The WNBA - Womens Basketball will Never be the Same...

The WNBA - Womens Basketball will Never be the Same I know I will never forget my first WNBA basketball game. It was the inaugural season, the inaugural game in Madison Square Garden, June 27, 1997. The president of the WNBA Val Ackerman tossed the ball up in center court as cameras recorded Kim Hampton of the New York Liberty and Lisa Leslie of the L.A. Sparks reached to tip the ball. This was a huge event and the crowds noise level was a complete acknowledgement of that fact. Madison Square Garden was packed, the lights went out and the screams got louder; this was history. The announcement of the WNBA came with mixed regards. There were those who thought that it took the United States long enough, and there were those who did†¦show more content†¦Why did the women have to go to foreign countries? Why werent they allotted the same promise of a career as the male athletes graduating from college? Why were women expected to give there all in collegiate sports just for the fun of it, while male athletes used it as an opportunity to build a portfolio for going on to becoming a professional athlete? It did not seem fare, and just made no sense. It too years in the making, but finally we were able to bring our female basketball players back to the United States. The season was played in the summer. The summertime schedule immediately opens the doors for a new type of basketball fan. WNBA games are warmer; there are no stuffy men straight from their business meetings filling up the Madison Square Garden seats. No high profile attendees awaiting their picture on the big screen above center court. Above all the tickets are much less than a regular season New York Knicks game. The low-ticket prices brought in rowdier more enthusiastic fans. There were families sitting courtside instead of the usual businessmen and their impressionable clients - and of course Spike Lee. The fans were there because they loved basketball, not because they wanted to see Alan Houston or some other player paid millions to run up and down the court. There was a more genuine glow about the fans. A glow that only the people in nosebleed seats have at the New York Knick games. There were fathers with their daughters both wearingShow MoreRelatedAttendance Vs Nba Attendance : Stats, Marketing Strategies, And The Reasoning Behind The Discrepancy1718 Words   |  7 PagesWNBA Attendance v NBA Attendance: Stats, Marketing Strategies, and the Reasoning Behind the Discrepancy Grace E. Rains-Turk California Lutheran University Abstract WNBA attendance and NBA attendance vary significantly. 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