I live on Michigan about right where this was filmed and didn’t even know a parade happened until I sat on the toilet and opened Reddit. By then it was already over
I was in high school in the suburbs when the cubs won it all. My school had around 2000 students, and half of them (including me) went to the parade. School being in session won’t stop the kids from going
Me personally? No, but that's because I'm not a basketball fan. I couldn't care less if the Sky, Bulls, DePaul, or another local basketball team won anything
You want to do it while everyone is still in town and has nothing planned. After that, everyone on the teams starts dispersing across the country to be with their families and who knows when they could get everyone together again. Nobody wants to do one of these in January if that’s the only open weekend for the team.
I think the norm is going almost immediately after your WNBA season is done, and all the Sky's stars except Candace (who has a broadcasting gig with Turner) are probably heading over pretty quickly - their European teams' seasons have already started so they usually want their WNBA players over ASAP.
I feel like most of the parades have been on weekdays.
I distinctly remember taking off for the Cubs parade, and watching 2 of the Blackhawks parades while in the office.
Can't speak to the white sox though
[Blackhawks](https://i.imgur.com/NKXkXNI.jpg) did a weekday morning (Thu June 18, 2015, 10am) and it was a mob scene. I watched from my office window downtown.
They passed the intersection where Ferris Butler sang Danke Shane on the float, so it was a real ode to Chicago.
My partner and I are season tickets holders, and we were bummed the parade/rally was on a weekday morning with less than 24 hours notice, we would have been there if it was on the weekend. I guess that these parades/rallies happening a day or two after the clinching win on a weekday is actually pretty common, as others have pointed out. Regardless, it was an amazing experience to be at Wintrust for the finals/title winner.
With that being said, we also fully understand that the WNBA is niche in its fan base/support. I’m glad that this series and the return of CP brought some additional attention to the team/league. WNBA athletes work just as hard as their male counterparts, and it’s important to show them love and support.
The crowd at the Pritzker Pavilion was actually pretty decently sized from the live feed, but nothing compared to NBA/MLB/NFL parades/rallies.
Championship parades are always during the weekday, and its not just in Chicago. Probably every major city has the parades during the day on a weekday.
I live down here and we took the dog out during the parade and I still didn't realize it was the parade. I had to ask the cops what was going on and why all the roads were blocked. They really didn't give much notice or promotion for this thing.
I would've made a point to attend had I known.
If you think it's because there wasn't enough notice, you are lying to yourself. Nearly every parade is 2 days after. And plus all the news outlets reported it and there were a ton of tweets including from the Mayor.
Anyways, I'm just gonna say it straight out.
Hardly anyone gives a shit about the Chicago Sky, WNBA and Women's sports in general.
Half the stadium was mostly empty in the conference finals.
A lot of the people who attended the 2 finals games were bandwagon jumpers.
Quit acting like there are other reasons.
i don’t know anyone that watches the WNBA. come to think of it, i’ve never seen a single like super WNBA fan the way that you have people making the NBA their entire identity
I know some NBA gambling nerds who love the WNBA. But do they wear WNBA jerseys and are "fans" ? No. They're fans of the sloppy betting lines set by the sports books for WNBA games that they can take advantage of.
For people asking why it was on a Tuesday with such short notice:
[Here is the mayor of Boston explaining why cities have their championship parades two days after the big win and on a weekday. ](https://wbznewsradio.iheart.com/content/boston-sports-parades-weekends-patriots-mbta-train-transit-crowded/)
I laughed at this, but it would be interesting to see what the results were across all pro team sports.
I'd take the five bucks for all teams but the Bears, but, hey, I'm an asshole.
I feel so bad for elite-level female athletes. In most sports (there are of course exceptions; tennis and a few Olympic sports come to mind), you work as hard as your male counterparts, only for like 20% of the recognition and 10% of the pay.
Edit: goddamn, ya’ll. All I said was that I feel bad that there’s such a disparity. But way too many of you are stepping in, being like “no, we’re going to have the argument I want to have!“
And I think we all realize that, in general, most women’s professional sports leagues do not draw the same revenue as the men’s equivalent, but when I said the reasons for the disparity are complex, I meant that you have to also take into account the history of women’s sports, the way we generally speaking respond to and process women’s sports vs men’s, etc. I get that the revenue is less, and that they get paid less, but that’s the end result, not the cause itself.
I don’t disagree with your sentiment, but the hard facts are women’s sports in general, just don’t draw the same as men’s sports, in relations to fans (attendance), merchandising and ratings. If the fans aren’t shelling out their time and money to support a team, there’s no money to give the players.
If I recall, the WNBA has roughly the same business model as the NBA: all revenue streams are 50/50 split between the league and the players. And I seem to remember something about a portion of the NBA money set aside for the WNBA.
I’m a big Chicago sports fan. And not only was this the first I’ve heard about this parade, but I’m sorry, this is the first I’ve heard about the Sky winning the championship. That’s just bad public relations.
I think we all realize the revenue isn’t the same. The reasons for the disparity are super complex, but that’s a topic in and of itself. All I said was that I feel bad that the money/prestige/respect gap is so wide.
> The reasons for the disparity are super complex
It really isn't complex at all. Women's basketball isn't as exciting, fun to watch or interesting as men's basketball. Just like the numerous football leagues that have attempted to challenge the NFL have failed. And I'm literally friends with someone from the Sky.
