player from the time she was little. And she's from LA. There wasn't a WNBA
until she was in high school.>>

Well, I'm an AAU coach in LA and I run across many of the top girls in the
nation. I think I can count on two hands the number of times I've seen a girl
wear anything with WNBA signage, although the WNBA balls are standard. On the
contrary, the girls are aways wearing NBA gear. Speaking with them, I can
honestly say that with very few exceptions, all of the top girls model their
games on male players, not female.

And I don't want to misquote her, but I'm pretty certain a top female college
player was quoted on this very ng as saying that she never watches the women's
game and I seem to recall it was Taurasi. If it was, regardless of her
reasons, it's a pretty compelling argument for why the league has been
struggling if even the top upcoming players aren't fans.
 >> Stay informed about: Can Diana save the league? 

I think it's great the younger girls are modelling their games after NBA
players, although I take exception to the way a lot of these guys play.
That tells me they want to be BETTER than the current WNBA crop. Good for
them. Go for it.

Young girls may like the NBA but the WNBA or something like it is going to
be the highest level they could ever hope to reach.
I know the Indiana Pacers gave Ann Meyers a tryout back in the late
seventies. That was a stunt, IMHO.

I think it was Chamique Holdsclaw that said she preferred men's basketball
than women's basketball. Well, last I saw she was playing on one of the
worst teams in the WNBA and wasn't picked for the All-WNBA teams. She has
her own team and her own game to worry about.

Diane Taurasi was quoted as saying she doesn't want to be coached by a woman
because it would be like being yelled at by your mom. I hope she isn't
drafted by the Washington Mystics if that's the case. Unless the Mystics
change coaches.

On a similar note, Serena Williams has been quoted as saying she prefers
men's tennis to women's tennis and when she was younger, modelled her game
after Pete Sampras, not some woman player. (Really, is there ANY woman
tennis player that the Williams sisters could have modelled their games
after?). However, she has also said she will not play any men's players in
any sort of singles match play and she doesn't want to join the ATP tour.


"GO8GO" <go8go RemoveThis @aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030918225402.23341.00000924@mb-m19.aol.com...
> << >Have you tried talking to young girls about the WNBA? Even those who
are
> >into
> >basketball? They can't stand it. They like the NBA but have no good
things
> >to
> >say about the women. >>
>
> What girls are you talking to?
>
> Every young girl I know in basketball DREAMS about joining the league.
It's
> the goal of every DI college player. Kids talk about Swoopes, Bird,
Hammon,
> etc.
>
> Unfortunately, that's not enough to make the big $$$.
>
> Diana Taurasi grew up in a time when there was no WNBA. She was a
basketball
> player from the time she was little. And she's from LA. There wasn't a
WNBA
> until she was in high school.>>
>
> Well, I'm an AAU coach in LA and I run across many of the top girls in the
> nation. I think I can count on two hands the number of times I've seen a
girl
> wear anything with WNBA signage, although the WNBA balls are standard. On
the
> contrary, the girls are aways wearing NBA gear. Speaking with them, I can
> honestly say that with very few exceptions, all of the top girls model
their
> games on male players, not female.
>
> And I don't want to misquote her, but I'm pretty certain a top female
college
> player was quoted on this very ng as saying that she never watches the
women's
> game and I seem to recall it was Taurasi. If it was, regardless of her
> reasons, it's a pretty compelling argument for why the league has been
> struggling if even the top upcoming players aren't fans.
 >> Stay informed about: Can Diana save the league? 

just on the point of girls wearing wnba gear. have you ever tried to get
good gear? the wnba store on line is a complete joke. i'm not a young
girl by any stretch, rather an old one with money to spend and nowhere
to spend it (on wnba gear). i've got one great shirt that's a shred now
that is navy with the WNBA logo on ti. i got it by flying to DC from SF
to see the all star game. i bought it at the street fair and have seen
it nowhere else. i get asked about it a lot. we can't wear it if it
doesn't exist.
i'm also a Neilson TV home and would watch every game shown on my
systems but we all know about that. in other words it's hard to support
what's not there. :0(
 >> Stay informed about: Can Diana save the league? 

>just on the point of girls wearing wnba gear. have you ever tried to get
>good gear? the wnba store on line is a complete joke.
>

EXCELLENT point. Finding WNBA stuff in the real world (malls, sporting good
stores, etc.) is a non-starter. Unless you live in a WNBA city, it ain't gonna
happen. However, you CAN go to the web, and not just to the WNBA "official"
store. I myself have a Stephanie White-McCarty Fever jersey, plus one of the
better quality WNBA balls. My point being that while the league does not make
it easy, for someone with a little persistence and motivation, you can find
stuff.

I don't know what the 2003 state of things is/are, but in the beginning (1997),
Lady Foot Locker and Sears were SUPPOSED TO BE outlets -- official suppliers
was the term -- for league clothing and equipment. I have several Lady Foot
Lockers within driving distance. In the late 90s, I saw a very generic WNBA
shirt (with league logo) in one of these stores. That was the first and last
WNBA item I ever saw in a Lady Foot Locker. What's worse, today you can find
NBA shirts and jerseys in Lady Foot Lockers -- but no WNBA articles. And as
for Sears? Give me a break! Again, perhaps people in WNBA franchise cities
ARE finding WNBA items in their local malls.

To the Sparks fan who noted the heavy African-American following in attendance
at Sparks home games, I've only ever been to one WNBA game, and that was to see
the Orlando Miracle at the Washington Mystics. (A good two-and-a-half-hour
drive from my house.) I too noted a large Af-Am following, but then again, the
demographics of DC would pre-suppose that. Washington is heavily black, and
the MCI Center is in downtown -- not in the (more white) suburbs. As to the
situation in LA, I'm sure that much of the reason the crowds are composed as
they are has to do with the unusually high -- even for basketball -- proportion
of blacks on the team, even inclusive of their coach. Perhaps, in a
subconscious way, that even contributes to why the Sparks are the most detested
team in the league. When Houston was in the midst of THEIR dynasty, they got a
little hatred from the league fans, but they got a lot more genuine respect.
Los Angeles -- right from the start -- had that inner-city, gangsta, asphalt
court flavor to them. This can tend to turn off fans who were raised on a more
"polite" or what they might call a more "sportsman-like" brand of basketball.

Jim
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In article <20030921123800.21879.00001431 RemoveThis @mb-m04.aol.com>, SMMfan1
<smmfan1 RemoveThis @aol.com> wrote:

> >just on the point of girls wearing wnba gear. have you ever tried to get
> >good gear? the wnba store on line is a complete joke.
> >
>
> EXCELLENT point. Finding WNBA stuff in the real world (malls, sporting good
> stores, etc.) is a non-starter. Unless you live in a WNBA city, it ain't
> gonna
> happen. However, you CAN go to the web, and not just to the WNBA "official"
> store. I myself have a Stephanie White-McCarty Fever jersey, plus one of the
> better quality WNBA balls. My point being that while the league does not make
> it easy, for someone with a little persistence and motivation, you can find
> stuff.

In Conecticut you can buy UCONN basketball "stuff" in some grocery
stores-not to mention virtually any sports gear store. The "stuff" is
worn or displayed by people _everywhere_ around the state.

-WG
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