Give the women a chance

Why can't women's sports seem to get a foothold in America? Whether it is at the professional level with the WNBA's marketing woes or the seeming lack of attention to most women's sports at the college level, it seems that women's sports just can't win here in America. \nEven in Indiana, where the following of basketball is more of a religion than a sport, the IU women's basketball team could only muster just under 8,000 fans in a record-breaking fan drive this past fall. This stands in stark contrast with the 16,000+ fan average the men's team garners.\nWhile there are universities such as UConn that have quite a large following, the woes of women's sports certainly do not end in the amateur ranks.\nAfter suffering through the possibility of a player strike, the WNBA seemed to be in a lot of trouble entering this season. Since the league's inception in 1997, the WNBA has yet to post a profit. Despite its money troubles, the WNBA remains at the top of America's second-tier professional sports leagues. It draws more fans than Major League Soccer and Arena Football and there will always be the innate moral obligation to keep this league going. \nI fail to see why the proper authorities question the existence of a professional women's basketball league when there seems to be enough room to start a pro league that stupidly tries to integrate the fundamentals of basketball with the "fun" of jumping on competition trampolines.\nMost market insiders consider the WNBA to simply be a "niche sport," as it doesn't have the mass market appeal that leagues such as the NBA, NFL or MLB have. While the league seems to attract only a select group of supporters, this is not the way it should be. \nThe WNBA features some of the best fundamental basketball that can be seen at the professional level. At a WNBA game, you see the real nitty-gritty of the sport without 14 steps before traveling or such rampant player preference from the officials that you see in any L.A. Lakers basketball game. \nThese women shoot, dribble and pass like the best NBA players without having to resort to breaking the original rules of basketball unlike any NBA All-Star's crossover.\nHow many Lisa Leslies, Sue Birds, Chamique Holdsclaws and Sheryl Swoopes will it take before people begin to take notice of such great competition? Even Bird, who has averaged more than 13 points and six assists per game in her career is most known for Seattle sports talkshow host Mitch Levy's idiotic bet to spank her if she doesn't amass twice as many assists than turnovers this season. \nThe only thing the NBA seems to have that draws so many more fans is the dunk. It is true that any Julius Erving/Michael Jordan/Kobe Bryant-esque slam dunk can be truly electrifying. However, it has become so overused now that it seems that most NBA players couldn't make a simple left-handed layup if their lives depended on it. \nPast organizers have grappled with the lack of the slam dunk within women's basketball before with the Liberty Basketball Association, conceived in 1991 featuring lowered rims. Along with the dunk, this league also tried to bring in fans another way -- sex. The LBA, nicknamed the "spandex league," sexualized the sport with the use of skintight uniforms. Despite its efforts, the LBA lasted only one year.\nWomen's basketball isn't the only sport that deserves more attention. Women's soccer managed to captivate America's attention in 1999 with the United States taking the World Cup. Yet it seems the impressive title run was basically eclipsed by the image of Brandi Chastain ripping off her shirt after scoring the winning goal. \nOutside of the occasional women's Olympic gold medal run, it seems that female athletes just don't have a chance here in America.