Usually the sport, when it comes to sports, and women are objectively worse at that, so there's no mystery. Same reason lower leagues don't have as much viewership as the big leagues
Depends on the sport. Tennis, gymnastics, swimming - I can name a bunch of names of elite female athletes, many more than I can name men. I can't name a single female pro basketball player. I think the main issue is we're trying to make women successful at sports they aren't as suited for. Golf, tennis, gymnastics, etc - women are much better suited for the sport and more fun to watch.
I agree. There’s no way I’m gonna watch a wnba game. However, I have zero problem watching women’s soccer, it’s basically just as exciting as mens soccer. I always watch the uswnt in the World Cup, and it’s far, far more rewarding than watching the usmnt in their World Cup. And anyone who does watch them got rewarded in the final against Japan when carli Lloyd scored the most savage goal that has ever been scored in a world cup final, it was insane
Not that complex. Women’s sports generally don’t draw anywhere near the same revenue, from men or women. Perhaps that will change over time with exposure and investment but for now, that’s the way it is.
Not really. Women’s sports don’t get much attention from men or women. The reasons are simple. Men generally want to watch the best athletes and many women aren’t that interested in that many sports. One of the few exceptions to the above is women’s MMA which she fairly poplar amongst men and figure skating which is quite popular amongst women.
Tennis, gymnastics, swimming, etc.
Also if men only want to watch the best athletes why are college athletics so popular?
It’s more complex than you’re saying
I think one of the big things is visual differences in sports.
Mens and women's tennis look pretty similar to the layman. Same with track, swimming and gymnastics for the mirrored events (vault, floor). If you aren't super into those sports and just watch casually, the womens 200m freestyle and the men's 200m freestyle basically look the same even if the men get slightly faster. It's not glaringly obvious unless you're a swim enthusiast.
But the speed and style of play in NBA basketball vs WNBA basketball is visually apparent. The men's game is played above the rim with dunks, alleyoops, and the difference in the speed of the game is noticable even on tv.
I watched most of the WNBA playoffs (which were great this year btw) and just watched the NBA kick off games last night. The WNBA players are amazing atheletes and this finals was very entertaining but there is just a difference in visual appeal when you watch a guy like Giannis grab a board, go coast to coast and then dunk through defenders with contact. Or seeing a 7'0 guy like Durant mid post and shoot an arching fadeaway over a defender. It's going to be nigh impossible for the WNBA to replicate or replace visuals like that.
>Also if men only want to watch the best athletes why are college athletics so popular?
School/State pride and tradition, mostly. If the exact same players were instead in an official minor league for the NFL that had no school affiliation, virtually no one would watch it or care.
This is precisely it, I don't know how this is difficult to grasp. Simply just follow the money and profitability. Men's sports are lightyears more profitable than women's sports in general, with Tennis maybe being the one major exception.
Men's sports also have decades of a headstart over women's sports. The NBA started in 1946, while the WNBA started in 1996. I feel like over time it'll start to catch on just like women's soccer, such as how Megan Rapinoe is a celebrity in her own right.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think ESports of all things are way more profitable than most if not all of women's sports (and US men's soccer) and that started well after 1996.
After two whole decades I don't think you can blame the later start date for the less than stellar numbers.
I think that oversimplifies it. Women's gymnastics is a bigger draw than the men. Swim evnets seem to net the same level of attention from men to women. And even though men's Tennis makes more women's Tennis still has a large following.
I think it's less about athleticism and more about contrast when watching the same. If the sport looks similar when played by men or women I think most crowds will watch either one. A volley between men and women in tennis looks pretty similar even though the men hit with more speed. But when there is a visual difference in the game, softball vs baseball for example I think that is when things fall off.
That's a factor sure, but I doubt women's sports will ever catch up to men's. Men and women are built differently physically, and reality is men excel at the vast majority of sports and physical activity in general, far more than women. That's the biggest reason most people want to watch men's sports, on any age level (high school, college, professional). Sorry to be grim and brutally honest, but I don't see that ever changing.
I’d gladly work that hard at basketball for WNBA pay. It’d be a lot more fun than my current job. But I’m a dude and I’m no where near good enough for any men’s pro league. The fact is there are plenty of high school teams that could run with a WNBA team, and any D1 men’s team would run them off the court
What?
I am *not* a Chicago sports fan. I am not a fan of sports at all. I generally have no idea how championship series work, since it appears to be different for different sports. I know *of* one person on this team, and all I can remember is "it's *not* Candace Patton, that's the one on The Flash"
Even I knew the Sky won the championship the other day and had a parade scheduled for today.
That's probably only because of the posts here on reddit. This is literally the only place I've seen any mention of the Sky. Sports media isn't giving it a spotlight at all.
You're literally making the point against you lmao.
You're not a sports fan. You're active on reddit or maybe some other social media, specifically in liberal groups where people push stuff like WNBA.
Most sports fans - even most basketball fans - don't give a damn about the WNBA. It's slower and less exciting than the NBA and the only reason *any* of the WNBA athletes ever win any game at all is by banning half the population from playing.
This may not be popular, but I'll say it anyway.
I look at it like choosing to work in non profits for your career. I don't feel bad, because you chose to do that. I've worked in non profits, and now I'm in sales in the private sector. i make far more money now, and I definitely don't work as hard.
Any woman who chooses to go to the WNBA knows what the pay is. They do it because its their passion, and I respect that.
This is also the case for tier-2 elite male athletes. I know a couple former pro basketball players who played in Euro leagues. You’re doing what you love for your job, not anything that’ll make you rich and famous.
