Someone school me on the WNBA....vol. [klj] a gentlemans discussion [/klj]

doublejs07

doublejs07

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I guess the season started the other day (saw the Candice Parker pics)...

-What type of impact is Parker going to have on the league?

-Has there ever been a sell-out game?

-Will the league ever fold?

-I love the NBA and Mens college hoops, but what can I do to make myself enjoy the women's product?



I guess these questions are a start for me....if anyone else has questions, this is the thread to put them in....I'm trying to be open-minded aboutthis....
 
First off, most of your questions are questions of opinion, not fact. It's hard to go look up the data on what kind of impact Parker will have, or whetherthe league will fold, or what you can do to better enjoy a game.

But here goes...
DoubleJs07:
I guess the season started the other day (saw the Candice Parker pics)...
The season hasn't started yet; the preseason has.
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Theseason starts Saturday, with the Sparks (Parker's squad) visiting the Mercury, a professional basketball team in Phoenix that actually has a championship.
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DoubleJs07:
-What type of impact is Parker going to have on the league?
I mean, the last time I remember people anticipating a woman's arrival into the WNBA was when Taurasi was taken by the Mercury a few yearsago. Did she take the WNBA to a level of respect, bringing it to a place where people finally appreciate the league and stop clowning it? No, she didn't,and she can't. No one can do that by their self.

She'll dunk in a few games (she's already got one in the preseason), so that will get a little but of hype going, but not enough to counter thenegative opinion most have regarding the WNBA. More on this in a second, in response to one of your later questions.
DoubleJs07:
-Has there ever been a sell-out game?
To my knowledge, just in the playoffs.
DoubleJs07:
-Will the league ever fold?
I hope not.
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I think so.
DoubleJs07:
-I love the NBA and Mens college hoops, but what can I do to make myself enjoy the women's product?
Million dollar question.

Obviously, I don't know anything about you, so it's difficult for me to answer a question about you. So I'll just answer as if you were the averagemale basketball fan.

Stop expecting the WNBA to be the NBA. Stop comparing the WNBA to NCAAM. When you're watching an NBA game, do you think 'Man, this should be more likebaseball, where scoring is way less, and there's more of a chess match going on'? No, you don't... because baseball and basketball are differentsports.

In the same way, women's basketball and men's basketball are different sports. That's the first thing you can probably do; stop thinkingthey're the same thing and comparing them similarly, as if they were the same thing. You see 5 or 6 dunks a game in the NBA and then laugh at how therehaven't been 5 or 6 dunks in the WNBA's history yet; stop that. The only thing the two have in common is the NAME of the sport they play;'basketball'. Other than that, the two sports are different. Women play it different than men. Period.

Second, learn the differences in women's basketball and men's basketball. And then respect the way the women play. Men play more athletically,challenging each other with crossovers (an athletic play), powerful dunks (an athletic play), high dunks (an athletic play), blocks (an athletic play)... etc.,etc., etc. Women play more of a team game, with back picks, double and triple screens, steals off of lane clogs (instead of a steal off of pickingsomeone's pocket), and the coach is MUCH more responsible for things than in the men's game. The midrange game isn't as developed in women'sbasketball, but the team game isn't as developed in men's basketball. There are very, very few WNBA games where someone dunks, but there are very, veryfew NBA games where no one complains to the refs.

Some would read all that and say 'So you're saying women's basketball is more boring,' and here's my response: no. Like I said, they'retwo different sports, and they must be analyzed and appreciated like that.

Third, realize that the negative opinion of women's basketball is grounded in the popular (but unspoken) opinion that women are simply inferior to men;popular opinion holds that they're not as strong, not as fast, not as fierce of a competitor, not as intelligent... etc., etc., etc. If anyone wants tochallenge this, please research the topic before you challenge. Do that and you'll find that there is still a significant desparity in the treatment of amale and a female in similar positions (like a male Regional Manager with a Masters in Business vs. a female Regional Manager with a Masters in Business). Menare paid more, hired more quickly, and their failures are met with less friction than a female's failures (example: a man fails in his first week andit's 'Enh, he'll learn. Let's clean this mess up, folks!', but when a woman fails in her first week, it's typically met with 'Man,I knew she couldn't handle this position. We've made a mistake.
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Let's... let's clean her mess up, folks.')

