The Road to the Final 4 - Oregon State Women's Basketball (Video)

The Road to the Final 4 - Oregon State Women's Basketball 

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El baloncesto femenino necesita fans femeninas

El baloncesto femenino necesita fans femeninas

 Se ha hablado mucho del hecho de que la popularidad de los deportes femeninos está muy por detrás de los deportes masculino, sobre todo en el baloncesto, y más específicamente, en la WNBA. Ha sido ampliamente pensado que lo que la liga tiene que hacer es capturar la atención de los aficionados de los deportes masculinos, ya que constituyen la gran mayoría de la visualización de audiencia de los deportes.

 Pero la cuestión es que esta diferencia de audiencias no parece provenir de los aficionados a los deportes masculinos. Más bien, es la falta de fans femeninas en los deportes de la mujer que es un factor importante para que el deporte cale en popularidad.

"Simplemente no hay suficientes mujeres apoyando a las mujeres en el baloncesto"
Asisto a todos los partidos de la WNBA en Los Ángeles cada verano, y al igual que otras multitudes de la WNBA, los aficionados consisten sobre todo en los niños más pequeños, personas de mediana edad y mayores. Hay algunos adolescentes no de ambos sexos, pero no muchos. Veo más hombres entre los 20 y 30 años entre la multitud, que a mujeres de ese mismo grupo de edad.

 Hombres con los hablo sobre el baloncesto femenino que son aficionados del baloncesto masculino saben quienos son las jugadoras de la WNBA, al igual que conocen a muchas de las mejores jugadoras de las universidades. Mientras tanto, las mujeres y las niñas adolescentes no tienen ni idea.

Ha habido hombres que han estado dispuestos a escribir para mi sitio web, para womenshoopsworld.com. Todos las nuevas webs y blogs de baloncesto femenino parecen ser compuestos en su mayoría por hombres, si es que no los crean tambien los hombres... 

Yo trabajo en una escuela secundaria y trato con los atletas jóvenes. En 2010 viajé con las Sparks Cal. a un torneo de verano de baloncesto. Le pregunté a cada una de las chicas del equipo que quien era su baloncestista favorito, y todos menos una nombraron a un jugador de la NBA. Una niña menciono a Diana Taurasi como su baloncestista favorito.

Si ahora en este momento hiciera el mismo experimento, el resultado seguiría siendo el mismo. La mayoría de las chicas no son criadas para ver los deportes de las mujeres, ni siquiera las mujeres que juegan a baloncesto, ven el baloncesto femenino.

Me entristece profundamente.

 Mi papá es y fue un pensador progresista. Comenzó a ver conmigo los paritdos de baloncesto femenino de nuestra universidad local durante la temporada 1981-82, cuando yo era una adolescente. Vi crecer a estrellas como Bev Smith y Allison Lang rompiendo registros, y llevar al equipo por primera vez al torneo de la NCAA Women's esa misma temporada. A pesar de que perdieron en las primeras rondas, me inspiraron para el resto de mi vida.

 Esta fue la causa y la influencia de esas mujeres que empecé no solamente a ver baloncesto, sino otros deportes femeninos. Luego empecé a hacer deporte, y me transformé lentamente en una atleta, que sigo siendo hoy en día. La tenacidad y la resistencia que adquirí para convertirme en una atleta me ayudo a pasar a través de muchos momentos difíciles, y superar muchos obstáculos en los que he visto a otros caer. Ver a estas mujeres ejemplares, fuertes, que practican deportes cambiaron la trayectoria de mi vida para mejor.

Si yo fuera la WNBA, me gustaría hacer un gran esfuerzo para lograr llevar las mujeres y "especialmente las niñas" a partidos. Dejar que ellas sean testigos de todas las posibilidades. Mostrarles lo que la fuerza y la confianza y la belleza, todo envuelto en conjunto es. Ayudarles a presenciar y apreciar todos los diferentes tipos de mujeres que hay en el planeta, y no sólo los puntos de vista distorsionados de los medios de comunicación. El mundo se abriría para convertirse en un lugar mucho más grande, junto con sus propias posibilidades.

"El baloncesto femenino no necesita más aficionados masculinos; necesita el apoyo de su propia gente."

By Sue Favor

Women’s basketball needs female fans

Women’s basketball needs female fans

Much has been made of the fact that the popularity of women’s sports lags far behind men’s sports – particularly in basketball, and more specifically, in the WNBA. It has been widely thought that what the league needs to do is to capture the attention of the male sports fans, as they constitute the vast majority of the sports viewing audience.

 

But the gap issue doesn’t seem to stem from male sports fans. Rather, it is the lack of female fans of women’s sports that is a major contributor in the sport stalling in popularity. There are simply not enough women supporting women in basketball.

I attend every WNBA game in Los Angeles each summer, and like other WNBA crowds, the fans consist mostly of younger kids, middle-aged folks and seniors. There are some teens there of both sexes, but not many. I see more men in their 20’s and 30’s in the crowd than women of the same age groups.

 

It’s men who I talk to about women’s basketball. Male hoops fans know who the WNBA players are, as well as many of the top college ballers. Meanwhile, women and teen girls are clueless.