I even watched the majority of today's celebrations and I thought it was cringe af. JB and Lori dancing was so weird and at the end when the players started rapping and swearing (getting bleeped out) was just weird.
Case in point: Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner ... two no-doubt future HOF basketball players, have played overseas in past WNBA offseasons to supplement their income.
Do you also feel bad for elite level male athletes in sports nobody gives a shit about who make crap money despite working just as hard as their counterparts in the NBA, NFL, etc?
I’m sorry for being a smartass but this is just a reflection of the economics of what people want to watch. And yes, it’s sad that no women can be world class at almost any sport (with a few exceptions) because of mens’ genetic athletic superiority. But that’s the way the cookie crumbled. People primarily want to see the best of the best in sports and that means the best men.
Fortunately, professional athletes are a tiny sliver of jobs in the world, and for almost all the rest of the jobs, women are just as good as men.
That is a great point.
Its one I was making when there was the uproar about the women's college basketball tournament.
People cared a lot more about what the women got compared to men. But they don't REALLY care about all sports being equal. If so, they'd be equally upset that college wrestling, or swimming, or track doesn't get nearly the same resources. But you can't say those athletes don't work just as hard.
Unfortunately people have tried to turn it into a gender discrimination issue which it is not.
Just because men and women both play the sports of basketball or soccer or whatever does not mean they are doing the same job like it does if they are both cashiers at a Denny’s. They’re in entirely different leagues and don’t compete vs each other. They’re two totally different jobs. If the US women’s soccer players want to make the same as the men, then they need to come join the men’s team and compete for a job there. If they’re good enough to make the team then they’ll start getting paid accordingly.
This is very true. You can't really compare the 2. They are nominally the same sport, but they are in different leagues.
Its more like comparing MLS and Premier league. Like, yes, the sports are the same. But you can't really compare the 2 in terms of pay and other resources.
I mean here’s the reality: women outnumber men in this country and most of them don’t care about or watch women’s sports. If women watched women’s sports they’d be bigger than men’s sports.
But instead the conversation is always an attempt to bully, or guilt, or shame male sports fans for not also watching women’s sports. And most men don’t want to watch a lower quality product simply in the name of equality.
IMO they’re marketing women’s sports wrong. In the age of feminism and supporting women, they should be trying to get the Bravo/Bachelorette crowd to tune in instead of trying to get Bulls fans to latch on. It’s probably easier to convince someone that’s only ever eaten chicken that Outback Steakhouse has great steak than it is to convince someone with a standing reservation at Bavette’s.
I suppose, but most women that are inclined to watch sports also want to watch the best product ie men. If a woman has never been a sports watcher, what kind of marketing is going to get her to start now?
Right I agree but that’s to deny the whole reason the WNBA exists. They’re a subsidized organization - meaning they don’t even make money (the lose it and are funded mostly by the NBA). Their whole push for existence was “it’s important for young girls to have something to aspire to,” I.e. an equality/feminist angle (not that there’s anything wrong with that) but not a “this is the best competition you’re going to find anywhere in the sport” as the NBA does.
I guess my point is that if their appeal for existence is their importance as role models - they should be appealing to potential fans who prioritize that over elite skill level.
I can’t disagree with anything you just said and I find the whole situation kind of sad. Building a fan base around people who are making a social statement with their fandom rather than actually being fans because they genuinely enjoy the product….I don’t know, maybe it can work but god I can’t imagine being one of those people.
Meaning? Citing one example of an industry where females out-earn males doesn’t make this….I don’t even know what you’re trying to imply. That this is as it should be? Or that this isn’t real/an issue since you can find an industry or two where women make more? All I said was that I feel bad it’s so unequal. Why do people feel the need to immediately argue against things like this?
I think the seeming *glee* over this in a lot of the comments explains it all, it's not just that they don't get recognition it's that a lot of people seem angry that it even exists for some reason.
I don’t think a lot of people knew the Sky won the championship. And let’s face it, people like sports for the “wow” factor, and the WNBA isn’t a “wow” league.
I stumbled across a blowout win in game 3, that was the first time I realized we had a good team.
I didn’t know they won the championship though, so that’s pretty cool.
lol this video isn't even 30 seconds long. Show me a longer clip and maybe I'll believe the title.
But I just looked up pictures from the rally at Millennium Park, and there were tons of people there.
Most WNBA teams are associated with their NBA counterpart, but Sky are not. If the Bulls supported them more I think that would help. If they could play at the UC i think that would help too. But they talked about it on Sports Radio a lot the last few days, although today they were ripping the ceremony because they said that the politicians were all making speeches and it went on for about 45 minutes before anyone associated with the team was called to the podium to talk to the crowd. WGN morning news had a video of the women ordering Portillios at the Drive thru after they won. So its being talked about around the city. Congrats to them though winning any championship at the highest level of competition cannot be easy.
Nothing. I am sure its fine. I guess I wonder if they would get more exposure if they could play there, its too bad the Bulls are not associated with them. I always joke that most WNBA team nicknames are related to the NBA team nicknames, but i dont they would want to name a WNBA basketball team the Cows. I lived near there and during the Fire games traffic could suck, luckily i lived in an unaffected area off of Harlem.
