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Sass
Joined: 22 Mar 2005 Posts: 5576 Location: where it's sunny and warm
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Posted: 07/18/08 2:09 pm ::: why are you a women's basketball fan? |
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I'm going to do some research, and I think a good way to begin it will be to ask this question of you all.
I'm wondering why and what makes each one of you a fan of the women's game, because the populations of women's and men's basketball fans are very different. For one thing, women's hoop fans seem to get more personally and/or emotionally attached to their favorite players. (Not saying this is good or bad - just saying).
"Fans" of anything tend to identify with that person/genre of which they are a fan. What is it about these women, whether in the W or in college, that you identify with? What do you like about them and their game? What keeps you coming back to the game, year after year? What makes you a fan of women's basketball as opposed to, say, ballet?
These are just a few suggestions on how to answer the question. It can be answered in any way. But I'm genuinely interested in what your love of this game is all about. The more detailed and comprehensive the replies, the better, and if you have any links to other forums where answers to this question are provided, please send them to me. Also, if you'd rather not answer in a public forum, you can PM me. All info will be kept confidential.
Women's basketball fans are somewhat of a specialized group - not the biggest in the world, but some of the most interesting. I hope you can all englighten me with your own reasons and stories for your passion and knowledge.
_________________ _________________
More high school team allegiances than can be believed
_________________
He's the greatest of the greater
get it straight - he's great
- Run-DMC
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RedEqualsLuck
Joined: 28 May 2005 Posts: 4781
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Posted: 07/18/08 2:14 pm ::: |
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You're going to get a lot of anecdotal stuff -- which is cool. You might also want to check out the Taylor Groups research for the NCAA
http://www.ncaa.org/bbp/basketball_marketing/research/index.html
A general overview of the findings touched on these main topics:
Overall measures of fan interest in college basketball, both in absolute terms and relative to interest in other sports
Some really interesting stuff...
_________________ When Jefferson wrote: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal," he didn't include the word "except."
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HistoryWomensBasketball
Joined: 30 Mar 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: CT
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Posted: 07/18/08 2:45 pm ::: |
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I was tired of the big ego of mens sports. So much of it was "ME" related and i gave up on pretty much all of it. When I saw baseball players getting paid for autographs and coming across like they were better than others, off went the tv
Then someone said we should watch a Uconn womens game (November of 1994). It was more how i remember sports when i was a kid. Passing, teamwork, not so much damn showboating. We were hooked.
Then with the ABL and the Blizzard, it just got us more. I remember my son going up to Olympian Carolyn (CJ) Jones for an autograph. When she found out that his name was CJ, she looked at him and said "thats cool, I hope I dont disappoint you". I was so impressed....CJ became a good family friend of ours and would come over our house.
This got me into wondering how did the game get to where it is today. My grandmother played in the 1930s for a Soap Factory. At that point there was so little online. No WBHOF, and I dont think Helen had her site up there either at that point. So I started researching, collecting, networking, doing exhibits.
I am a fan of todays game, but more from an entertainment venue. So many of you know more of all of the players than I do. I enjoy going back into the past, meeting former players, talking to them about their stories and what they think of todays game.
When I hear of the outdoor game. Even if it was the Sun playing, I wouldnt care so much to who won, rather, was it a benefit to the overall WNBA and game itself.
Guess it takes all different types of us fans. I enjoy reading many posts on this site. We are very different, but share a common thread and all want to see it continue to grow. |
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jaye
Joined: 12 Sep 2007 Posts: 6723 Location: Georgia
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EC Basketball
Joined: 02 Jul 2007 Posts: 132 Location: Upstate NY
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Posted: 07/18/08 3:00 pm ::: |
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Basketball is Basketball
Womens, Mens, Boys, Girls, Old, Young, High School, College, Pro, International, AAU, etc...
Love the game
There is no difference
It brings us all together
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HistoryWomensBasketball
Joined: 30 Mar 2006 Posts: 1435 Location: CT
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Posted: 07/18/08 3:03 pm ::: |
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P.S.....and probably in a great minority here.
I enjoy the game below the rim.
