Is it too late to jump on the Storm bandwagon?
Sep 12, 2018, 3:14 PM | Updated: 4:55 pm
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
The Seattle Storm are on the verge of winning the WNBA Championship Wednesday night. I asked myself why I’m not more interested in the team? I have never been to a game or even watched one on TV.
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Do I have some kind of hidden bias against women’s basketball? Is it the lack of TV coverage for the regular season? Maybe it’s the sports media’s fault? Let’s discuss.
I grew up a sports fan and follow most of the action in the major sports. I’m not an obsessive, but I give it some time each week. Especially during the postseason. I will watch postseason baseball and basketball even when I don’t necessarily have a rooting interest.
Watching the Cubs win a few years back was such a fun ride. And I think I watched at least part of every game of the NBA Finals last season.
So why do I have zero desire to jump on the Storm bandwagon?
Let’s look at bias first.
If you asked me if I support women’s athletics, I would answer, yes, in theory. But in practice, I do not. It’s one of those things I say I believe in, but haven’t given it much energy, time or money. Now it would be easy for me to just move on except that I will watch with great interest LeBron James battle Steph Curry for a championship. So what’s that all about? Intellectually, I would tell you that it’s not a quality of play issue. Obviously, men’s basketball has more dunking and they are larger human beings, but it’s the same game. Emotionally though, I don’t have the buy-in with the women’s teams.
So maybe I do have a bias against the WNBA. Subconsciously, I guess I really do want the size and the athleticism of the men’s game.
Next up in my theories: lack of TV. I don’t know if I’m off the hook here either. I thought for a minute that the games might not even be on TV, or that they are on some obscure channel. The postseason games have been on ESPN 2; I just haven’t made it a priority to check in.
Finally, could it be the sports media’s fault? I’m going to blame shift for a minute here. I get interested in the games in part because of the stories of the players. I hear those stories when I see them on a website or TV show. But with the Seattle Storm, I really don’t know many players. Sue Bird is all I have. I’ve seen Breanna Stewart’s name, but if I’m honest, I couldn’t pick her out of a lineup.
So in conclusion, it’s probably me. I most likely do have bias. My lack of interest has just snowballed over the years and I under-appreciate the accomplishment of this squad.
Winning a World Championship in any sport is a huge deal.
What could be the final game of the season is on Wednesday night. Is it too late to tune in and squeeze onto the bandwagon?
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