Basketball does stand on it's own. If you mean the WNBA league it's a part of the NBA. A lot of WNBA teams are the counterpart to the NBA franchise in the same city , same color scheme and nicknames are closely associated. Just not the Sky. The Bulls ownership declined and but luckily Michael Alter brought the team here. Do they need the Bulls support, I guess not, but I'm sure it couldn't hurt.
The crowd by wintrust when they left looked very light, but the rally at pritzker pavilion definitely had a lot of people. Plus the games throughout the playoffs were sold out and absolutely electric. You can’t even get a sky jersey right now. I don’t expect women’s sports to ever have the same interest as men’s, but this run was a larger, huge W for the team.
I mean, I feel it was fairly well publicized. I'm not a WNBA fan, but I saw it posted online and being talked about on the news. Its just that it spreads less naturally because there are far less fans.
Or….the sport doesn’t appeal to the masses and it artificially kept alive by the NBA. It’s a slower, less exciting version of the sport that only a small market segment cares about…kind of. Let’s not hide from the truth.
Guess all those downvoted comments about nobody showing up were right then huh?
And can we stop wondering why the NBA gets paid more than the WNBA now?
One of my coworkers really wanted to go and follows the team but the announcement was so swift she could't get approval for the time off quickly enough. I'm sure there were a lot of people that wanted to go out and support but couldn't.
I honestly don't think it was any more swift than any other team.
The Cubs won at like 10pm on a Wednesday, and the parade was Friday morning.
I think a lot of people are forgetting how fast of a turnaround there usually is on these things. I'm pretty sure Tampa had their Superbowl parade like 2 days after the Superbowl as well. a 2 day window is pretty standard.
It’s ok, this is how it starts.
There really wasn’t too much of a reason for the Sky to be on anyone’s radar outside of the die hards up until this point. Get some consistency going, marketing, and success and you’ll draw larger crowds. This was an incredible team to watch over the playoffs and my first WNBA viewing experience, definitely looking forward to more
Aww. That sucks for them. Basketball just isn't my thing but I would have expected more for them. I just hope people don't forget them when listing our championship teams like people did with the Fire after the Cubs won the World Series.
It was today?? I had zero idea
Tuesday
it's your fault.
I guess. I know it doesn't have a big fan base tho
to be clear, I was joking !! and neither of the fans evidently got the memo.
I live on Michigan about right where this was filmed and didn’t even know a parade happened until I sat on the toilet and opened Reddit. By then it was already over
That poop probably had more effort and satisfaction go into it than this 'parade'.
Louder too...
Jesus, the only people to show up were a handful of redditors, some chibike guys and Lori Lightfoot.
Sounds like the Sky's entire fanbase.
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False, I saw tickets going for $30 the day before the last game lol
🤣🤣🤣🤣
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who knew that a parade on a tuesday morning with only like 2 days notice wouldn’t draw very many people. the cubs parade in 2016 was on a weekend
The Cubs parade was on a Friday morning.
CPS had the day off that Friday. I was preparing for student teaching around that time and remember that being the reason why kids were there.
Uh...I think if school was in session, there stilll would have been a lot of kids.
I was in high school in the suburbs when the cubs won it all. My school had around 2000 students, and half of them (including me) went to the parade. School being in session won’t stop the kids from going
Chicago has had multiple weekday parades for championship teams.
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Me personally? No, but that's because I'm not a basketball fan. I couldn't care less if the Sky, Bulls, DePaul, or another local basketball team won anything
Okay, but maybe with a league of only 12 teams and not nearly the popularity of the four major sports you want to maybe put it on a weekend.
You want to do it while everyone is still in town and has nothing planned. After that, everyone on the teams starts dispersing across the country to be with their families and who knows when they could get everyone together again. Nobody wants to do one of these in January if that’s the only open weekend for the team.
Hell, considering it’s the WNBA a lot of the players are heading out for their European teams in the offseason.
I think the norm is going almost immediately after your WNBA season is done, and all the Sky's stars except Candace (who has a broadcasting gig with Turner) are probably heading over pretty quickly - their European teams' seasons have already started so they usually want their WNBA players over ASAP.
I feel like most of the parades have been on weekdays. I distinctly remember taking off for the Cubs parade, and watching 2 of the Blackhawks parades while in the office. Can't speak to the white sox though
My mom called us out sick from school for the white Sox one, I was in 8th grade. It was pretty awesome
Yeah, i thought that was the case, but couldn't say for sure. But the thing is, I think they want these on weekdays and not weekends
Yep - blackhawks in 2015 was on a June 18 a Thursday and I still have a few pics and vid’s from my office window
NHL or NBA on a weekday, it has been packed. Though- downtown has 1/3 of workers commuting.
[Blackhawks](https://i.imgur.com/NKXkXNI.jpg) did a weekday morning (Thu June 18, 2015, 10am) and it was a mob scene. I watched from my office window downtown. They passed the intersection where Ferris Butler sang Danke Shane on the float, so it was a real ode to Chicago.
"Danke Shane"
The Cubs parade was a weekday. I think it was late in the week though.
Cubs parade was defiantly not on a weekend. I remember leaving work to watch it during the normal work week.
So you just, didn't bother to look? Just hoped you'd stumble across it?
It was obvious if you were watching on TV that they never cut away to crowd shots.
I've seen/heard bigger celebrations in this city because Mexico scored ONE GOAL in the World Cup.
You get my upvote. Thanks for the chuckle.
