Look, I’ll be honest. Once upon a time, I was a WNBA hater. Not in a full-time, dedicated way, like I wasn’t waking up every morning to tweet “nobody watches this” under ESPN highlights or anything. But I was a casual hater. A drive-by doubter. I wasn’t the LeBron James of hating the WNBA, I may have been closer to the Landry Shamet (no hate Landry… go Knicks.) Someone who had never actually watched a game but still confidently told people that I’d rather watch paint dry.
In fact among my group of friends and I, we were such casual haters that for years, we had an ongoing punishment in our fantasy football league: last place had to attend a New York Liberty game and couldn’t bring a cell phone so they would have to watch the game. Not ironically. Not as a fun outing. As punishment. And at the time, it felt justified. Because obviously women’s basketball was bad. That’s just what we all “knew.” Although, last place in our league cough cough my friend Joe, never did attend this game, as if he was above it, which at the time I probably would’ve wanted to do too.
And then I did something crazy, some three years ago…I actually watched a game. GASP
And listen… I’m still alive. In fact, I’m here today as a changed man. A reformed individual. I have seen the light, and it is Caitlin Clark pulling up from the logo, Jonquel Jones blocking a shot into row Z, and Sabrina Ionescu hitting a three(although that finals game 5 performance… but she’s still great, I love her) so pure it made my soul briefly exit my body.
The league is good now. Objectively speaking.
Scoring is up. WNBA teams averaged 82.5 points per game last season, the highest in league history. Attendance is up. Viewership is up 21% from last season. The talent pool is deeper than ever. These women are hooping. You’ve got Caitlin Clark making people a fan of Indiana sports which is nuts, New York stacking a 2010’s Miami Heat level superteam, and some new rookies coming in ready to torch the league immediately like Bueckers from UConn and the likes of such. I personally attribute social media to the league’s rise, and the social media of the players themselves. Because otherwise, how would I know this information and names of some of the league’s most highly touted prospects?
I get why people clown on it. Some of the jokes? Fair game. The early 2000s WNBA highlights were rough and frankly kind of funny. I’ve seen the videos of layups were getting celebrated like they were 360 windmills from MJ himself. And yeah, the marketing of the league still needs work. Too many games are buried on channels you need a treasure map to find, in fact even on ESPN+ during the season, the games are buried. But the idea that this league isn’t worth watching? That’s just outdated and ignorant in my opinion.
So let me say, with my whole chest, something I never thought I would. A New York Liberty game is not a punishment. In fact, it’s a good time. The Barclays gets loud. Being a New York Giants season-ticket holder, I can say that the crowd for a Liberty game was a better atmosphere than the Giants have been recently. The crowd is locked in and cheering. The basketball is legit. And if my fantasy team collapses next season, I will proudly attend a game. No shame. I even bought a championship sweatshirt when the Liberty won this past season, I’m still on the look for that teal hat but it’s been sold out for months. Hoping it comes back in stock soon. fingers crossed
The moral of the story? Sometimes, you just have to watch the thing before you slander it. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. And sometimes, the thing is actually fire. Praise Caitlin Clark and…
#GoLiberty.
SebastianMParente.com 
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