I believe that if everyone did those three things (#1. don't compare the WNBA to any other league, #2. learn the strengths and weaknesses of a women'sgame and appreciate them, #3. kill the misogyny), the WNBA (and NCAAW) would be far more respected.
DoubleJs07:
I guess these questions are a start for me....if anyone else has questions, this is the thread to put them in....I'm trying to be open-minded about this....
Good man.
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The only way the WNBA can get buzz is if we see someone in that league doing 360 windmills and between the leg dunks.

Even a few ally-oops would be a good start
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These new WNBA commericals kill me. They have a player bad mouthing herself and her league and then the cut-off scene says something like "she won'tsay that" but I always say to myself, "but I will."

Most of the stuff said in those commericals is true - "I'll settle for mid-range jumpers."

I know you will ...
 
Dr 715:
These new WNBA commericals kill me. They have a player bad mouthing herself and her league and then the cut-off scene says something like "she won't say that" but I always say to myself, "but I will."

Most of the stuff said in those commericals is true - "I'll settle for mid-range jumpers."
And you know this is true because you've actually watched a good amount of games and verified these things for yourself?
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What I have a problem with is the fact that women make it seem as if they are equal to men in abilities and skill which is just not true.
 
Originally Posted by wildKYcat

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here we go...
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Haha.

No way. I've said all I needed to say to that guy and it was worth it. These women basketball threads bring the worst out in each of us.
 
I used to always watch WNBA basketball, because there would be no other basketball to watch on TV during the summers.

And it was alright to watch, but the solid shooting and fundamental passing just isn't going to excite anyone.

The reason why the NBA is so popular is because of its flare. I'm not going to say thats the only reason, but it helps a lot. Candice Parker won't makethis league go anywhere, and I might be going on a limb here, but 20 years from now I can see the WNBA folding.

It would help if teams like the NY Liberty and L.A. Sparks were successful. Although the Sparks were missing Leslie, and now they have Parker.

Plus, in a male driven game...a lot of men really wont watch women play basketball.

The only womens basketball I watch is college womens basketball.
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Fact. Sacramento has the best bench in the wnba...



















Its made of fine oak.

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(Stolen joke from a NTer)
 
rolla808:
What I have a problem with is the fact that women make it seem as if they are equal to men in abilities and skill which is just not true.
What I have a problem with is that men make it seem as if women are lesser than men in abilities and skill, which is just not true.

If it's a question of equality, then there's a very real possibility that the issue with you is sexism, because it's not a question of women'sathletics being inferior or lesser than men's athletics; it's a matter of women's athletics being different.

Take them for what they do, not what you want them to do.

Take them for how they play, not how you want them to play.

Take them as their own athletes, not as comparisons to male athletes.

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Second, learn the differences in women's basketball and men's basketball. And then respect the way the women play. Men play more athletically, challenging each other with crossovers (an athletic play), powerful dunks (an athletic play), high dunks (an athletic play), blocks (an athletic play)... etc., etc., etc. Women play more of a team game, with back picks, double and triple screens, steals off of lane clogs (instead of a steal off of picking someone's pocket), and the coach is MUCH more responsible for things than in the men's game. The midrange game isn't as developed in women's basketball, but the team game isn't as developed in men's basketball. There are very, very few WNBA games where someone dunks, but there are very, very few NBA games where no one complains to the refs.


I disagree....you are confusing the athleticism in the NBA for the men having a "lack" of team orientation. Look at how the teams in the playoffshave been playing. Team basketball at it's finest. You will see cuts, backdoor plays, screens, pick/roll, etc etc...it's definitely there in the NBA.

I just don't buy the idea that women's hoops should be looked at as a totally different sport.