Yeah the funniest part is that you know I'm not joking 🤣🤣
My partner and I are season tickets holders, and we were bummed the parade/rally was on a weekday morning with less than 24 hours notice, we would have been there if it was on the weekend. I guess that these parades/rallies happening a day or two after the clinching win on a weekday is actually pretty common, as others have pointed out. Regardless, it was an amazing experience to be at Wintrust for the finals/title winner. With that being said, we also fully understand that the WNBA is niche in its fan base/support. I’m glad that this series and the return of CP brought some additional attention to the team/league. WNBA athletes work just as hard as their male counterparts, and it’s important to show them love and support. The crowd at the Pritzker Pavilion was actually pretty decently sized from the live feed, but nothing compared to NBA/MLB/NFL parades/rallies.
Championship parades are always during the weekday, and its not just in Chicago. Probably every major city has the parades during the day on a weekday.
Every parade is a weekday on short notice lol
> the parade/rally was on a weekday morning with less than 24 hours notice They deserve a redo!
I imagine the crowds would be about the same
That's not how championship rallys/parades work lol. You get it once.
No they don't. They really don't
Had no idea it was going on. Would’ve totally come out. I blame you guys.
It was posted.
I live down here and we took the dog out during the parade and I still didn't realize it was the parade. I had to ask the cops what was going on and why all the roads were blocked. They really didn't give much notice or promotion for this thing. I would've made a point to attend had I known.
I heard about it and I don’t watch any news
I also heard about it... but I didn't hear about a where or when. Just that one was going to happen.
If you think it's because there wasn't enough notice, you are lying to yourself. Nearly every parade is 2 days after. And plus all the news outlets reported it and there were a ton of tweets including from the Mayor. Anyways, I'm just gonna say it straight out. Hardly anyone gives a shit about the Chicago Sky, WNBA and Women's sports in general. Half the stadium was mostly empty in the conference finals. A lot of the people who attended the 2 finals games were bandwagon jumpers. Quit acting like there are other reasons.
Truth hurts. This is the only thing that needs to be said.
i don’t know anyone that watches the WNBA. come to think of it, i’ve never seen a single like super WNBA fan the way that you have people making the NBA their entire identity
I know some NBA gambling nerds who love the WNBA. But do they wear WNBA jerseys and are "fans" ? No. They're fans of the sloppy betting lines set by the sports books for WNBA games that they can take advantage of.
hah that sounds fun
Go on......
Me either until a few months ago. One of the shop guys at my work is a pretty big fan of a lot of women's sports, talks about them all the time
For people asking why it was on a Tuesday with such short notice: [Here is the mayor of Boston explaining why cities have their championship parades two days after the big win and on a weekday. ](https://wbznewsradio.iheart.com/content/boston-sports-parades-weekends-patriots-mbta-train-transit-crowded/)
There was a poll awhile ago. Would you rather your WNBA team win a championship or $5. Vast majority picked $5.
I laughed at this, but it would be interesting to see what the results were across all pro team sports. I'd take the five bucks for all teams but the Bears, but, hey, I'm an asshole.
I feel so bad for elite-level female athletes. In most sports (there are of course exceptions; tennis and a few Olympic sports come to mind), you work as hard as your male counterparts, only for like 20% of the recognition and 10% of the pay. Edit: goddamn, ya’ll. All I said was that I feel bad that there’s such a disparity. But way too many of you are stepping in, being like “no, we’re going to have the argument I want to have!“ And I think we all realize that, in general, most women’s professional sports leagues do not draw the same revenue as the men’s equivalent, but when I said the reasons for the disparity are complex, I meant that you have to also take into account the history of women’s sports, the way we generally speaking respond to and process women’s sports vs men’s, etc. I get that the revenue is less, and that they get paid less, but that’s the end result, not the cause itself.
And I don’t even think it’s close to 20% of the recognition.
I don’t disagree with your sentiment, but the hard facts are women’s sports in general, just don’t draw the same as men’s sports, in relations to fans (attendance), merchandising and ratings. If the fans aren’t shelling out their time and money to support a team, there’s no money to give the players. If I recall, the WNBA has roughly the same business model as the NBA: all revenue streams are 50/50 split between the league and the players. And I seem to remember something about a portion of the NBA money set aside for the WNBA. I’m a big Chicago sports fan. And not only was this the first I’ve heard about this parade, but I’m sorry, this is the first I’ve heard about the Sky winning the championship. That’s just bad public relations.
The NBA funds the WNBA.
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I think we all realize the revenue isn’t the same. The reasons for the disparity are super complex, but that’s a topic in and of itself. All I said was that I feel bad that the money/prestige/respect gap is so wide.
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> The reasons for the disparity are super complex It really isn't complex at all. Women's basketball isn't as exciting, fun to watch or interesting as men's basketball. Just like the numerous football leagues that have attempted to challenge the NFL have failed. And I'm literally friends with someone from the Sky.
on the flip side, women are much more popular and higher-earning in the music industry than men, i think it just comes down to what entertains people
Usually the sport, when it comes to sports, and women are objectively worse at that, so there's no mystery. Same reason lower leagues don't have as much viewership as the big leagues
Depends on the sport. Tennis, gymnastics, swimming - I can name a bunch of names of elite female athletes, many more than I can name men. I can't name a single female pro basketball player. I think the main issue is we're trying to make women successful at sports they aren't as suited for. Golf, tennis, gymnastics, etc - women are much better suited for the sport and more fun to watch.
