Seems if she is filling up arenas and her ratings are thru the roof, she is the biggest star/name.
This is a league that has finally found a big name to promote and finally had a big season. Also to do with the Liberty in the biggest market getting the job done.
It was a great season for them.
I do think there are problems. You have a league that has not had a star since Lisa Leslie. Candice Parker was a big name but did public push back some when she divorced her husband and came out as a lesbian? Is it a problem that the leagues biggest stars might be also? Is it a race thing? I recall Larry Bird got much hype because he was a white dude and even our very own Isiah Lord Thomas kinda pushed back. Larry shut them up with his play. Yeah, he was not handsome, and was not a jump man but his game spoke loudly as he won chips and awards.
Caitlin came into a hostile league as a straight white girl and handled it with grace. She took the physical beating and lord knows verbal on the court. That was super impressive.

My small take: I believe there are fewer and fewer faces of pro sports. Fewer athletes transend into societal icons as in the past. Sure there a few. Hockey? No Gordie Howe or Gretzkys. Sure the hockey world knows its best players, but whose on the box of Wheaties? Football? Who are its biggest stars now? Baseball? Americas sport right? Biggest stars are are not identifiable. Not like Babe ruth, Reggies Jax, Jackie Robinson, etc. Basketball? Lebrun and Curry are in their twilight. curry is the darling. Lebron is a brand. Wemby is up next, but not yet. My point is leagues have parity due to economics of how it works. Like it or not, and they marketing teams over players. Maybe its because foreign players don't transcend into mainstream culture. Not like "Wilt the Stilt did". Nobody has come close to what Jordan has done.
As for "Marketing" the league? The measure is revenue and it comes from many sources, not just jersey sales or gate receipts.
If PhilC is correct, why are franchise prices continuing to rise and the TV deal is freaking massive? Why is the game global and keeps growing?

Clark is everything and more. I agree with most of what Clear has to say and think the kid has been not been marketed properly but she seems to be doing it all anyway. If she goes down with a bad knee, or any injury that inhibits where performance the league cannot afford to put all their chips in her, and.......since there was exposure to other players and teams because she drew them in it makes sense to try to elevate the other teams and players also.

Media and social created the Clark/Reese thing over two years of NCAA ball. Reese won the battle and has NCAA chip in year one but came off badly given the narrative of her urban approach vs. Clarks lily-white. This is ugly America that crated it and social media recycled it back. Don't blame social media, they feed what the public wants. Allan Iverson was one of the biggest stars but he was too "urban" for mainstream. Jordan came into the league with that University of Carolina goodness after winning a NCAA chip. Reese won a chip but remembered for her arrogance. Jordan image was well crafted and he kept his indiscretions out of the spotlight. Iverson wore his cred and attitude on his sleeve. So does Angel Reese. Is it wrong? I don't know. Is it racism if public does not buy into them? Is it fair? It is what it is. Not everyone likes it. When your endorsing products and paying for results, like it or not it does.
WE do know female athletes don't make the endorsements as much as men. Winning matters or your reputation as a winner matters.
I suspect 2024 will have some differences but its not a surprise Women's Tennis produces a lot. I suspect Coco Guff will be top women or close to it given she won a major int 2024. This is a 19 year old black American! Being American helps of course. Being pretty also helps. Its not always fair. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettknight/2023/12/21/the-worlds-highest-paid-female-athletes-2023/

Clean wrote:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/sidelpm/status/1868940154804879831

Listening to people like this guy explain things makes me notice just how bad I am at it sometimes. I agree with every single thing he said and could not have articulated it any better.

Apparently you’re not allowed to be straight, white and great at basketball in the wnba. Oh wait, wasn’t that the original title of this thread before you asked for it to be changed to have a general wnba discussion?

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/dpshow/status/1869114090599125432

Clean wrote:

Rookie wrote:

Clean wrote:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/sidelpm/status/1868940154804879831

Listening to people like this guy explain things makes me notice just how bad I am at it sometimes. I agree with every single thing he said and could not have articulated it any better.

Apparently you’re not allowed to be straight, white and great at basketball in the wnba. Oh wait, wasn’t that the original title of this thread before you asked for it to be changed to have a general wnba discussion?

My fault, I thought we were past all that crap. I am still new to the WNBA. I have come to learn that this league is totally unserious and suffers from a crab in bucket mentality when the person saving them is as you said white and straight.

I'm not sure I've heard of someone use the crab in bucket mentality statement before. That's new for me. I've been living under a rock or something

Clean wrote:

martin wrote:

Clean wrote:

Rookie wrote:

Clean wrote:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/sidelpm/status/1868940154804879831

Listening to people like this guy explain things makes me notice just how bad I am at it sometimes. I agree with every single thing he said and could not have articulated it any better.

Apparently you’re not allowed to be straight, white and great at basketball in the wnba. Oh wait, wasn’t that the original title of this thread before you asked for it to be changed to have a general wnba discussion?

My fault, I thought we were past all that crap. I am still new to the WNBA. I have come to learn that this league is totally unserious and suffers from a crab in bucket mentality when the person saving them is as you said white and straight.

I'm not sure I've heard of someone use the crab in bucket mentality statement before. That's new for me. I've been living under a rock or something

I might have dated myself but for the people who might not be familiar with the metaphor it means.

A "crab in a bucket mentality" refers to a behavior where people actively try to hinder the progress or success of others, particularly when those others are attempting to achieve something that they themselves cannot, often stemming from envy or insecurity, similar to how crabs in a bucket will pull each other back down if one tries to climb out; essentially, "if I can't have it, neither can you.".

Feels like you described every work place environment, some family environments and maybe some other situations in real life lol

Clean wrote:

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/the_jefferymead/status/1869058684040474897

I like this guys explanation a lot.

Opportunity comes in all shapes and forms, and in life, IMHO, you cannot look a gift horse in the mouth and poo-poo it. Fucking ride it to the sunset and don't look back, they forgetting that.

Caitlin has done her thing.

Click it to read the full thing. It is a little long but an interesting read with lots of info that would otherwise be hard to come by.

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/Allie874/status/1870221305473016207

Tweet was deleted or there was problem with the URL:

https://www.twitter.com/mikeaalen112735/status/1875639974214955263