vito90: Women's sports has so, so, far to go before the masses will pay to watch it... Again, it depends on where you are. As Smackfu mentions, folks in Connecticut are mad about women's basketball, largely due to our 2003 NCAA champions. I imagine (based on the visibly huge crowds at their games on TV) that the same thing is true in several other areas with strong women's basketball teams. There are things that make men's sports exciting and worth watching, and there are some different things that make women's sports exciting and worth watching. Of course, in Connecticut, I suppose that part of this is because we love having our own champions. Finally, I may be showing my age here, but I recall folks saying much the same thing about women's tennis a few decades back. It seems like that sport has achieved an amount of gender equity. And don't even get me started about Men's Gymnastics. Yuck.
I like watching women's pro tennis more than I do men's pro tennis. It's a better game (not just serve and return), it's more exciting (longer rallies) and more entertaining (the best players don't get knocked out of all the small tournaments in the first or second round). Are the men stronger, faster and better? Yup. Better to watch? Nope. and I'm not including benefits of watching eye-candy like Anna or Jenna That said, I rarely watch any tennis anymore. But when I did, it was strictly for the women's game.
Women's sports has so, so, far to go before the masses will pay to watch it... They already are: 90,000 people attended the Women's World Cup soccer final in 1999, and even the first round had an average attendance of more than 30,000. Women's pro tennis events are well-attended also -- more than 100,000 people attended the du Maurier Open in 1998.These figures are several years old, but that just helps make my point that women's sport bashers are way behind the times.
Why is it, when anyone states something that is at least true in MOST instances...such as: Most Americans eat at McDonalds at least once in their lifetime...someone will say, "Oh yeah?! Well i know this guy, who knew this guy in college who was the roommate of his brother in law...and he NEVER ate at McDonalds, so there goes your theory pal!" Where is the consistency rcade? Another example: 95% of all homicides are by handguns... "Well i know this dude in Arkansas that got stabbed with a pitchfork!"
StarFragger: 95% of all homicides are by handguns... Did you know that: 100% of homicides are by humans?
That doesn't make any sense, Starfucker. The absolute statement "women's sports has so, so, far to go before the masses will pay to watch it" is not comparable to a qualified statement like "95% of all homicides are by handguns." Also, I didn't offer one exception to his observation -- I offered more than a half million. Top-tier women's sports have better per-game attendance than some pro franchises in men's hockey and baseball. Women's pro tennis and World Cup soccer are both extremely successful, and some mid-tier sports like the LPGA and women's college volleyball have a long-time track record of respectable fan interest. In amateur sports, women's figure skating is the most-watched sport at the Winter Olympics, and women's gymnastics is one of the most popular events in the Summer Olympics. The knee-jerk perception that women's sports are a failure is factually incorrect BS, usually put forth by a bunch of neanderthals like Jim Rome who will never give women's sports their due until they have daughters who want to compete. If you can dispute any of this with actual facts, as opposed to comments like "women's pro sports suck," be my guest. But frankly I have little patience for the average thumb-up-his-ass sports fan who only deigns to talk about women's sports long enough to crack jokes about horse-faced athletes and how their sports are a failure.
Uh-oh, the smack-talking is starting ... ... tea and crumpets, anyone?
Bringing this discussion up again was about as good an idea as minting those gold $1 coins was. Take that, dead horse!
Actually, if we can drop the men's vs women's sports arguments for a moment... What about a casino owning a professional sports franchise? Ethical? Other examples where gambling institutions own sports teams?
...and I do recognize that the Mohegan Indian tribe is not synonymous with its casino, it just seems troublesome...
StarFragger: 95% of all homicides are by handguns... Did you know that: 100% of homicides are by humans? Well you've never met my hoard of man-mauling killer hounds.
SportsFilter: We have little patience for the average thumb-up-his-ass sports fan.
gyc: Oh muh gaw ... you're right. Here in San Francisco, that actually happened. Dumpy-looking husband and wife lawyers pet-sitting dogs for their Aryan Nation incarcerated son (whom they recently adopted -- at the age of 30+ -- while he was in prison and was found with naked pictures of the lawyer wife, his "adopted mother", heh heh, no, she's coyote ugly), dogs were bred for guarding meth labs, victim was lesbian coach of college lacrosse team. My god, you can't make shit up anymore.
Joey! Another one: AOL Time Warner in talks with two bidders to sell Braves, Thrashers and Falcons (est. total value >$650 million), to help pay off its $28 billion debt.
WC2002: Hmmm. Maybe casinos are going to be the only ones who can afford to own professional teams...
Oops, I meant Atlanta Hawks, not Falcons. You know what I mean. I think. Whatever.
I don't think there's a problem with a casino running a franchise. It's not like, if gamblers wanted to try and taint the games, that they'd need to own the team. And no one bets on the WNBA anyhow.