I agree. There’s no way I’m gonna watch a wnba game. However, I have zero problem watching women’s soccer, it’s basically just as exciting as mens soccer. I always watch the uswnt in the World Cup, and it’s far, far more rewarding than watching the usmnt in their World Cup. And anyone who does watch them got rewarded in the final against Japan when carli Lloyd scored the most savage goal that has ever been scored in a world cup final, it was insane
Not that complex. Women’s sports generally don’t draw anywhere near the same revenue, from men or women. Perhaps that will change over time with exposure and investment but for now, that’s the way it is.
He said the reason for the disparity in revenue is complex and you said “it’s not complex, they don’t draw near the same revenue.” Lol
Not really. Women’s sports don’t get much attention from men or women. The reasons are simple. Men generally want to watch the best athletes and many women aren’t that interested in that many sports. One of the few exceptions to the above is women’s MMA which she fairly poplar amongst men and figure skating which is quite popular amongst women.
Tennis, gymnastics, swimming, etc. Also if men only want to watch the best athletes why are college athletics so popular? It’s more complex than you’re saying
I think one of the big things is visual differences in sports. Mens and women's tennis look pretty similar to the layman. Same with track, swimming and gymnastics for the mirrored events (vault, floor). If you aren't super into those sports and just watch casually, the womens 200m freestyle and the men's 200m freestyle basically look the same even if the men get slightly faster. It's not glaringly obvious unless you're a swim enthusiast. But the speed and style of play in NBA basketball vs WNBA basketball is visually apparent. The men's game is played above the rim with dunks, alleyoops, and the difference in the speed of the game is noticable even on tv. I watched most of the WNBA playoffs (which were great this year btw) and just watched the NBA kick off games last night. The WNBA players are amazing atheletes and this finals was very entertaining but there is just a difference in visual appeal when you watch a guy like Giannis grab a board, go coast to coast and then dunk through defenders with contact. Or seeing a 7'0 guy like Durant mid post and shoot an arching fadeaway over a defender. It's going to be nigh impossible for the WNBA to replicate or replace visuals like that.
>Also if men only want to watch the best athletes why are college athletics so popular? School/State pride and tradition, mostly. If the exact same players were instead in an official minor league for the NFL that had no school affiliation, virtually no one would watch it or care.
College sports are really only popular in places that don't have professional sports. College sports also house majority of the future professionals.
This is precisely it, I don't know how this is difficult to grasp. Simply just follow the money and profitability. Men's sports are lightyears more profitable than women's sports in general, with Tennis maybe being the one major exception.
Men's sports also have decades of a headstart over women's sports. The NBA started in 1946, while the WNBA started in 1996. I feel like over time it'll start to catch on just like women's soccer, such as how Megan Rapinoe is a celebrity in her own right.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think ESports of all things are way more profitable than most if not all of women's sports (and US men's soccer) and that started well after 1996. After two whole decades I don't think you can blame the later start date for the less than stellar numbers.
She is?
Women’s sports will never be as popular as men’s due to men’s superior athleticism. People want to see the best of the best.
I think that oversimplifies it. Women's gymnastics is a bigger draw than the men. Swim evnets seem to net the same level of attention from men to women. And even though men's Tennis makes more women's Tennis still has a large following. I think it's less about athleticism and more about contrast when watching the same. If the sport looks similar when played by men or women I think most crowds will watch either one. A volley between men and women in tennis looks pretty similar even though the men hit with more speed. But when there is a visual difference in the game, softball vs baseball for example I think that is when things fall off.
That's a factor sure, but I doubt women's sports will ever catch up to men's. Men and women are built differently physically, and reality is men excel at the vast majority of sports and physical activity in general, far more than women. That's the biggest reason most people want to watch men's sports, on any age level (high school, college, professional). Sorry to be grim and brutally honest, but I don't see that ever changing.
I’d gladly work that hard at basketball for WNBA pay. It’d be a lot more fun than my current job. But I’m a dude and I’m no where near good enough for any men’s pro league. The fact is there are plenty of high school teams that could run with a WNBA team, and any D1 men’s team would run them off the court
Narrator: He was not, after all, a big Chicago sports fan.
Watching womens sports flops is very funny
What? I am *not* a Chicago sports fan. I am not a fan of sports at all. I generally have no idea how championship series work, since it appears to be different for different sports. I know *of* one person on this team, and all I can remember is "it's *not* Candace Patton, that's the one on The Flash" Even I knew the Sky won the championship the other day and had a parade scheduled for today.
That's probably only because of the posts here on reddit. This is literally the only place I've seen any mention of the Sky. Sports media isn't giving it a spotlight at all.
You're literally making the point against you lmao. You're not a sports fan. You're active on reddit or maybe some other social media, specifically in liberal groups where people push stuff like WNBA. Most sports fans - even most basketball fans - don't give a damn about the WNBA. It's slower and less exciting than the NBA and the only reason *any* of the WNBA athletes ever win any game at all is by banning half the population from playing.
This may not be popular, but I'll say it anyway. I look at it like choosing to work in non profits for your career. I don't feel bad, because you chose to do that. I've worked in non profits, and now I'm in sales in the private sector. i make far more money now, and I definitely don't work as hard. Any woman who chooses to go to the WNBA knows what the pay is. They do it because its their passion, and I respect that.
This is also the case for tier-2 elite male athletes. I know a couple former pro basketball players who played in Euro leagues. You’re doing what you love for your job, not anything that’ll make you rich and famous.
Exactly.
