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Luuuc #NATC
Joined: 10 Feb 2005 Posts: 21929
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Posted: 11/15/18 7:32 pm ::: |
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People who dislike the women's game "because where's the dunking?" aren't going to suddenly start liking it if the rims are lowered. They'll just change their excuse to "pffft… even I could dunk on that rim - that's not impressive at all" and "yeah well there are dunks but they're vastly inferior to NBA dunks so I'm not gonna bother" and so on …
I say don't change things to try to appeal to haters.
The re-learning the game thing is a pretty minor hurdle in the scheme of things IMO. I don't think that transition would take too long. There are plenty of other, better (IMO) reasons to keep the rims where they are.
_________________ Thanks for calling. I wait all night for calls like these.
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Randy
Joined: 08 Oct 2011 Posts: 10911
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WfanFrJmp
Joined: 24 May 2016 Posts: 1423
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Posted: 11/15/18 7:56 pm ::: |
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I love the way Nneka answered this. If you read comments on posts about the WNBA outside of communities that support the league and love the game, it is ugly and vile and over the years has largely gotten worse. Accordingly, as she noted, lowering the rim in an attempt to draw people who are going to hate it regardless is futile and only serves to invite additional criticism. The truth is that some people do not like seeing women do anything (or only a few things....) and if they could, they would (and do try to) sit at a woman's job telling her in no uncertain terms that she is not smart enough, qualified enough, too emotional and every other idiotic chauvinistic thing that makes you wonder if they have mothers, sisters, daughters, nieces...
Aside from the issue with relearning, etc. that Tina and Nneka mention, I believe it will result in far more injury than what we already see, particularly because of the year round play, scheduling and logistics during the season. You literally are asking for it and putting added pressure on them to play outside of themselves in a way that is unfair and unnecessary.
Is dunking the most interesting thing about basketball? Is it really what makes you tune in? I love both men's and women's bball and I appreciate them both. Because of their speed and athleticism, male ballers are often able to "fudge" it and make up for fundamental deficiencies. However, male pro ballers are always commenting on the fundamentals of the women's game and they understand the edge it provides.
Golden State is arguably the best team in the modern NBA. Key to winning 3 of the last 4 championships is fundamentals and team play. They dunk but that is not what makes them amazing to watch. Frankly, the way they play is quite similar to women's bball, imho.
We have women in our league who can dunk but often they decide not to I'm sure for a variety of reasons and opt to get the 2 the old fashioned way. I'm not mad at them at all. I think over time, for some people, it will come as second nature and naturally flow within the game. Until then...
I don't think there is anything wrong with the product and in the world we live in, as much as I love the game, I don't know if it is possible for any woman's sport to reach the popularity heights of that the men enjoy. Archaic views of gender roles and the value or lack thereof placed on it, derision regarding the sexuality of strong, athletic in a mostly black female league sadly, makes it a hard sell and that is just reality. No one seems to care that the ladies are strong and 90%+ have college degrees (In what other environment is such a statistic true?) They have a variety of interests and abilities. They are mothers, advocates and many are business owners, etc. These ladies are awesome!
I think a key demographic we haven't been able reach are the folks who support women's sports through college, but don't continue to follow the players through to the pros. I get that for many it is loyalty and bragging rights toward the university, but the teams are made up of talented players. I haven't been able to understand why folks wouldn't want to continue to watch their players compete in the best league in the world. The W needs fans and supporters from any and everywhere, but the league definitely needs to do a poll of those folks and see what keeps them from the pro game.
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tfan
Joined: 31 May 2010 Posts: 9628
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Posted: 11/15/18 8:01 pm ::: |
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WNBA 09 wrote: |
I believe if the rims were lowered honestly people would show and the pay would increase for these players. I understand being firm and sticking to your beliefs , but players complaining about pay but not willing to accept experiments to increase possible revenue from ticket sales seems just dumb. Lower the damn rims and lets get people in the seats . |
Agree. If the WNBA was increasing attendance and TV ratings and teams, "don't change" or "don't experiment" sounds right. But attendance (2018) and TV ratings (2017) have hit record lows in recent years. And the league has the same number of teams it had in 1999, with 4 of the 12 now playing in arenas with a seating capacity below 10,000 including the team in the most populated and densely populated area in the country.
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NYSports56
Joined: 03 Jul 2018 Posts: 1126 Location: New Jersey, USA
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Posted: 11/16/18 11:04 pm ::: |
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I think that lowering the rims would only ramp up the ridicule of the league amongst those who would delegitimatize it.
Maybe a few people will show up because of the dunks. Probably a few people would leave too out of disgust. I mean, if we want the glamour dunks, we want the spectacular me-only demonstrations of self-importance that come after it too, right? Why was I watching this league in the first place anyway?
The small basketball bothers me, but I guess it's necessary. A lowered rim might make me turn off my TV set.
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Randy
Joined: 08 Oct 2011 Posts: 10911
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Posted: 11/17/18 8:29 am ::: |
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Easy solution. Start a women's Slam Ball league. If it become wildly popular you won't need the WNBA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slamball
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CzwMg1CsPcs" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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WfanFrJmp
Joined: 24 May 2016 Posts: 1423
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willtalk
Joined: 13 Apr 2012 Posts: 1098 Location: NorCal
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Posted: 12/16/18 10:24 pm ::: |
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The only rims Della Donne has a right to lower are the ones on her car.
_________________ No one one is ever as good as their best game, nor as bad as their worst.
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tfan
Joined: 31 May 2010 Posts: 9628
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Posted: 12/17/18 12:49 am ::: |
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Geno Auriemma wants the rims lowered to increase the percentage of close-in shots and layups that are made.
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