It has been men who have been willing to write for my website,womenshoopsworld.com. All the new women’s basketball websites and blogs seem to be mostly staffed by men, if not operated by men, as well.

 

I work at a high school and deal with young athletes. In 2010 I traveled with the Cal Sparks to a summer club ball tournament. I asked each one of the girls on the premiere team who their favorite player was, and all but one named an NBA player. One girl named Diana Taurasi as her favorite.

If I went out and did the same experiment right now, the result would still be the same. Most girls aren’t raised to watch women’s sports – not even women playing their own sport. It saddens me deeply.

 

My Dad is and was a progressive thinker. He began taking me to women’s basketball games at our local university during the 1981-1982 season, when I was a young teen. I watched star forwards Bev Smith and Allison Lang smash records, and lead the team to the first-ever NCAA Tournament for women that year. Though they lost in the early rounds, I was inspired for life.

It was because of the influence of those women that I began not only watching basketball, but other sports. Then I began playing sports, and I slowly morphed into an athlete, which I remain today. The toughness and resilience I acquired in becoming an athlete has got me through many a tough time, and past many obstacles where I have seen others fall. Seeing examples of strong women playing sports changed the trajectory of my life for the better.

 

If I were the WNBA, I’d make a concerted effort to get women – and especially girls – to games. Let them witness all the possibilities. Show them what strength and confidence and beauty all wrapped up together looks like. Help them to witness and appreciate all the different types of women there are on the planet, and not just the distorted views of media. The world would open up to become a much bigger place, along with their own possibilities.

Women’s basketball doesn’t need more male fans; it needs the support of its own people.

 

By Sue Favor

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An Open Letter To My Freshman Basketball Player Self

An Open Letter To My Freshman Basketball Player Self

From Germany to the University of Maine, from four wins to the Conference Championship Game, if I only knew then what I know now.

Dear freshman Anna,

Look at you, leaving Germany to play basketball for the University of Maine in America. Maine, a state you never even heard of before. Remember when you googled it, just to even have the slightest idea where it was on the map?

This is going to sound crazy, but Maine will eventually turn into your second home. I know you are skeptical right now, but trust me on this one.

Your freshman year will be a rough one. It will be full of challenges, but I want you to embrace them. Those challenges will only make you stronger. There are going to be times when you want to give up. Don’t. There are going to be times when you will ask yourself what the hell you are doing so far away from home. You are going to be homesick. But it will be okay. You will be okay.

You might want to sit down for the next piece of information I am about to give you.

You will win a total of four games in your freshman year. Yes, that’s right. Four games. Oh, and you will miss most of your freshman season because of a broken ankle. Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Use this time and learn to appreciate basketball. Become a student of the game. Be determined to come back stronger than ever. It will require a lot of hard work, but you have it in you. I know you do.

Also  — and I wish I had some better news for you — but right after you recover from your injury, you are going to suffer a stress fracture in your other foot, and you will miss most of the preseason of your sophomore year. I know it is not the start you had imagined, but there’s a reason for everything. Trust me when I tell you, it will only make you stronger.

It is such a shame that you will waste the rest of your sophomore year complaining about everything instead of focusing on bettering yourself and getting to work. I wish you would, but you are not going to use those injuries to learn something about yourself. And I am disappointed for the both of us. You are going to point fingers because you feel like you don’t play enough, even though you are going to be out of shape with no one to blame but yourself. After all, expecting to play play when you can’t even make it up and down the court without being completely out of breath? Not a good look.

But no worries, you will figure it out.

You will realize that nobody can change you but you. You are going to learn what hard work really means. And girl, let me tell you, you are going to work your butt off. You will get in the best shape of your life. You will lose weight. All so that your junior year will begin with an entirely new mindset. I am so excited for you to get to this point; the point when you realize that hard work can be fun. The point when you realize that a positive attitude can move mountains.

So hang in there.

Junior and senior years will be when the real fun begins. You will win the regular season championship twice. And while you will lose in the semi-finals as a junior — and yes, it will suck — you will still have one more year to make it right.

By the time senior year arrives, you will catch yourself more than once thinking about how fast college has gone by. But I implore you to focus on what’s still in front of you. Take it all in. Make the most of the opportunities you have been given. Eventually, you will make it to the America East Championship game against te University of Albany.

And your team will lose, by one point.

The game is going to break your heart. You won’t know how to move past that. You will cry your eyes out. Eventually, you will be okay; it is going to take some time, but you will realize that in the end basketball is just a game.

And when you realize that, you will look back at your college playing career with a smile on your face. You will come to understand that committing to the University of Maine was one of the best decisions you have ever made. You will meet so many incredible people and you will make memories that are going to last a lifetime.

And, most important, you will know just how fortunate you are to have such amazing coaches and teammates. They will always have your back; they will never stop believing in you. No matter what.

So stop acting like a scared little freshman, because you are in for the ride of your life. Enjoy it. Cherish it. Do not take it for granted.

And when you take off your jersey for the very last time — the one with the 51 on the back and Maine written across your chest — it’s ok if you shed some of those tears you will try to hold back. It’s ok to reflect upon how far you have come, how much you have grown, as a basketball player and as a person.

Love always,

An older and wiser you