My guess: Caitlin & Angel will garner co-Rookie of the Year honors (1 Viewer)

[guidomerkinsrules]

If the buzz created by the rookie turns our little business from a subsidized afterthought of the parent company GloboCorp into a profitable enterprise and my bonus is doubled next year, I’m Ok with it.


Something like this:

Fans - by and large - seem to prefer rooting for teams vs rooting for The Shield
I don’t want to go to a Pels game and hear people rooting for Luka or Lebron
The League likes that
The League is wrong

 

[Eeyore]

The other players should be happy. Their CBA is up after next season. If Clark is still popular enough to keep selling tickets and boosting ratings they'll all profit.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Also Aja Wilson

 

[Cage1]

Y’all are wanting to be butt hurt about all this - any high profile rook (or even transfer) is going to have to earn her spot on the team/league especially if there was a cottage industry springing up to anoint the rook

And it’s not just sports- I don’t know what y’all do but I imagine all of y’all make abstract financial widgets
You and your team have worked hard and have a fair amount of notoriety , especially among insiders, and yall developed a product that’s good, useful and sustainable
Then your boss hires some hot shot MBA who just graduated from a mid tier school
And every writing for WeKnowVeryLittleAboutYour-Product heralds this person as the one who is going to rescue y’all from an obscurity you were never really in

All y’all are saying you’re greeting this rook with open arms?
Really?

You can make someone "earn their spot" by playing them tough. Trying to hurt them is just sour grapes and frustration. This isn't the prison in The Longest Yard. Clark doesn't have to show Michael Irvin how tough she is to recruit him onto the prison football team.

 

[DaveXA]

Fans - by and large - seem to prefer rooting for teams vs rooting for The Shield
I don’t want to go to a Pels game and hear people rooting for Luka or Lebron
The League likes that
The League is wrong

You do recall people cheering for Jordan, Bird and Magic when they went on the road, right? People recognize greatness regardless of the sport or generation. Just because fans cheer at times for an opponent player doesn't mean they're rooting for the shield. Those great players are definitely a drawing card, especially vs a road team who is having trouble selling tickets.

And for all the talk about individual teams and players, more fan interest pays the bills. Rising tides and all that.

And I do agree with your sentiment, but the youth movement, be it from Caitlin or any of the young up and coming talent is good for the league. A lot of old guard players didn't like Jordan, Bird and Magic coming in and stealing the limelight. A lot of old guard players and fans didn't like Kobe and LeBron coming in and stealing the limelight. They would all say stuff like they're great, but no Jordan/Bird/Magic. Times change. And it's time to welcome the new generation of players with open arms.

And this is me speaking as a huge Jordan mark.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

And for all the talk about individual teams and players, more fan interest pays the bills. Rising tides and all that.

But thats the thing - it’s not a sustainable model
Aja Wilson is easily the best player in the league
Then Stewart, then Grimes and probably ten other players until you get to CC then Angel some time after

Bird and magic shone in a bad league
WNBA is not a bad league like 70s NBA was
CC and then Angel is a lightning in a bottle quasi cultural phenomenon
Is it sustainable? (I have my doubts)
Aja became second player ever with a 40/15 game (41/17) - shouldn’t that be what the league is leaning on?
It’s unlikely we’ll get another CC v AR - but The Aces v Liberty seems more sustainable

 

[DaveXA]

But thats the thing - it’s not a sustainable model

Why not?

Aja Wilson is easily the best player in the league

Sure. I got no issues with that.

Then Stewart, then Grimes and probably ten other players until you get to CC then Angel some time after

Idk, she's been playing like a top 5 player since the break. Whether she can sustain that, I'm not sure, but I wouldn't bet against it.

Bird and magic shone in a bad league
WNBA is not a bad league like 70s NBA was
CC and then Angel is a lightning in a bottle quasi cultural phenomenon

The WNBA from a ratings standpoint leaves a lot to be desired. I'm not saying the league is bad, but it's certainly got room to get better. If the young players can raise the bar, that's good for everyone.

Is it sustainable? (I have my doubts)

Sure, we'll see tho.

Aja became second player ever with a 40/15 game (41/17) - shouldn’t that be what the league is leaning on?

Of course they should, and I imagine they will market the sheet out of that, especially when she goes head to head vs Caitlin and other young stars. It will make the matchups more compelling for sure.

It’s unlikely we’ll get another CC v AR - but The Aces v Liberty seems more sustainable

Maybe. But there are other compelling match-ups that can be had besides that match-up, and that will be just as sustainable. I think a broader view of the game is warranted here rather than just one or two players/teams.

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

But thats the thing - it’s not a sustainable model
Aja Wilson is easily the best player in the league
Then Stewart, then Grimes and probably ten other players until you get to CC then Angel some time after

Bird and magic shone in a bad league
WNBA is not a bad league like 70s NBA was
CC and then Angel is a lightning in a bottle quasi cultural phenomenon
Is it sustainable? (I have my doubts)
Aja became second player ever with a 40/15 game (41/17) - shouldn’t that be what the league is leaning on?
It’s unlikely we’ll get another CC v AR - but The Aces v Liberty seems more sustainable

The fact that 2 rookies coming straight off a full NCAA season are shredding numerous league records suggests that the existing league was/is pretty bad.

If you want people outside of the diehards to care about Liberty vs Aces you do that by getting people to watch and attend more WNBA games. CC vs AR is how that happens.

If CC and AR went to Europe next year ratings would crash.

