Reply #88: Nice point, and welcome to DU! [View All]

[catzies]

I may not be a soccer fan but I support its right to exist.

I'm a woman, and a sports fan, and I mostly watch the men's professional leagues and teams, primarily basketball and the NBA.

But I got caught up in this year's WNBA season and playoffs for several reasons.

1) It's basketball, baby! My second favorite indoor sport ;)

2) The Detroit Shock went from last place to first place in a single season, and that kind of achievement is a great sports story anyway.

3) Detroit's 1st round draft pick and subsequent Rookie of the Year is the daughter of the NBA's second leading scorer of all time, Karl Malone. I already loved Karl Malone, and now I love his daughter by extension. When she leaped into his arms when the game ended I cried.

Both the WUSA and the WNBA owe something to the existence of Title IX and its importance to generations of little girls who want to play sports. Maybe there's more to your point earlier in the thread about the WUSA shunning the MLS business model, because the WNBA's use of the NBA appears to be working so far.