Before I get started, let me make this known:
I am definitely not sexist. I think the WNBA is a marketable product in some areas. I also think that these women are talented, and respect every member of the league very much.
However, let's not get carried away.
Parker dunked over the weekend in an LA Sparks blowout of the Indiana Fever, becoming the second player in WNBA history to do so.
But I don't know if we can even call it dunking.
I actually heard the announcer on ESPN Video say Parker "threw it down". Are you serious dude? She barely finished it. Alone. On a fastbreak. With a smaller ball.
That's the problem I have with the WNBA. Everybody likes variety, and sometimes I'll switch it up and watch the WNBA on TV. But I know what I'm getting. I know I'll watch fundamentals, shooting, and effort. And I don't mind.
So when the WNBA tries to act like Parker threw one down for the ages, it pisses me off.
Going to my local bball court to play, I watch guys who are complete scrubs dunk it harder.
I'm talking five foot eight guys who just got off their work shift dunk in jeans.
My little brother has a teammate on his high school squad who dunked a few times in a tournament over the weekend. He also just turned 15.
To the WNBA- Stop kidding yourselves. Parker dunking isn't special. Nobody's falling for it.
The women's league is home to some of the best fundamentals on this side of the planet, where long distance three's and windmill dunks have fallen into favor over solid play.
I'd rather hear more about that, and what sets the league apart from it's competition in the public limelight. When the WNBA shoots a dramatic commercial with Parker, they try to act like it's exciting. It's not. People can go to a rec center and see guys dunk.
For the WNBA to truly grow and evolve, they'll need to embrace the differences in the men's and women's game at the elite level, and start to promote that. When I watch the WNBA, I tune in to watch a well-run fastbreak, finished with a layup.
Why? Because when done right, it's pretty. And I love basketball.
The sooner the WNBA comes to grips with their identity and becomes comfortable with it, the sooner they will gain more respect and popularity.
Candace Parker and the rest of her peers play a great game of basketball. Yes it's different from the men of the NBA, but it still can be a great game to watch.
The WNBA needs to drop the facade and let the world see the league for what it truly is.
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3 months ago
WEAK article! She's the second player in WNBA to have dunked, I think that is worth mentioning and making a big fuss about because dunking is known to happened in the NBA WITH GUYS, not with women. And even though you said you're not sexist in sports, I THINK YOU ARE. Cuz this article definitely shows that crap inside of you.
from 3 months ago
Thanks for reading Khalid. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree, because in mainstream sports, which the WNBA wants to be a part of, dunking is not a big deal.
Is it a big deal to WNBA hardcore fans? Yes. But the league is trying to expand from that fan base, and promoting dunking in the league is definitely not the way to go in my opinion.
Nowhere in this article did I diss women or women's sports, so I don't know how this is sexist at all. I simply don't think that the way to attract more fans is to shout about something that is not very special.
I'm glad the article got you excited though. I definitely wanted to get people talking on this one.
from 3 months ago
But it is very special though. I know you didn't diss women or women sports, I was talking about the fact that you were comparing 5 foot 8 guys dunking to the WNBA. And I think that seems condescending in many people's eyes, including mine. I don't think that dunk was meant to expand the fan base. I really don't think Parker (Candace) jumped off the floor thinking, "Crap, a simple dunk --> more fans." Maybe these commercials are, but I don't know what's wrong with attracting a variety of fans to an inferior league.
After being the second player in WNBA history to have done it, I think it's a big deal. I know where your coming from, but it happens basically everyday, night in night out, in the NBA. But when something rarely occurs in other, it's worth the fuss.
Thanks for the response. Didn't mean anything harsh with that last line in my first comment. I apologize.
3 months ago
Khalid, this is my point exactly. Why is it special? The WNBA is (and has been for some time) asking the sporting world to view them as equal if not better then other sports, including the NBA. That is what being taken seriously is all about. If they want that honor, then I think they need to use a different selling point. It's special because a woman dunked and that doesn't happen often, but if I'm tuning into the WNBA, I don't want it to be because I'm watching women do something men do all the time (which is what this dunk was).
That being said, Parker has almost nothing to do with this. I really like her. She's probably my favorite player in the league. She just happens to be the athlete that the WNBA is basing part of it's stupid (IMO) ad campaign around.
from 3 months ago
But that's the problem Peter. If they get a chance to promote their inferior league by having the second player in history of the WNBA, dunk...then I guess it's good deal, isn't it? You have to comprehend, they cannot use a different selling point, because the MAJORITY of the public do not appreciate it. Why watch the WNBA when we can watch "real" basketball with guys? That's the question posed by the public sports addicts. When the get a chance to promote their league by coincidentally having a rookie player Dunk, then I guess it's worth it.