I'm seriously going to give the WNBA a look this summer...i'll give props for a nice cut, pass, etc...however, I just don't think I will leavewatching the game with an appreciation for what is different about how the girls play in comparison to the men. I just don't think you can point to theWNBA as being more team oriented than the NBA....
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All jokes aside, IMO, its just not a good watchable product.
Before the feminists jump on me, I say the same thing about the NBDL & ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE.
 
Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

All jokes aside, IMO, its just not a good watchable product.
Before the feminists jump on me, I say the same thing about the NBDL & ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE.
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agree. but like Ska said, that's my opinion...no knock on the girls at all. and i say the same for soccer.
 
Second, learn the differences in women's basketball and men's basketball. And then respect the way the women play. Men play more athletically, challenging each other with crossovers (an athletic play), powerful dunks (an athletic play), high dunks (an athletic play), blocks (an athletic play)... etc., etc., etc. Women play more of a team game, with back picks, double and triple screens, steals off of lane clogs (instead of a steal off of picking someone's pocket), and the coach is MUCH more responsible for things than in the men's game. The midrange game isn't as developed in women's basketball, but the team game isn't as developed in men's basketball. There are very, very few WNBA games where someone dunks, but there are very, very few NBA games where no one complains to the refs.
DoubleJs07:
I disagree....you are confusing the athleticism in the NBA for the men having a "lack" of team orientation. Look at how the teams in the playoffs have been playing. Team basketball at it's finest. You will see cuts, backdoor plays, screens, pick/roll, etc etc...it's definitely there in the NBA.

I never said that athleticism and 'team play' are mutually exclusive, like one can NOT exist with the other.

I simply said that men play MORE of an athletic game, and that women play MORE of a team game. If you assumed that I also intended to say that men play lack'team play' because they play more athletically and that women lack athleticism because they play more as a team, that's an assumption YOU made; Ineither said it or implied it.

I simply said that women play more of one, and men play more of the other.

Do you not agree?
- Women DO play athletically, but the women's game is MORE of a team game. Their game is dominated by 'team play' but also includes a considerableamount of athleticism.
- Men DO play a team game, but the men's game is MORE of an athletic game. Their game is dominated by athleticism but also includes a considerable amountof team play.

You disagree? Because that's what was trying to say.
DoubleJs07:
I just don't buy the idea that women's hoops should be looked at as a totally different sport.
I say that because I would just really like people to get away from the idea that they should be more like the NBA; they shouldn't. Theyshould only be more like the WNBA.
DoubleJs07:
I'm seriously going to give the WNBA a look this summer...i'll give props for a nice cut, pass, etc...however, I just don't think I will leave watching the game with an appreciation for what is different about how the girls play in comparison to the men. I just don't think you can point to the WNBA as being more team oriented than the NBA....
Like I said earlier: good man.
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Hey, you watch it objectively and you give it a fair shot to win you over, butit just doesn't happen? Nothing wrong with that.
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Originally Posted by GUNNA GET IT

All jokes aside, IMO, its just not a good watchable product.
Before the feminists jump on me, I say the same thing about the NBDL & ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE.
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�It's just not exciting to watch bro. And I used to watch it since I was 10. And nothing has changed.

But thats my opinion, I'm sure others would disagree with me.

Originally Posted by 23ska909red02


- Women DO play athletically, but the women's game is MORE of a team game. Their game is dominated by 'team play' but also includes a considerable amount of athleticism.
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�Lisa Leslie is 6'5" and Candice Parker is 6'4" and they can barely dunk. I don't see where the "considerable" amount ofathleticism is.

Nate Robinson- 5'9"
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he is more like 5'7"

I'm not trying to knock womens sports, but I think you went a little far with that comment.
 
^ Again, comparing a man to a woman and saying 'See, she's not athletic because she's not like him' is flawed.

I don't need to break out 40 times of Shaq, Curry, Traylor, Pig Miller, or even Melo... do I?

So Nate is 5'9" and can dunk; Shawn Bradley was 12'31" and could barely throw it down.
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