 

[sfidc3]

Sure, but you can make her earn those flowers without trucking her at midcourt or hitting her from behind when she doesn’t even have the ball (not saying you are promoting those plays).

The flagrants haven’t really been a good strategy for the Sky.

Not agreeing with the strategy or even condoning it, but it is what it is.....always been a part (like it or not) of competitive sports....

You can make someone "earn their spot" by playing them tough. Trying to hurt them is just sour grapes and frustration. This isn't the prison in The Longest Yard. Clark doesn't have to show Michael Irvin how tough she is to recruit him onto the prison football team.

Not all about earning their spot, it's more a tactic used to try and intimidate a young really good player and hopefully impact their game in a negative way....as she is more established it will happen less and less IMO.....

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Not agreeing with the strategy or even condoning it, but it is what it is.....always been a part (like it or not) of competitive sports....



Not all about earning their spot, it's more a tactic used to try and intimidate a young really good player and hopefully impact their game in a negative way....as she is more established it will happen less and less IMO.....

Occams Razor

 

[Loco Hornet Fan]

Not agreeing with the strategy or even condoning it, but it is what it is.....always been a part (like it or not) of competitive sports....



Not all about earning their spot, it's more a tactic used to try and intimidate a young really good player and hopefully impact their game in a negative way....as she is more established it will happen less and less IMO.....

It’s not a new development in sports. I definitely agree with you there.

I’m just saying that you can make a rookie earn her spot/play her tough without hitting her from behind during dead ball situations, blindsiding her with running shoulder blocks, and hitting her while she’s landing during a 3 point shot. Those aren’t “welcome to the league, rookie” tough plays and they make the person doing them look bad.

I also think it’s a bad strategy simply because it isn’t working. The Fever are playing their best basketball right now, winning games, and are 3-1 against the Sky this season.

 

[Goatman Saint]

The flagrant fouls are stupid. First, they aren’t dealing with someone who is being rattled by them. If anything it’s just making her step up her game. And what’s going to happen to the league viewership if one of these completely unnecessary fouls breaks a bone, twists a joint and she’s out for an extended period? It’s a TV contract year, and bashing the player who is bringing in near 100%more viewers is a stupid move.

Also, I’m enjoying watching Clark. The passing, ball movement, 3 point shooting the Fever are doing I find way more enjoyable than most of the NBA dunkfest. It’s exciting, and good passing as they are doing is really a forgotten art in a lot of ways. And that step back 3 point shot is amazing.

To me these teams that have Clark coming in and showing them up need to elevate their games.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

The flagrant fouls are stupid. First, they aren’t dealing with someone who is being rattled by them. If anything it’s just making her step up her game. And what’s going to happen to the league viewership if one of these completely unnecessary fouls breaks a bone, twists a joint and she’s out for an extended period? It’s a TV contract year, and bashing the player who is bringing in near 100%more viewers is a stupid move.

Also, I’m enjoying watching Clark. The passing, ball movement, 3 point shooting the Fever are doing I find way more enjoyable than most of the NBA dunkfest. It’s exciting, and good passing as they are doing is really a forgotten art in a lot of ways. And that step back 3 point shot is amazing.

To me these teams that have Clark coming in and showing them up need to elevate their games.

reiterating that I am not justifying intentional fouls…
Last night most of us watched LSU give USC 14 pts bc of boneheaded taunting/celebration penalties
Dumb and illogical (ie hurting the team), but not a vast conspiracy

And some seem to want WNBA players to act like they’re in a direct profit sharing (it’s indirect by many factors)
Players on the other team see CC as an opponent, but y’all want them to see her as a meal ticket
Don’t work like that

 

[Loco Hornet Fan]

reiterating that I am not justifying intentional fouls…
Last night most of us watched LSU give USC 14 pts bc of boneheaded taunting/celebration penalties
Dumb and illogical (ie hurting the team), but not a vast conspiracy

And some seem to want WNBA players to act like they’re in a direct profit sharing (it’s indirect by many factors)
Players on the other team see CC as an opponent, but y’all want them to see her as a meal ticket
Don’t work like that

Are people saying there is some kind of conspiracy with this?

I understand not feeling very welcoming to the flashy rookie who gets a lot of endorsements & attention. That’s human nature to some extent.

But there is a pretty big gap between not seeing her as a meal ticket (or not liking her for whatever reason) and committing flagrant (and some of them dangerous) fouls on a defenseless player. That’s the part I think is dumb and hasn’t even been effective.

Talk trash to her. “Harass” her on D, hand-check her, tug her jersey, make her play through hard screens & box outs.

I don’t think anyone expects other players to give her bouquets of flowers on the court. They don’t have to like her or can want to “take her down a peg”. The non-basketball plays are bs though.

 

[DaveXA]

reiterating that I am not justifying intentional fouls…
Last night most of us watched LSU give USC 14 pts bc of boneheaded taunting/celebration penalties
Dumb and illogical (ie hurting the team), but not a vast conspiracy

Who's saying this tho?

And some seem to want WNBA players to act like they’re in a direct profit sharing (it’s indirect by many factors)

It's certainly not direct, but it does impact their pay. As another poster said, this is a pivotal year for the WNBA. Any leverage that helps the players is a good thing for them.

Players on the other team see CC as an opponent, but y’all want them to see her as a meal ticket
Don’t work like that

I don't think they need to see her as a meal ticket. They clearly see her as an opponent on the court. What I would say is off the court they should at least acknowledge that Caitlin is someone who is adding value to the league and the more attention the league gets, the better off they'll all be.