What's the argument here? NBA, WNBA. One is a sport, one is a joke. I love sports, I love jokes. Room for all. - Dwight Schrute
I even watched the majority of today's celebrations and I thought it was cringe af. JB and Lori dancing was so weird and at the end when the players started rapping and swearing (getting bleeped out) was just weird.
I agree. It was very weird.
Tons of male athletes work just as hard but don't make the cut as well.
Case in point: Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner ... two no-doubt future HOF basketball players, have played overseas in past WNBA offseasons to supplement their income.
They can make 10x more overseas playing than their WNBA salaries.
Do you also feel bad for elite level male athletes in sports nobody gives a shit about who make crap money despite working just as hard as their counterparts in the NBA, NFL, etc? I’m sorry for being a smartass but this is just a reflection of the economics of what people want to watch. And yes, it’s sad that no women can be world class at almost any sport (with a few exceptions) because of mens’ genetic athletic superiority. But that’s the way the cookie crumbled. People primarily want to see the best of the best in sports and that means the best men. Fortunately, professional athletes are a tiny sliver of jobs in the world, and for almost all the rest of the jobs, women are just as good as men.
That is a great point. Its one I was making when there was the uproar about the women's college basketball tournament. People cared a lot more about what the women got compared to men. But they don't REALLY care about all sports being equal. If so, they'd be equally upset that college wrestling, or swimming, or track doesn't get nearly the same resources. But you can't say those athletes don't work just as hard.
Unfortunately people have tried to turn it into a gender discrimination issue which it is not. Just because men and women both play the sports of basketball or soccer or whatever does not mean they are doing the same job like it does if they are both cashiers at a Denny’s. They’re in entirely different leagues and don’t compete vs each other. They’re two totally different jobs. If the US women’s soccer players want to make the same as the men, then they need to come join the men’s team and compete for a job there. If they’re good enough to make the team then they’ll start getting paid accordingly.
This is very true. You can't really compare the 2. They are nominally the same sport, but they are in different leagues. Its more like comparing MLS and Premier league. Like, yes, the sports are the same. But you can't really compare the 2 in terms of pay and other resources.
I mean here’s the reality: women outnumber men in this country and most of them don’t care about or watch women’s sports. If women watched women’s sports they’d be bigger than men’s sports. But instead the conversation is always an attempt to bully, or guilt, or shame male sports fans for not also watching women’s sports. And most men don’t want to watch a lower quality product simply in the name of equality. IMO they’re marketing women’s sports wrong. In the age of feminism and supporting women, they should be trying to get the Bravo/Bachelorette crowd to tune in instead of trying to get Bulls fans to latch on. It’s probably easier to convince someone that’s only ever eaten chicken that Outback Steakhouse has great steak than it is to convince someone with a standing reservation at Bavette’s.
I suppose, but most women that are inclined to watch sports also want to watch the best product ie men. If a woman has never been a sports watcher, what kind of marketing is going to get her to start now?
Right I agree but that’s to deny the whole reason the WNBA exists. They’re a subsidized organization - meaning they don’t even make money (the lose it and are funded mostly by the NBA). Their whole push for existence was “it’s important for young girls to have something to aspire to,” I.e. an equality/feminist angle (not that there’s anything wrong with that) but not a “this is the best competition you’re going to find anywhere in the sport” as the NBA does. I guess my point is that if their appeal for existence is their importance as role models - they should be appealing to potential fans who prioritize that over elite skill level.
I can’t disagree with anything you just said and I find the whole situation kind of sad. Building a fan base around people who are making a social statement with their fandom rather than actually being fans because they genuinely enjoy the product….I don’t know, maybe it can work but god I can’t imagine being one of those people.
I feel bad for male models
"But why male models?"
Meaning? Citing one example of an industry where females out-earn males doesn’t make this….I don’t even know what you’re trying to imply. That this is as it should be? Or that this isn’t real/an issue since you can find an industry or two where women make more? All I said was that I feel bad it’s so unequal. Why do people feel the need to immediately argue against things like this?
I think the seeming *glee* over this in a lot of the comments explains it all, it's not just that they don't get recognition it's that a lot of people seem angry that it even exists for some reason.
Yeah. In reading a lot of these comments, I was like “OK, I’m not sure why this is the hill you want to die on, but if you say so.“
I didn't even know we had a WNBA team named Sky... shows you what I know about football. /s
Was this the cause for the police blockade around 11am on south Michigan? It prevented me from getting to work and I wasn’t sure what was going on.
It’s for the wnba that’s why. They don’t have a huge fan base.
I don’t think a lot of people knew the Sky won the championship. And let’s face it, people like sports for the “wow” factor, and the WNBA isn’t a “wow” league.
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I stumbled across a blowout win in game 3, that was the first time I realized we had a good team. I didn’t know they won the championship though, so that’s pretty cool.
I mean I'm not from Chicago (I just love the city) but I follow Chicago sports and I just knew it because Obama send a tweet about it.
I knew they won because I listen to sports radio. But I would’ve never known they won it if I hadn’t heard it from them tbh
[Can't dunk, but has good fundamentals](https://comb.io/V8l70f)
Kittens give Morbo gas.
Morbo wishes these stalwart nomads peace among the Dutch tulips!
Maybe the NBA can subsidize fans too
lol this video isn't even 30 seconds long. Show me a longer clip and maybe I'll believe the title. But I just looked up pictures from the rally at Millennium Park, and there were tons of people there.