It's the fact that your generalizing man. You don't actually know the facts. Well, maybe you know it but constantly place it in the back of your head because "you don't care". The WNBA doesn't get enough air time on ESPN for example as opposed to any other female sport (i.e College Softball). The WNBA games air only on Tuesday nights and Saturday Afternoons (Afternoons when most people are outside of their home). Doesn't that indicate an evident hole in the media? Doesn't it also indicate that they have the right to promote the WNBA by this Candace Parker Event?
I think they absolutely have the right!
3 months ago
Hey guys, the point that Parker dunked the ball (ok not a huge slam dunk) is important to the league and to women's basketball in general. Men dunk all the time because realistically and biologically, they tend to be bigger and stronger and can jump higher than women. The fact that this rookie dunked the ball shows that she is an outstanding player that has extra special talent within the women's league. It's interesting to note her young age, the fact that her very first WNBA game ever she scored over 30 points, and that she is being mentored on the LA Sparks by the amazingly talented Lisa Leslie, the only other woman to have dunked in a WNBA game.
The dunk is a big deal to the WNBA and its fans, but I don't necessarily think making a big deal of it is a ploy to get more dudes who don't appreciate the quality of play of women's ball to pay attention. It's simply a celebration of the athleticism of Parker, and the growing athleticsm of the new crop of women ballers who at this point finally have the chance to plan and dream of playing professional basketball since junior high and high school.
I love the game, but honestly I get bored watching these gargantuan dudes run back and forth across the court dunking the ball. I enjoy watching women's ball much better because you can see the strategy of play much clearer.
But I am so glad to hear you guys paying attention to what's going on in the WNBA even if you don't understand or think Parker's dunk is a big deal. As a season ticket holder of the Seattle Storm for three years now, I appreciate all men who take interest in the women's game.
3 months ago
It's funny sir , but your articlce seemed a little schizophrenic. Half of it sounded like the typical sexist and illogical put downs of women's basketball, and the other like an enlightened male who of course knows the women's game is different but still enjoyble in a different way, So which is it? Certainly you realize the fact that 5 Ft 8 in. gym guys dunking is irrelevant and that the female body is made differently. Isn't it funny how men love those differences any other time? Parker's dunk is significant because of it's rarity and the growth of women's athletes amongst themselves not in comparison to men. Maybe folks shouldn't watch high school and college games either since they don't compare to male pro's. You know Sugar Ray Leonard was a great middlweight boxer but he couldn't beat any Heavyweights so it means nothing right?
K. Johnson
from 3 months ago
Thanks for reading Kenneth.
The point I was trying to make was because a lot of men can dunk, Parker dunking is NOT a rarity. I am looking at the WNBA from a completely equal point of view. If the WNBA wants attention and support like other men's leagues, they will have to be looked at as EQUAL. That has been the cry of the WNBA for a while. So I'm trying to look at this accomplishment from an equal perspective, not as special just because it's a girl dunking.
Sugar Ray Leonard couldn't beat heavyweights, but he could do things that heavyweights couldn't do, and that is what made him special. He wasn't special for the same reason as Mike Tyson. What I'm saying (if you follow your comparison) is that the WNBA should accept the fact that they're Sugar Ray, and promote those positive things, not the Mike Tyson attributes that the NBA clearly has a superior version of.
What a complicated response... Thanks again for reading though!
3 months ago
This may sound schizophrenic but i somewhat agree with this article. There is undoubtedly a lot of significance in her dunk. She's only the second female to dunk in WNBA history, and I think her dunk kind of signifies the evolution of the women's game. As a women's basketball follower, i know that more and more women are developing the skill to dunk. I'm sure most saw awhile back a tenth grader doing two handed jams in her high school games. Despite saying this, I don't think a lot of people care because quite frankly its the WNBA, and furthermore the dunks are not that unbelievable. There's still a stigma attached to the league. That's why i found it comical that people felt Candace Parker was going to be the savior of the league. She's a great player, who can do things like dunk, but people simply are insistent on not following a league whose players are inferior to men(nba players that is).
