In the article, Ladies Day, it was discussed that women's sports here in America are struggling to gain level footing with male sports in terms of compensation. Yes, there are stars that help bring people to watch them play. But that is only for short periods of time that those fans interest can be held. During the Olympics, and the World Cup that is when all the attention of the sporting world is on them. With the worlds eyes set on one event that is where the stars are made. But within a few months after the event, most of those that were created from the huge stage begin to fade back into the crowd.
For women's sports to begin to get to the level of where men's sports are in this country, women need to have a transcendent superstar to help the game. All of the sports have had a star or moment that has helped make it what it is today. In baseball, Babe Ruth helped people fall in love with the home run that continues to this day. Basketball had Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain had thier rivalry, along with Larry Bird and Magic Johnson rivalry. Football had the game on National TV between the Giants and the Colts which captivated America. Women sports have had one of these stars in Mia Hamm, but the timing of her rise was more towards the end of her career.
For professional women's sports to gain on the men, they need to have young, transcendent stars. The WNBA is about to have the chance to capitalize on three young stars: Skylar Diggins, Ellena Delle Donne, and Brittney Griner. These three women are seniors and are about to enter the WNBA. If the WNBA can market these three women, and get them in certain markets there is a chance that they can make the WNBA more mainstream. It is hard to create a mainstream league without stars. But with stars the sky can be the limit.
I like this approach to women’s sports in the United States and I would have to agree on everything you said. Big events such as the World Cup attract so many different people from countries all around the world and for women athletes to get that exposure is great for women’s soccer and potentially a professional soccer league for women. After reading this I would thinking the women should have something the men’s European leagues do like the Euro Cup is have something every two years between the World Cup. I think the more fans get exposed to young athletes like Alex Morgan and other players from around the world then other things like the professional league would thrive. - Jeff Kravetz
ReplyDeleteTyler,
ReplyDeleteI agree that there has yet to be a female star to completely captivate America as a whole, purely based on her playing abilities. If you look at the success of recent female athletes, its primarily due to the fact that they have a very strong sex appeal to them, which makes them popular, rather than her abilities. That is why it is so crucial for women's sports to have that star. I believe that Sheryl Miller was close, but due to her injuries she was forced to shut down her career and focus on other things. Another basketball player that comes to mind is Candace Parker. She did great things in college, including dunking the basketball twice in a game in her first season at Tennessee. There is one big system flaw when it comes to women's athletics and that is the fact that they get more money internationally than they do in the U.S.. For example, the minimum salary for WNBA in the U.S. is approximately 36,000, while the maximum is around 105,000. If a female basketball were to go overseas she can make 72,000 on the low end and even make upwards of a 1,000,000 like Lauren Jackson, Candace Parker, and Diana Taurasi all did last year.
The future of women's athletics slightly hangs in the balance of Brittney Griner, however, many people will never be able to accept her as a woman for her body. She will always hear the comments of how she is a man and should be playing in the NBA. Until people can accept a woman sports star as a pure athlete with out the sexual connotations like they give to Serena, or the physical degrading they give to Griner, women's sports will continue to struggle.
Zane