The debate rages on throughout the sports world, how to make women's sports more popular? With the lone exceptions of beach volleyball and tennis; men's sports dominate. The Big Scary Editor and I were debating solutions to the issue when we asked the obvious question why do men watch those two sports and not other.
Men are the driving force behind sports on TV. Middle-aged fat white men to be specific. If your sport cannot draw with enough action then it has to feed into the fantasy of that man. Or, you have to give him a reason to care.
After some research we found that there is a profitable lingerie football league as well as various other sports tied to scantly clad women. Do I even have to ask why you think men are watching them? The funny thing is; the ladies of these leagues take the sport serious and are competitive. Look at the LBL. Look at the videos and the player bios. These women know how to play ball. They seem to be good.
Let me be clear on one point. Women's leagues will never compete on the same level as men's. they can be equally skilled but athleticism will win out in the end. So, promote the fact they are females. Instead of dressing them like men (WNBA) and show off the female form. Sex sells. Would I want my daughter playing beach volleyball in those itsy-bitsy-teeny little bikinis? If that is what she wanted to do. Its not exploitation.
And don't give me people should watch for skill and athleticism. All things being equal you will see more skill and far superior athletes in the NBA than you will in the WNBA. The average starting NBA player would dominate in the WNBA.
If they want, let the ladies market what makes them special. Change the uniforms, some spandex; form hugging outfits. Tennis players sit on there millions of dollars in short skirts. Let the ladies design a new uniform that allows them to be as dangerous as they want to be. People will start watching!
No comments:
Post a Comment