3 months ago
wow there! of course she aint lebron james but do you really think people make this much more than a story to tell because candace parker slammed the ball? dude your over reacting of course she barely finished the dunk but how many girls in the wnba can dunk the ball ? less than few so why are you trying to compare candace parker to a hot shot nba player? that's why she makes headlines. and how can wnba be inferior to the nba ? that just show's why men are the weaker sex.
3 months ago
Thank you to everybody who has read and commented so far. I guess my article is schizophrenic, because I have conflicting emotions about this topic. I don't really like the WNBA, but I kinda do. I like the fundamentals, but it gets boring to me.
The couple things I wanted to clear up was this:
1) I do not think and never said that the WNBA was inferior. I think it's different. The thing that annoys me is that the WNBA wants equal treatment in the public eye, yet promotes a VERY inferior product as far as dunking is concerned.
2) This was not at all a rip against Candace Parker. She is far and away my favorite female basketball player after Jackie Stiles. I hope she rules the league for the next 15 years.
3 months ago
THANK YOU! When I first saw that highlight on ESPN, I was saying to myself, "Who cares?!?!?" I then quickly proceeded to forget about it completely until I saw your article's headline. I remember things that are significant, and I didn't remember that. So it must not have been a big deal. Thank you for that...outcry against WNBA marketing...if you can call it that. Everyone always makes a big deal of a WNBA player dunking...get over it already! Thanks for a third time!
3 months ago
I think the point Peter is trying to make is that the WNBA wants to be basketball, simply put. Unfortunately, the WNBA is insulting its fans, and prospective fans by promoting and overemphasizing dunks. The WNBA will never be the NBA, and it must grasp that sooner than later before fading into irrelevance.
The WNBA is taking the XFL promotion approach which is essentially "hey, we're slower, smaller, and less athletic, but if we throw enough gimmicks at you you're bound to watch"
Rather than the now semi-successful Arena Football League approach which is, "hey, we have people playing a similar game which is a good product because our game is designed to maintain an entertaining product despite a lesser pool of athletes"
If the WNBA wants to be basketball, and promote dunking, nobody will be impressed. Dunking has been a part of basketball for decades.
For example, how unimpressed is America as a whole that Sadaharu Oh hit over 800 homeruns? Or that last season Kevin Glenn, a CFL QB passed for 5,177 yards?
The WNBA will find its niche or die, but their niche will not be dunking.
from 3 months ago
Thank you!
3 months ago
I'm not sure what you mean about the WNBA always wanting "equal treatment" ... they are simply trying to move forward and reach a broader audience, not trying to say that they are somehow the same as the NBA. I think that mostly they are trying to dispel the notion that it's "boring" or non-competitive. It's the sportswriters (like yourself) who are constantly trying to compare the two.
I'm a fan of both the NBA and WNBA and I think many people like the WNBA because it's enjoyable, the games are getting more and more competitive, and you don't have to give up your life's savings to go to a game. The games have a family atmosphere about them, as opposed to NBA games which are all about glitter and glam, not to mention rude, obnoxious, cursing, drunk fans. I think many fans respect the WNBA players more than NBA players; they are better role models, since most finish college, they work very hard (most play internationally when the WNBA isn't in season), and basketball usually isn't their only career. Not to mention they don't have NBA size egos. And they tend to do much better at the Olympics, which some folks like.
As for dunking - c'mon it was a big deal. It doesn't mean the WNBA is all about dunking now. It was only the second time ever in the WNBA and that's why it was newsworthy. I doubt anyone expects all women to start dunking all the time now. Except for Candace.
Athena
3 months ago
You're not going to root for this girl anyway.... so why waste your time with this blog entry? Some basketball fans are complete frauds. You say on one hand that you hate the womens game because they don't play above the rim, and then one a player does it, you bitch because she didn't shatter the backboard, or do some hotdogging crap. Are you a basketball fan, or an And 1 Mixtape Tour fan? Last night's dunk, her 2nd as a pro (Tues 6/24 against Seattle) was even better.
Parker has two bad shoulders, bad knee and bad ankle and she still did both of her dunks effortlessly. Stop trying to compare her to LeBron, or somebody. She doesn't do it, why should you?
from 3 months ago
Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open on a torn ACL with two broken bones in his leg and I didn't watch that either. Steve Detwiler went 4-4 with two homeruns and 6 rbi's in the CWS final, and while I watched, I'll admit that had there been an intriguing pro baseball game on in my area at the time I'd have watched that instead.