I realize the dunk is the way things are going and evolving. Its here to stay.
However, when it comes to a couple of great passes to a layup vs a dunk.
I still prefer the prior. |
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der alte
Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Posts: 56 Location: Long Island
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Posted: 07/18/08 3:03 pm ::: |
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It's the game, not the sex that has me into the WNBA. It's the kind of game that I played in the forties and early fifties. "Dunk!!!"? we did that at the coffee shop and not the gym. It was pass, pass, pass until there was an open player who could make the basket. College basketball was altogether different. The phys Ed teacher was the coach..Today it's someone who signs a contract for several million. Times change, however I still prefer some of the older ways better.
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eclair
Joined: 20 Sep 2006 Posts: 3915
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mabell3368
Joined: 06 May 2006 Posts: 1116 Location: Dallas
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Posted: 07/18/08 3:45 pm ::: |
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I first got interested in women's basketball when I was in college. I went to a small, NAIA school, and the women's team was relatively more competitive than the men's. I started going to their games and eventually found I enjoyed the game on a more consistent basis as it was team-oriented and not so dependent on the talents of a single individual.
Then, when Tennessee opened their new arena (Thompson-Bowling) I started to pay attention to big time women's division I. The level of excellence and the atmosphere at the arean was infectious. Then in 1996, my wife and I attended our first women's Final Four. The excitment at that venue is unbelievable. We were hooked. We've now been to eight final fours.
My allegiance easily transferred to the professional game. While I have never been able to attend a game live, I still harbor hopes that someone will bring a franchise to Dallas someday. I watch what I can on TV or on-line, and follow the teams here and on WNBA.com.
Lastly, I enjoy the asthetic nature of the game as well. Nothing is so beautiful as a big, athletically fit woman playing her heart out on the court. And contrary to a less complimentary recent thread, I think the women in the league clean up pretty well. I love it that they can be a monster on the court and a babe off it.
And for the record, I enjoy ballet (well modern dance, anyway) too!
_________________ What's not to like about sweaty women in shorts?
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moleman
Joined: 05 Jul 2008 Posts: 38 Location: Italy
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TonyL222
Joined: 01 Oct 2007 Posts: 5140 Location: Reston, VA
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psheehy
Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 2972
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Posted: 07/18/08 3:59 pm ::: |
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I am a basketball fan.
My brother went to ODU during the Donovan and Lieberman days, so I had some early exposure, but I didn't become a fan until I went to my first Storm game in 2001. For me, it was the crowd that made the game a blast. I had a blast at Key Arena with all the passionate Storm fans. I was a season ticket holder for the Sonics and they gave me free tickets to a Storm game. I fell for the players and the sport later as my appreciation for the game deepened. Admittedly, it took a few years, but by 2007 the Storm were more important to me on a personal level than the Sonics.
I like the atmosphere of the games. I can bring my kids and not worry about some intoxicated 20 something boy swearing or throwing stuff which happened at Sonics games.
I like the connection between the players and the fans. The NBA has moved, more and more to separate the fans from the game, but the WNBA draws them in closer.
I remember feeling emotional when Gary Payton played his first game at Key Arena in a Laker uniform. I balled like a baby when Simone Edwards retired, though. I felt like I knew her, not just knew of her like I did about GP.
_________________ Coach Agler's 2014 Off Season Task List
1) Think about "what if?" he had gotten that lottery ball in 2015....
2) Remember to watch some NCAA games
3) Invest in mystical restorative ointments for hips, knees, backs and well everything.
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der alte
Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Posts: 56 Location: Long Island
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Kailapea
Joined: 28 Feb 2006 Posts: 1255 Location: Northridge, CA
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Posted: 07/18/08 4:02 pm ::: |
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For me basketball something positive to focus on. But my love is not just of the women's game, I love the game. I am partial to women's basketball and college (men & women).
Being a woman, I have always supported the women's game. I think my love of it started when I played in HS and in college. At that point, it became almost an obsession. I played in several park leagues and summer leagues. After a couple of crappy injuries - knee and ankle - I couldn't play so I began officiating and coaching little girls. When I started working full time I gave up the active participation, and became a full time fan.
