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Why do guys watch sports?


There's a perennial question that surrounds the WNBA: How can the league get more male viewers?  Men make up the bulk of sports enthusiasts, of course, and the WNBA is a sports league.  It follows naturally that the W would want to win over some of those sports fans.

I think the best place to start would be examining why guys watch sports in the first place.

Star-divide

I can think of three main reasons guys watch sports.

 

A: The male bonding thing. The W might be able to get some of that action, but it's always going to be an uphill fight against more established sports.  When guys get together to watch women, it's generally not going involve the women participating in sports.

 

B: Living vicariously through the players. Guys wish they could do what Kobe Bryant does, or Peyton Manning, or Albert Pujols, or even Rafael Nadal. This is a tougher nut to crack, for several reasons.

1: Many guys believe they can do what WNBA players do. We've all seen the yahoos that say "I could take any of those girls".  They're wrong, of course, but the perception is difficult to beat.

2: Many guys think they could be pro athletes except for the wrong circumstances. "I could be Shaq if I was 7'2", "I could be in the NFL if I hadn't hurt my knee in middle school", "I could play in the majors, but I refuse to use HGH" and that kind of crap. Being guys, there's no way they could play in the WNBA so they dismiss it.

3: Many guys aren't secure enough in their gender identity to say or even consciously think "I wish I could be like Diana Taurasi".

4: There's a higher level to aspire to. Guys might like to be able to do what Lauren Jackson can do, but they'd prefer to be able to do what LeBron James can do.

5: Part of the envy of the players comes from their lifestyle.  Fame and fortune and the perquisites that come with them are a big part of why guys identify with players.  WNBA players make a decent living, but they're not living the life of ease and luxury that make guys want to be "Like Mike".

 

C: Love of the game. These guys are winnable too.  The "basketball is basketball" line is a winner with this crowd.

 

If the W can focus its marketing on what drives guys to watch sports, it will be more successful in getting more of those male eyes focused on its games and players.

Poll
So guys - why do you watch sports?
Male bonding
4 votes
Living vicariously through the players
11 votes
Love of the game
35 votes
Other
3 votes

53 votes | Poll has closed

Comment 6 comments  |  3 recs  | 

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Nice post pilight...

I think this is a topic that will never get old particularly if the league gets better.

I think another option in there would have to be the father/daughter thing. I’d say there’s a sizable number of guys who get into it for that reason.

But I chose C and I think that becomes even more viable as the league continues to get better. That’s sort of why I like the current “We got now” campaign or whatever – I think it nicely articulates how I feel about the league from inception to present. And I think it’s a much, much easier sell to male sports fans now.

SwishAppeal.com for women's basketball...SB Nation Seattle for Seattle sports...and trying to maintain a Golden State of Mind about the Warriors. Twitter: @NateP_SBN.

by Nate Parham on Aug 8, 2011 1:28 PM EDT reply actions  

Male bonding

Generally speaking, men want the approval of other men. Unfortunately, one way many men bond and get approval from one another is through excluding the other. Often that other is women.

Check out any ESPN chat about the WNBA and you will see men bonding over their illogical hatred of the WNBA, virtually high-fiving one another over nasty comments about these women who DARE to come into the boy’s treehouse of pro basketball.

Of course not all men do this stuff. Some guys are bright enough to see such superficial bonding as ridiculous. But for men on the lower end of the IQ Bell Curve, hating is simply what they do in order to feel like part of a superior group.

As if.

by Muneraven on Aug 20, 2011 12:06 AM EDT reply actions  

Male bonding is important

but making fun of the WNBA isn’t really something I’d waste my time on if I hated the league. I’d probably just have illogical hatred and get high fived for my illogical hatred of other cancers on things we all like, such as the NFL where I love the Redskins but hate Shanahan, John Beck, and Dan Snyder, and the NBA where I love the Wizards, think John Wall is the next Glove, but I hate Lebron James with unabashed passion.

by thewiz06 on Aug 21, 2011 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

I love the Mercury's slogan

It’s women’s basketball.

And like i’ve said before, the WNBA is so much more about the game than the personalities. I think some people watch the NBA to watch players with turbulent attitudes, like Kevin Garnett, Kenyon Martin, Ron Artest, Joakim Noah, Andrew Bynum, and of course, the execrable LeBron James. There aren’t any repulsive hammerheads like that.in the WNBA, which makes it so much better for me to watch. Sure, I might want players like Cappie Pondexter to lose games, but I’d love to be where she is. I wouldn’t want to be any of the guys I just mentioned.

Lauren Jackson is back, and not a moment too soon!

by WaveOcean on Aug 21, 2011 1:16 PM EDT reply actions  

Well you have a point that we do watch sports to see a "good guys" vs "bad guys" standpoint

and the WNBA quite frankly doesn’t have any true marquee rivalries except intraconference perhaps with Seattle vs. LA or Seattle vs. Phoenix and I don’t see that much impassioned trash talking either… We as sports fans seem to desire some ugliness in sports for rivalries too, and the WNBA doesn’t quite have that.

by thewiz06 on Aug 24, 2011 9:30 PM EDT up reply actions  

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