RebKell's Junkie Boards
Board Junkies Forums
 
Log in Register FAQ Memberlist Search RebKell's Junkie Boards Forum Index

Don't Look Away

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    RebKell's Junkie Boards Forum Index » WNBA
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
pilight



Joined: 23 Sep 2004
Posts: 66773
Location: Where the action is


Back to top
PostPosted: 05/13/21 10:09 am    ::: Don't Look Away Reply Reply with quote

https://www.si.com/wnba/2021/05/13/wnba-25th-season-daily-cover

Quote:
“We’re never a talking point,” says Bird. “If we’re covered, it’s a highlight. And there are times when some of those anchors, they know their s---, and you can tell. And there are times they’re just reading copy. But either way, we are never a story-line topic: Should this coach be fired? Should that player be traded? This player is on the max contract, why? We never have talking heads talking about us.”



_________________
Let us not deceive ourselves. Our educational institutions have proven to be no bastions of democracy.
Stormeo



Joined: 14 Jul 2019
Posts: 4701



Back to top
PostPosted: 05/13/21 10:25 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

This article hits the nail on the head. The competition of it all truly is what sold me all those years ago as a kid. (Plus, it was & is literally basketball in my mind.) So what if the players aren’t as tall & athletic as men? Watching the team I was rooting for brought in & brings in the excitement all on its own.

As for the quoted soundbite above, Birdy is absolutely right. I think that’s why I spend so much time on message boards like this one. Objectively talking about salary numbers and overrated/overvalued players amongst other hard-line topics fills that void for me. This site does what regular sports reporters & media don’t bother to, and the dedicated reporters & media that actually do cover the League are imo susceptible to shying away from – maybe covering the League/players from such a soft/humanistic point of view is how they feel like they best bring people in, or maybe it’s simply Our Girls syndrome (there’s also enough retired and active players in the media itself to where one wonders if it’s a conflict of interest at some point). But there definitely isn’t enough avenues of coverage out there that treats the League how it should also be treated – strictly as a business.


pilight



Joined: 23 Sep 2004
Posts: 66773
Location: Where the action is


Back to top
PostPosted: 05/13/21 10:54 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Part of the reason the WBB dedicated media has used kid gloves is that they've viewed the league as too fragile to withstand scrutiny.

Also the salary structure has been such that no players were "overpaid" until the current CBA and everybody is still getting their bearings.



_________________
Let us not deceive ourselves. Our educational institutions have proven to be no bastions of democracy.
Silky Johnson



Joined: 29 Sep 2014
Posts: 3304



Back to top
PostPosted: 05/13/21 10:57 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Stormeo wrote:
... or maybe it’s simply Our Girls syndrome (there’s also enough retired and active players in the media itself to where one wonders if it’s a conflict of interest at some point). But there definitely isn’t enough avenues of coverage out there that treats the League how it should also be treated – strictly as a business.


I'd settle for them treating the WNBA strictly as a sport. Like, I don't get pressed the way some people here do, when some of the national people get some details wrong, like a name, or a stat, or whatever. Nor do I get in my feelings when they talk about the players' personal lives, because I'm actually interested in that stuff, too (my favorite sports show on any form of media is a podcast that could basically be described as, "TMZ Sports, but extra-ratchet"). I just want them to talk about the WNBA, for however long they talk about it, the same way they talk about the men.



_________________
Professional Hater. The Baron of #HateHard

My team no longer exists, so I'll have to settle for hating yours.


Last edited by Silky Johnson on 05/13/21 11:04 am; edited 1 time in total
Stormeo



Joined: 14 Jul 2019
Posts: 4701



Back to top
PostPosted: 05/13/21 10:59 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Silky Johnson wrote:
Stormeo wrote:
... or maybe it’s simply Our Girls syndrome (there’s also enough retired and active players in the media itself to where one wonders if it’s a conflict of interest at some point). But there definitely isn’t enough avenues of coverage out there that treats the League how it should also be treated – strictly as a business.


I'd settle for them treating the WNBA strictly as a sport.


+1. I’m not saying we need the female/women’s sports-talking equivalent(s) of a Stephen A. Smith or a Skip Bayless, but............... it would liven things up, if nothing else. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


Silky Johnson



Joined: 29 Sep 2014
Posts: 3304



Back to top
PostPosted: 05/13/21 11:06 am    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Stormeo wrote:
Silky Johnson wrote:
Stormeo wrote:
... or maybe it’s simply Our Girls syndrome (there’s also enough retired and active players in the media itself to where one wonders if it’s a conflict of interest at some point). But there definitely isn’t enough avenues of coverage out there that treats the League how it should also be treated – strictly as a business.


I'd settle for them treating the WNBA strictly as a sport.


+1. I’m not saying we need the female/women’s sports-talking equivalent(s) of a Stephen A. Smith or a Skip Bayless, but............... it would liven things up, if nothing else. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


Suegotz!



_________________
Professional Hater. The Baron of #HateHard

My team no longer exists, so I'll have to settle for hating yours.
ClayK



Joined: 11 Oct 2005
Posts: 11105



Back to top
PostPosted: 05/13/21 3:36 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

Too many people view the WNBA as a cause or political statement and thus treat it with kid gloves.

Criticizing the league, or the players, or questioning the talent level or coaching, is not consistent with the rah-rah cheerleading aspect that dominates media coverage. The fear, apparently, is that any criticism just feeds and justifies the trolls.



_________________
Oṃ Tāre Tuttāre Ture Svāhā
Silky Johnson



Joined: 29 Sep 2014
Posts: 3304



Back to top
PostPosted: 05/13/21 6:49 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

ClayK wrote:
Too many people view the WNBA as a cause or political statement and thus treat it with kid gloves.

Criticizing the league, or the players, or questioning the talent level or coaching, is not consistent with the rah-rah cheerleading aspect that dominates media coverage. The fear, apparently, is that any criticism just feeds and justifies the trolls.


The league's very existence feeds the trolls; the league and sports networks can't afford to be afraid of that.



_________________
Professional Hater. The Baron of #HateHard

My team no longer exists, so I'll have to settle for hating yours.
pilight



Joined: 23 Sep 2004
Posts: 66773
Location: Where the action is


Back to top
PostPosted: 05/13/21 7:10 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

The league has let the trolls control the agenda from day one. To show how little has changed, I complained about this very topic in 2005 when RebKells was only about a month old!

http://boards.rebkell.net/viewtopic.php?p=70504#70504



_________________
Let us not deceive ourselves. Our educational institutions have proven to be no bastions of democracy.
calbearman76



Joined: 02 Nov 2009
Posts: 5152
Location: Carson City


Back to top
PostPosted: 05/13/21 8:07 pm    ::: Reply Reply with quote

I have long hoped that ESPN would find a way to have a half hour weekly WNBA show. Air it on ESPNews at 3AM on Monday morning (the time wouldn't matter because it could be recorded.) See if there is a market for it. They have enough personalities to produce the show inexpensively.

For several years CBS Sports has had We Need To Talk, a sports talk show with all-female panelists, but they rarely speak about women's sports. Perhaps they could repurpose the show based on their coverage of the WNBA. I believe with the already fragmented market for sports talk such a show could get perhaps 25-50,000 followers.


Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    RebKell's Junkie Boards Forum Index » WNBA All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB 2.0.17 © 2001- 2004 phpBB Group
phpBB Template by Vjacheslav Trushkin