Just because you don't like women's athletics doesn't mean it's a farce. That's probably one of the worst things I've seen posted here.
Its not that I dislike women's athletics, its that women's basketball is just so absurd. The game is played based on quickness, jumping, and other attributes too lengthy to list here.
Point is, the very things that make the game so outstanding are utterly missing from women's basketball. Would you tune in to watch junior high school basketball on national tv? A regular season game? No, because the product is just not very good.
I enjoy women's sports, particular Olympic-type events, where the women athletes possess the best set of skills to participate. But women's basketball does not come close -- and by that I mean even remotely in the same genre -- of displaying players who are the best at the game.
Lawgator: Are you saying that Vol fans shouldn't be proud of Parker as an athlete. That's a bizarre thing to say about one of the best athletes ever in women's basketball.
No. I'm saying you should be proud of her first as an outstanding student and great representative of the university. She is also very athletic and that's great.
But to pat her (or by extention you) on the back for being the best of what is at its very best just completely mediocre sport, is absurd.
Yea. American football has always been a huge spectator sport. They never struggled with finding a niche or fan base.
Sarcasm noted, though misplaced. American football took awhile to become popular because people didn't know the game. Women's basketball will NEVER be popular for the opposite reason, which is to say that because we know how the game can be, this God-awful product that is the WNBA will never have much of an audience.
The league itself is a farce. Women's athletics is not, but the WNBA is. It loses millions a year, and the NBA forced ABC/ESPN to show games by making it part of the NBA package. Do you think ABC/ESPN wants these games on their stations?
Candace is going to do for the WNBA what Beckham did for soccer in the U.S.
Though you and I agree on the abject valueless nature of the WNBA, your last statment is ridiculous. Once gain, because basketball fans know how good the sport is when played by the best, they are going to reject something so far below what they know is possible.
I reiterate that I think Candace Parker is a terrific person. I was very impressed by her and you ought to be proud of her as an alum. But please stop there. Don't try to make believe that she is some kind of superstar basketball player. If any woman could ever pull that off its her and she will never even come remotely close by any measure to what the most average NBA player accomplishes.