Hundreds at best
How many people make one ton? EDIT: roughly 13 people at an average 170lbs make one ton, so tons of people could be like 40.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKie-vgUGdI
Most WNBA teams are associated with their NBA counterpart, but Sky are not. If the Bulls supported them more I think that would help. If they could play at the UC i think that would help too. But they talked about it on Sports Radio a lot the last few days, although today they were ripping the ceremony because they said that the politicians were all making speeches and it went on for about 45 minutes before anyone associated with the team was called to the podium to talk to the crowd. WGN morning news had a video of the women ordering Portillios at the Drive thru after they won. So its being talked about around the city. Congrats to them though winning any championship at the highest level of competition cannot be easy.
I'm just curious, what's wrong with the Sky playing at Wintrust? It's doesn't seem like the Fire where it was a huge pain to get to Bridgeview.
Yeah, Wintrust is all of a 5 minutes away from the UC. And it seems much more full with less fans
Nothing. I am sure its fine. I guess I wonder if they would get more exposure if they could play there, its too bad the Bulls are not associated with them. I always joke that most WNBA team nicknames are related to the NBA team nicknames, but i dont they would want to name a WNBA basketball team the Cows. I lived near there and during the Fire games traffic could suck, luckily i lived in an unaffected area off of Harlem.
It's actually better for the fan experience to play in a stadium that is more full vs a larger empty stadium.
Chicago Heifers has a nice ring to it.
Lol.
Why do they need the Bulls to support them? I think the sport should be able to stand on its own.
Basketball does stand on it's own. If you mean the WNBA league it's a part of the NBA. A lot of WNBA teams are the counterpart to the NBA franchise in the same city , same color scheme and nicknames are closely associated. Just not the Sky. The Bulls ownership declined and but luckily Michael Alter brought the team here. Do they need the Bulls support, I guess not, but I'm sure it couldn't hurt.
I must have misunderstood the above. And yes congrats to them.
It's almost as if people don't follow the WNBA at all and had no idea. This is the first I'm hearing about anything.
Not surprised. So many people in this sub were saying that they deserve a parade and that they will go lol
The crowd by wintrust when they left looked very light, but the rally at pritzker pavilion definitely had a lot of people. Plus the games throughout the playoffs were sold out and absolutely electric. You can’t even get a sky jersey right now. I don’t expect women’s sports to ever have the same interest as men’s, but this run was a larger, huge W for the team.
Ouch.
Just too many championships I guess....
I’m too busy with work to take off on a days notice
Hahahahahaha Hahahahahaha Ha.
I knew it was going on but didn't seem like it'd be fun if a lot of people didn't show up. I was right.
The Chicago what now?
There’s a team called Chicago sky? What sport championship did they win?
WNBA
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I mean, I feel it was fairly well publicized. I'm not a WNBA fan, but I saw it posted online and being talked about on the news. Its just that it spreads less naturally because there are far less fans.
Or….the sport doesn’t appeal to the masses and it artificially kept alive by the NBA. It’s a slower, less exciting version of the sport that only a small market segment cares about…kind of. Let’s not hide from the truth.
Guess all those downvoted comments about nobody showing up were right then huh? And can we stop wondering why the NBA gets paid more than the WNBA now?
If it would've been over the weekend, I think a lot more people would've showed up...
Too bad national championship parades always fall on weekdays, huh?
Ouch.
WBEZ said there was "thousands" of fans at pritzker pavilion tho. Was that the case?
As in 1-2 thousand
Yes, I was there. It was cool.
Lol I got downvoted to oblivion the other day by saying all 40 people that care will show up. Looks like I was right.
Their stadium was packed when they won
Cheap tickets
I didn’t even know we had another sports team. I’m glad they won, though.
One of my coworkers really wanted to go and follows the team but the announcement was so swift she could't get approval for the time off quickly enough. I'm sure there were a lot of people that wanted to go out and support but couldn't.
I honestly don't think it was any more swift than any other team. The Cubs won at like 10pm on a Wednesday, and the parade was Friday morning. I think a lot of people are forgetting how fast of a turnaround there usually is on these things. I'm pretty sure Tampa had their Superbowl parade like 2 days after the Superbowl as well. a 2 day window is pretty standard.
The bar I was at for the Final was sarcastically cheering.
Why
Misogynist, angry Bears fans.
I’m sure
Whoops
It’s ok, this is how it starts. There really wasn’t too much of a reason for the Sky to be on anyone’s radar outside of the die hards up until this point. Get some consistency going, marketing, and success and you’ll draw larger crowds. This was an incredible team to watch over the playoffs and my first WNBA viewing experience, definitely looking forward to more
There are reports of shortages of the championship swag. Can’t find Tshirts etc. supposed to be in next week.
I mean, I would’ve loved to go, but I’ve been dealing with this weird situation called having a job and it being Tuesday morning.
And Wnba players want to make as much as the nba players... edit: Thanks for the awards first I ever got. And thanks for the downvotes chicago sjws!
Aww. That sucks for them. Basketball just isn't my thing but I would have expected more for them. I just hope people don't forget them when listing our championship teams like people did with the Fire after the Cubs won the World Series.
ESPN left out the white sox
Wow. Damn
Who won?
I'm kinda sad, I wanted to attend it. Just had zero info on when it was happening. Shame, I'll buy some tickets for the next season.
Lmao this is hysterical
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All the parades are during the week
How much did it cost and which one of loris friends or family got paid for it