Why Do We Ignore Women's Sports?

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I watch the LPGA when it's on sometimes. These ladies can really hit the ball...probably more consistently than I could hope to.
 
Dunk#7 said:
Oooo you want to play the definition game. You should look up "skilled" instead.

The learning of one particular skill is one thing, but some people are more skilled at a task than others are.

Skill is a combination of natural ability and work over time. You are not born with any skills. You develop them over time and some are more prone to developing certain skills based on genetics.
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*Gives you definition*

*responds with "well you should go find another definition for the two synonyms that agrees with the definition I have in my head"*

Not to mention that Womans sports and Mens sports are arguably not the same sports in reality to begin with, so you cannot say one is better than another skill (even if your definition was correct) wise because the goals of each are not equal.
 
Reason?

Men have better genetics for most sports.
People want to see the BEST athletes when watching sports.

Since women don't have the genetics to compete with men in sports,
the only way to gain viewership is to sexualize their respective sport.

Not saying there won't be a woman ever to get good enough to be in a Pro League,
but I'm talking about on average.
 
Nobody really watches men's sport either because there are very few men's league.

Co-ED sports are usually the most popular ones.
 
Dragonzord said:
Does anyone truly give a shit about mens' figure skating?
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Ice skating is THE sport that the non-competing countries watch in the winter olympics, all of the disciplnes. Including men.

we don't watch curling, bobsled and those exotic things in Latinamerica, we watch firugre skating.

in Sommer is all about gymnastics, all of the disciplines.
 
I can see the appeal in something like women's weightlifting because of the form and technique (how heavy the weight is doesn't really make a difference to me).

On the other hand, watching the quality of the WNBA compared to men's college basketball just feels slow and clumsy.
 
Not many women's sports interest me. Occasionally women's tennis can be, but the yelling can be annoying. Women's soccer can be okay if it's the national teams. Beach volleyball is the only other one I can stand to watch.

I couldn't tell you one player in the WNBA.
 
Going through the list:
- Tennis. Arguably more popular than pro Men's Tennis in the US. Matches are shorter with less of the endless rallys.
- Gymnastics/Figure Skating (already mentioned)
- Women's Basketball. Does decently in the US as a niche sport. Seems to be a little more popular overseas. Haven't watched any WNBA but might be a better product for the purists as the players are more fundamentally sound than the average NBA player these days.
- Women's Volleyball. In the US, more popular than men's version of the sport (both beach/regular). No pro leagues for indoor like in Europe/Asia that I'm aware of. Not much skill difference here except how high they can jump/reach.
- Softball. Hurt bad by Olympics kicking it out, but solid following at HS/college level. As fun to watch as regular baseball.
- Women's Soccer. Does well during Olympics/Women's World Cup compared to the state of men's soccer.
- Auto Racing. Women can compete with men on equal footing.
- Women's golf. LPGA does alright, but hurt by South Korean domination at the moment. Fairly popular in S. Korea at this point, I assume. How far they can hit the ball is probably the main difference.
- Women's FB. Seems to exist at a semi-pro/etc level but not covered.
- Roller derby. The recent fad has been nearly all females involved, IIRC
- Women's MMA. Does very well considering the number of participants and limited talent pool. Carano was a big star and Rousey certainly is on her way to being one. Very exciting fights generally.
 
Wafflecakes said:
Not to mention that Womans sports and Mens sports are arguably not the same sports in reality to begin with, so you cannot say one is better than another skill (even if your definition was correct) wise because the goals of each are not equal.
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You are correct... the genderized versions of basketball and soccer (football) are nothing alike.

I bet an NBA player would have no idea what to do in the WNBA. They are so different. It is tough to compare the skills.


Skilled [Definitions]

1. Having or showing the knowledge, ability, or training to perform a certain activity or task well

2. having or showing or requiring special skill; "only the most skilled gymnasts make an Olympic team"; "a skilled surgeon has many years of training and experience"; "a skilled reconstruction of her damaged elbow"; "a skilled trade"
 
The truth is, even the best women athletes are nowhere near as good as male athletes.

Take the "Battle of the Sexes" at the Australian Open, where heavy smoker and 203rd ranked Karsten Braasch beat both Serena and Venus Williams, 6-1, 6-2.

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=21533

After the match, Serena and Venus tried saving face by saying they could compete with the top 300 if they pumped some weights.

Braasch smiled at their claims.

"Against anyone in the top 500, no chance," Braasch said, "because I was playing like 600 today."
 
Dunk#7 said:
I bet an NBA player would have no idea what to do in the WNBA. They are so different. It is tough to compare the skills.
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That is a bit of a stretch. NBA players don't have much of an issue going from NCAA rules to NBA rules. All it takes is a short explanation.
 
BossRoss said:
The truth is, even the best women athletes are nowhere near as good as male athletes.

Take the "Battle of the Sexes" at the Australian Open, where heavy smoker and 203rd ranked Karsten Braasch beat both Serena and Venus Williams, 6-1, 6-2.

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=21533

After the match, Serena and Venus tried saving face by saying they could compete with the top 300 if they pumped some weights.

Braasch smiled at their claims.

"Against anyone in the top 500, no chance," Braasch said, "because I was playing like 600 today."
Click to expand...

They should have walked over and kicked him in the balls.
 
BossRoss said:
The truth is, even the best women athletes are nowhere near as good as male athletes.