_________________ Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles.
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Tiffany Jackson=future
Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 435 Location: Jersey
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Posted: 07/18/08 4:06 pm ::: |
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Well, for me, I'm a guy. Love the NBA. 20 years old, been a Knicks fan all my life. I remember in 97 when I was 9 going on 10, me and my mom was watching NBC I think it was and we saw LA vs NY, the inaugural game. I was hooked since then. Basketball is basketball is basketball for me. And the WNBA and Women's Basketball in general is very pure, the way it should be played. Not relying on athleticism, but rather on set plays to get shots off. It's a beautiful sport, just the way offensive sets are created and all.
Plus. I need my basketball during the summer when there's no NBA ball.
_________________ We killin dem out there they gon have to bring caskets
This all I hear after the basket...swoosh
Fabolous ?Its in the Game?
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pilight
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 67164 Location: Where the action is
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jaye
Joined: 12 Sep 2007 Posts: 6723 Location: Georgia
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QMcCall3
Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Posts: 175
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Posted: 07/18/08 4:40 pm ::: |
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pilight wrote: |
This is not directed at sass, but I hate this question. I like lots of different sports; NFL, college football, baseball, tennis, golf, NASCAR, etc. Women's basketball is the only one that I've ever been asked this question about. If I start talking baseball, it's just understood that it has appeal. If I do the same for the WNBA, I'm often forced to justify my fandom. It's an insidious bit of sexism that seems directed entirely at women's team sports.
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I think this would be a good point to research with regard to this question, in terms of framing the warrant for asking it all.
I suppose whether it's fair to ask the question is less important to me than the fact that you're forced to answer it because so many people demean the game and its athletes.
People might just say baseball or NASCAR are boring... but there's a whole lot of other garbage that comes out of people's mouths about women's basketball.
Nevertheless, I agree with both you and Jaye -- I like women's basketball because I love basketball, I like the style of play, and because I do think it's worth supporting because it does represent a challenge to sexist social norms.
I also agree that seeing the increasing physicality of the game has really helped me stick with it._________________ http://www.swishappeal.com
Become a fan on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/y8a62km
"Basketball is like poetry in motion. Just comin' down the court, you got a defender in your way. You take him to the left. You take him back to the right. And he's fallin' back, and you just "J" right in his face. And then you look at him, and then you say, "What?" - Jesus Shuttlesworth |
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MH122
Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 1573 Location: Bus Town/ The Hall/Cap City...Whatever they call it these days
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Posted: 07/18/08 4:43 pm ::: |
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Tiffany Jackson=future wrote: |
Plus. I need my basketball during the summer when there's no NBA ball. |
co-sign
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swoopesbabe
Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Posts: 184 Location: h-town,tx
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QMcCall3
Joined: 27 Jun 2008 Posts: 175
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Posted: 07/18/08 4:47 pm ::: |
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MH122 wrote: |
Tiffany Jackson=future wrote: |
Plus. I need my basketball during the summer when there's no NBA ball. |
co-sign |
Well there's always summer league... but that basketball is barely watchable unless you want a preview of a top prospect... and even then...
You would think that guys fighting for a job would at least try to play good basketball..._________________ http://www.swishappeal.com
Become a fan on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/y8a62km
"Basketball is like poetry in motion. Just comin' down the court, you got a defender in your way. You take him to the left. You take him back to the right. And he's fallin' back, and you just "J" right in his face. And then you look at him, and then you say, "What?" - Jesus Shuttlesworth |
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MH122
Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 1573 Location: Bus Town/ The Hall/Cap City...Whatever they call it these days
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Str8_Butta
Joined: 24 Nov 2004 Posts: 7646
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Str8_Butta
Joined: 24 Nov 2004 Posts: 7646
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Posted: 07/18/08 5:00 pm ::: |
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I'm a Basketball fan, I Love the NBA/WNBA and College Basketball.
_________________ WNBA fan since 1997
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MH122
Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 1573 Location: Bus Town/ The Hall/Cap City...Whatever they call it these days
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