Make no mistake, while the undertones may sound sexist, it is the fact that it is a lesser, far less entertaining product which hurts the WNBA. While Candace Parker may not promote herself as "The Female Lebron James," she gets more time on Sportscenter for her single handed, simple dunk with nobody around as Lebron did for his game 4 dunk over Kevin Garnett in the Easter Conference Semis.
Nobody will watch the WNBA because they are sympathetic to the cause. Women's basketball suffers far less hardship than the victims of several international natural disasters in recent months which have similarly been brushed under the rug.
A few months from now, when the smoke clears, and Candace Parker has dunked a few dozen times, the WNBA will have to re-encounter the problem which has plagued its existence, the product on the court is not fun to watch.
3 months ago
First of all, I am definitely a fan of Parkers, dating back to her performance at the McDonalds All-American event when she was a senior. I am a complete fraud of a fan? I never said a hated the womens game at all, and the parts of the game that I don't care for are not at all because it's not "above the rim".
Did you even read my article? I didn't once downgrade Parker or the WNBA game. The only thing I talked negatively about was the strategy used by the WNBA to promote dunking. I also never compared her to LeBron.
Kelly-You have taken this article for something completely different then it is. You should re-read it and realize what exactly I'm trying to say here, because your accusations are extremely far off.
3 months ago
The author of this article certainly suffers from SPS. Look it up! This is a serious condition all sexist men suffer from!!!!! I'm not sure if there is any treatment for SPS though.
3 months ago
Hey, Peter, why not go to a local gym with a friend with a VCR, film yourself dunking the ball, and then share it on your blog.
Would love to see you do it.
3 months ago
sounds like someone is upset and hatin because they cant dunk. a million dollars to 1 one one Candance Parker would make u poster material!!!!!
3 months ago
See, if you are trying to get personal, then clearly you are just somebody else who didn't read the article. This is the last time I'll say it, for people that just don't understand what I'm saying. I like Parker, and never disrespected her or her game, or the WNBA in general. So the fact that you are defending her to me is pointless, because I'm not attacking her at all.
3 months ago
I don't know why someone can't express an opinion without receiving personal attacks from those that either don't agree or don't understand. I, for one, never payed much attention to women's basketball until Tennessee beat Rutgers for the championship. While I now love and appreciate womens basketball I agree with Peter that the WNBA needs to find a different marketing ploy. If the WNBA continues trying to be treated equally with the NBA than that's just going to expose the glaring differences between the two. Let's face it, as amazing as it is to see a female dunk consecutively and with ease, her dunks are not as impressive as what you normally see in the mens game and there's nothing wrong with that. But because the WNBA insists on being treated and judged equal with the NBA you have no choice but to compare her dunks with the mens and invariably they fall short. I love Candace Parker and I love women's basketball and I don't care if they dunk or not, I just love to see them play. I really think Candace has done a lot for women's basketball and hopefully she'll continue to draw more fans, as she did me.
3 months ago
everybody keeps saying her dunks werent impressive, that they werent like a nba superstars dunks im just saying it was cool to see her dunk doesnt matter if she put her head over the rim or jus barely made it. it was exciting to see and made me want to watch more, because the nba is so set up now its not even worth watching with the cheatin refs that the nba continues to deny!
3 months ago
I think you guys are missing the bigger picture here. The issue is not so much with the dunk itself (however amazing or unamazing it may have been), but more so with the leagues promoting of this rather common accurance. Maybe not so common to the WNBA, but common to the average fan of basketball. I agree with Peter to some degree, Candace Parker is not the savior of the league, but she's a start. I've seen first hand of how many people that I know who are starting to watch the WNBA just because of the hype surrounded around Parker. The problem is, those casual fans will only watch the LA Sparks play and the rest of the league is not gaining a real fan base.
If you look at the NBA, they have players like Lebron, Bryant, Carmelo, Wade, Peirce, and others who basically act as the "face" of the league. Players that the casual fan know and will tune in to watch even though they may not know any other player on the court. You'll find this happens in the NFL and MLB also. This is what the WNBA really needs, and even though the hype around a simple dunk may seem...well...forced, it is however, important to popularity. A few more Parkers, a little controversy (not in terms of scandal of course), and the WNBA will definetly start to make a stamp on the sports world. No offense to Peter, but I think the promotion of "fundamental" basketball may seem to dull. Not strong enough to bring on a real drive to watch except to fans of basketball in general..
So, in my opinion, everyone is right in a way. The dunk on it's own was not that important, but to the WNBA, it shows significance. Great article by the way.
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