Why is the wnba unpopular

It all comes down to appeal. Women's soccer players generally are cute little White girls while WNBA players, we are all shapes and sizes Bird is openly gay and in a relationship with U. Soccer powerhouse and captain Megan Rapinoe. Half the population in the United States is made up of women.

If every woman in the country tuned into the WNBA, it could stand on its own two feet. It's one thing for women who have no interest in sports in general not to care about the WNBA.

But I've encountered women who actually play basketball and played in college, and they are "meh" about the WNBA. Even females who are actually interested in sports balk at the WNBA, including professional sports writers. And she isn't the only female writer to do so. Last year, in a bold yet seemingly desperate move, the WNBA launched a marketing campaign that focused on LGBT fans, holding public events at lesbian clubs and pride parades.

While I get why they are focusing on inclusion and targeting this particular market, it's also very narrow minded. When I say "women," I don't just mean gay women. I mean all women -- straight, gay, married, single, athletic, non-athletic, etc. For some reason there is a disconnect between women and the act of consuming women's sports, particularly the WNBA. Some of the women I questioned say they are fans, but they can never find a game to watch on television.

Others say the WNBA is on during the time of year when most people are doing summer-type things, instead of in the house watching sports.

And others just say they have no interest, period. The WNBA recently hired a new president of operations this past February to address the issue at hand. Lisa Borders, a former Coca-Cola executive, is now tasked with the responsibility of increasing viewership of the league.

She has to figure out a way to market a product to a core fan base that isn't exactly interested in the actual product. The situation is kind of like marketing gourmet ice cream to a group of people who are mostly lactose intolerant. It's a hard sell. The WNBA needs more women to watch in order to stay viable. It's no secret that NBA has been carrying the league since its inception.

The following truth is hard to swallow, but it's the truth nonetheless -- the WNBA would be defunct right now if it weren't for the NBA. It's ironic that the WNBA, a female-centered league and organization, is hurting largely because of the lack of interest from its own gender.

Yes, they were women, and that's sort of cool. But a straight-ahead dunk is a straight-ahead dunk. Or, as a wise man once said, "If Darwin Cooke can do it, it's not so special. Despite all this, however, the league continues to dwell in anonymity.

The action is all but ignored by the media, reduced to a tiny standings box on the bottom of the local newspaper's agate section. When the five-game championship series between Phoenix and Indiana averaged a puny. I couldn't tell you who the top three draft picks were. In fact, I'm not sure whether I could tell you who the No. Except for the tiny fan base, people just don't have an interest. For the past 14 years, league employees have been trying to figure out why. The answer, however, is simple and, at this point, obvious: The majority of sports fans simply don't crave women's professional basketball.

They just don't. As blessed as women like Parker and Lauren Jackson and Diana Taurasi are at basketball, their skills are not in visual demand. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Even though the two leagues play the same sport, when it comes to revenue and profits, the two leagues have little in common. WNBA players have contended for some time that their pay is unfair, that they deserve something closer to what their male counterparts in the NBA are paid.

A bigger cut for the players means higher subsidies from their benefactor. The WNBA is 50 years behind in building its brand and working out labor issues. Revenues, of course, are not to be confused with profits. All of which leaves the WNBA a little short of money.