(NCAA) A drained economy: The end of women’s professional sports?
December 5, 2008 by Megan Hueter
Filed under Basketball, Feminism, Marketing and Advertising, Sports Headlines, Title IX, golf
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Yesterday, at the top of NCAA.org read the question,
My personal opinion is no. The economy won’t undo women’s professional sports. Our culture’s value system will. When the economy is down, so are programs (across all industries) which rely on sponsorship/advertising and aren’t particularly “popular” with the dominant class of society. Unfortunately, these days, women’s professional sports fall into that spit bucket.
However, it doesn’t mean we can ignore the problem – it’s a topic that rightfully deserves some discussion.
The Houston Comets announced this week that they will be suspending operations until they find a new owner for the club. We don’t know what this means for the future of the Comets, but as far as the 2009 season is concerned, the Comets are done.
Similarly, the LPGA announced in late November that it will be cutting back on three tournaments this year, as well as prize money. USA Today reports,
“The reductions come amid an economic downturn that is sweeping across the sports world, although the PGA Tour increased its purses for 2009.”
However, there is hope in the sky.
Women’s Professional Soccer is making a comeback. This article in Forbes discusses the mistakes that WPS’s predecessor has made. With all that investment, they couldn’t get people in the stands.
What I pose, however, is a larger question.
With the overwhelmingly large amount of young women (and older women) who currently – or at some point in their lives – participate in sports, why are female professional sports so unpopular? Where is that disconnect? Where is that market?
I’d like to know why men don’t watch women’s sports in greater numbers. This seems a natural fit, yet ostensibly heterosexual men obsess about male athletes, virtually sniffing their jockstraps, while showing little interest in what the women are doing. Strange, perhaps telling, especially in a society as homophobic as ours.
I would have to agree with your statement on our culture’s value system. I do not believe that there will be a demise to women’s professional sports, but the lack of popularity is (unfortunately) centered around a simple question: Why would I pay to watch Lisa Leslie take a power dribble and drop-step a layup when I could pay a a slightly higher premium to watch Amare Stoudamire almost tear the rim down. To a sports purist, the former situation is a much more enjoyable sight. But then again, purists aren’t buying tickets to pro sporting events. They’re busy coaching at the youth level.
PS: I have initiated an idea to create a sports blogroll where bloggers from all sports disciplines could participate. All you need to do is to add my blog link to your blog and I’ll do the same. That way, we could have a mutual partnership and we could refer visitors to each other’s blog. Please let me know if you would be interested: basketballcolumnist@gmail.com. Thanks.
Peter,
Agree with your comment and I understand where you’re coming from when you’d rather watch Stoudamire tear the rim down. But you’ve illustrated my point perfectly – our culture is trained to enjoy watching aggressive play. But we’re not cultured to watch women be aggressive. The only time the WNBA got considerable attention from sports networks is when they had a brawl on the court.
Also, when’s the last time you watched (and reported on) a women’s hoops game? Next time you attend one, I want you to watch for how the refs call fouls. Tell me how that compares to a men’s game. They barely even let women play.
We can’t win – would be an entirely different game if they allowed us to do half the stuff men get away with.
I’m honestly baffled as well. Even if men aren’t going to the games, one would think the women who played the sports would go. Unless there are other issues involved I have no idea. But then again maybe it’s just more difficult to get to events when one isn’t playing in them whether it’s men or women involved. I have no idea.
Though maybe it’s a matter of it’s a self fulfilling prophecy. The media doesn’t cover the women’s sports, people don’t know when the games are, (even if they played it), no one goes, the media ignores the games because no one goes and process repeats.
I am a sports nut but of a different sort in that I don’t have box scores memorized or know all the superstars, but I do try to follow sports, and I still forget when the Connecticut Sun are playing (which is something I’m working to remedy)
Personally I always thought the more exciting part of basketball was not the dunks but the battle as the game was closing out. The dramatic three’s, the surprise layup and the foul. If it’s all about the dunks, I don’t know what the solution is.
We seem to live in a cultural time where no one has much time anymore for anything, and maybe that is figuring in to how it’s difficult to get much traction. The WNBA is still relatively “new” in people’s minds, and even here in Connecticut UConn’s women’s team is always second fiddle to the men’s which is utterly ridiculous, but still it’s not until march comes around and the men lose in the first round everyone goes, how are the women doing? Women’s tickets at UConn have gotten kinda high considering they only lose once every six months or something. Women’s hockey may be stalled by the overall decline in hockey popularity after the lockout. Soccer is also struggling to gain traction. Though really one would think someone intelligent would have figured out how to overcome these marketing difficulties.
But this is a long way to say I’m really baffled.
Well I can tell you one reason why we don’t go. They don’t market to the family.
If you ever notice, they hold themselves up to be role models for the girls only, and they hold clinics and camps for the girls only. Do they not think my son hears that? It’s the same with many college women’s teams also. Why is it that they cut themselves off from being role models for the boys? Hell, my godson goes to watch high school field hockey because those girls get it and encourage the boys to play too. (Too bad the sexists prevent it – right Megan?) But at least Matt knows those girls don’t discriminate and he cheers them on and tries to get his friends to the game – again that’s HIGH SCHOOL FIELD HOCKEY.
Now the other pro leagues and college teams (I won’t say men’s because they allow women to play on them) actively encourage everyone in the family, regardless of gender, to participate.
So, having both a both a son and a daughter where would you go?
Aaron,
That’s a stretch.
First of all, they hold girls clinics and camps because girls often are not given the same opportunities in men’s camps (if they’re allowed to go). Some girls (physically) are not at the level of boys their age. Therefore, it’s not an even environment. Girls camps foster growth.
There are PLENTY of men-only camps and leagues out there – you don’t have to search far to find them.
Also, I’m PRETTY SURE that people don’t boycott women’s professional sports because they’re “sexist.”
This time I challenge you.
Find some camps that are offered that don’t allow girls without a corresponding camp for them. I can find many instances where they’re allowed to go to any of them, plus they have their own set aside. These people don’t allow boys to come to any of their camps. They cut off a huge portion of potential fans. There’s a brilliant marketing strategy.
And.. some boys are not at the level of girls their age. Therefore it’s not an equal environment. (You do realize that not all boys are average, some are smaller than the average girl. Not only that, but for a few years the average girl is bigger and stronger than the average boy- right?) If girls camps foster growth, then why did you get upset about Kacy playing football? Shouldn’t boys sports foster their growth? Or is this another of one your double standards?
Um, name one restrictive male pro or college league. I challenge you (again)
Yeah, and after I tell you that that’s why WE don’t go, and why my son’s soccer team didn’t go to the OSU women’s soccer team, don’t say ‘people’ don’t go. I assure you, we and those boys are people. (hmmm… that would explain why you don’t think boys should get equal rights – just deny that they are even people)
I didn’t say ‘most’ people. I said us. Most people don’t go to women’s professional sports because *some people* keep telling us to be realistic – they’re not nearly as good as the men. (Right? isn’t that what you said or did I get that wrong?)
Oh.. and did you ever respond to the evidence that you do advocate for sexism?
Here I am trying to offer suggestions to grow their fan base and you decide to go off again. Let’s try this again.. we support teams that are inclusive – FREAKIN HIGH SCHOOL FIELD HOCKEY – but I guess a couple of boys soccer teams just aren’t that important to the women. Well or the boys that play basketball…
I guess they’d rather focus on the girls.