Take the "Battle of the Sexes" at the Australian Open, where heavy smoker and 203rd ranked Karsten Braasch beat both Serena and Venus Williams, 6-1, 6-2.

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=21533

After the match, Serena and Venus tried saving face by saying they could compete with the top 300 if they pumped some weights.

Braasch smiled at their claims.

"Against anyone in the top 500, no chance," Braasch said, "because I was playing like 600 today."
Click to expand...

"It was extremely hard," said the 16-year-old Serena. "I didn't know it would be that hard. I hit shots that would have been winners on the women's tour and he got to them easily."

That didn't stop her from boasting that "this time next year I'll beat him. I have to pump some weight . . . I have to work hard to be on the men's tour."

Venus, 17, wasn't about to concede too much either, especially since she broke Braasch's serve once.
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They'd probably fare a lot better when they were at their peak, rather than the beginning of their careers.
 
Main reason:(in terms of major sports ie basketball, nfl, soccer, etc) athleticism. Anyone that doesn't think so is living in denial.

Secondary reason: lack of advertising, lack of encouragement to play sports at a young age, and a lack of funding.
 
There is obviously zero differences between male and female bodies and peak conditioning, so we should just stop with this 'mens' and 'womens' sports and combine them and see how that goes.
 
BossRoss said:
The truth is, even the best women athletes are nowhere near as good as male athletes.

Take the "Battle of the Sexes" at the Australian Open, where heavy smoker and 203rd ranked Karsten Braasch beat both Serena and Venus Williams, 6-1, 6-2.

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=21533

After the match, Serena and Venus tried saving face by saying they could compete with the top 300 if they pumped some weights.

Braasch smiled at their claims.

"Against anyone in the top 500, no chance," Braasch said, "because I was playing like 600 today."
Click to expand...

This is simply the bottom line. Superior athleticism. And superior athleticism is what the mass market demands.

It's not a lack of advertising, funding, coverage, or any of the other purported barriers. All of those explanations are resulted from a lack of popular interest. Modern sports leagues are built to make money, and to do that, you must have a superior product. If a superior women's product could be built, it would be. It's certainly been tried, meeting with little success outside of niche markets.
 
I'm inclined to agree with those who say people just want to watch the best of the best athletes compete, but the easy counter is that college sports (well, basketball and football anyway) are incredibly popular. A college football team would get their asses handed to them by an NFL team. Except maybe the Rams.
 
Fong Ghoul said:
I'm inclined to agree with those who say people just want to watch the best of the best athletes compete, but the easy counter is that college sports (well, basketball and football anyway) are incredibly popular. A college football team would get their asses handed to them by an NFL team. Except maybe the Rams.
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There are of course exceptions with college football and basketball being glaring ones that demand explanation. In this case, it's an example of loyalty, identification, and community played out by representatives on the playing field.

Superior athleticism wins out in the absence of overriding factors, but identity and community can trump this general premise. From local Little League teams representing a town to Olympic squads representing a country, popular community support can become a primary factor when one community is set against another in sports. College athletics thrive on this principle.

In practice, the most popular sports meld of the two. Football (Soccer) and the NFL (American Football) are the kings of the mountain because not only do they represent the epitome of athletic prowess, they also foster fanatically loyal communities with the constituents identifying strongly with a singular team.
 
Wafflecakes said:
*Gives you definition*

*responds with "well you should go find another definition for the two synonyms that agrees with the definition I have in my head"*

Not to mention that Womans sports and Mens sports are arguably not the same sports in reality to begin with, so you cannot say one is better than another skill (even if your definition was correct) wise because the goals of each are not equal.
Click to expand...

I understand what you're trying to get at, but the athletic advantage men hold over women both directly and indirectly causes a skill gap between genders at the elite level. Strength is a skill. Higher nervous system adaptation and inter/intramuscular co-ordination, faster movements, better recovery allowing more training time etc... The Futurama joke about women's basketball relying on fundamentals applies to a number of sports with strength/speed dependent techniques. The skill gap may be smaller in some sports than others and may even be practically non-existent in a few, but it is real.
 
Juice said:
This, shamefully. I don't watch much in the way of sports, but when I do I want to see the best of the best compete. I'd rather not have gender-exclusive leagues at all and have all major sports just be co-ed. As long as women are relegated to a second-rate league, they'll be competing for attention with minor-league equivalents for male leagues.

Is this obvious? Am I nuts?

Seems like the truly feminist position is to make all the pro sports non-gendered.
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There's no rule in baseball or basketball as far as I'm aware that says you have to be male to play in the league. If the NBA could find a woman that could play like lebron James they would throw mountains of cash at her. Same with the MLB, if you have the talent they will take you.
 
I usually prefer Women's tennis since they tend to have more volleys and its more interesting to watch. Anything else I don't really care unless they are good enough to compete with the men.
 
I can watch woman's volleyball ALL DAY

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The only women's sport I'll sit down and actually watch is US Soccer at the International level. The world cup a couple years back was amazing, too bad we lost to Japan. This is the exception rather than the rule for me though.

Just because I prefer to watch the highest level of competition doesn't mean I'm a sexist.

EDIT: I'll also watch volleyball; I genuinely enjoy watching that sport. The outfits also help.
 
Truthfully, I prefer the WNBA to the NBA. So much ball movement. That isn't innuendo - I like how everyone gets involved.
 
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