women histories, incest sexual abuse. institutionalized. But what if ...

Room for Two Leagues?
The NBA is also not the only
league that the WNBA is
compared to, on or off the I
court. Women of the I
American Basketball
League (ABL) are also vying
for the attention of the American
public. Both women's leagues have similarly high
levels of competitive play, and both feature stal
players from the NCAA championship teama
and the 1996 Olympic team. The major differ-1
ence between the two leagues, however, is medial
magic and marketing. While the ABL spent $1.5
million on marketing its 1996 season, the WNBA
shelled out 10 times that amount, which clearly paid
off.
The ABL touts itself as the "real league," which,
according to its ads has "real players," who earn $70,000 a season.
Their season is much longer than the WNBA's—40 games
versus 28. That's because the ABL has a corner on the traditional
basketball season-^October through February. But they also
have to compete for attention with well-established college
basketball and football, as well as men's pro basketball,
football, and hockey. The WNBA, on the other hand, is a
summertime league, offering games only when men's professional
sports are slow. The ABL is fond of pointing out
that the WNBA only gets to play when the big boys (the NBA,
its sibling league) aren't using the gym in the summer. I
A Whole New Game, a Whole New Industry
Professional sports in this country have long been big
business, and the moneymaking machine that women's
basketball has suddenly become is generating an industry
which employs legions of women. Not only female athletes and
coaches, but sports managers, writers, broadcasters, designers,
advertisers, and vast numbers of support personnel, from towel
girls to marketing executives. With women increasingly influencing
sports from every angle, sportswear and equipment manufacturers
are more frequently targeting women in their advertising
campaigns. Lady Foot Locker's current commercial is typical of
the new vogue—women athletes lifting weights, swimming and
playing soccer to a soundtrack of a revamped, and very muscular
winter 1998 - 24
version of Helen Ready's "I Am
Woman." Young girls can now
see their futures in tenacious
point guards like Teresa
Weatherspoon, or in sports
league presidents like
I the WNBA's Val
Ackerman.
The hype around
the WNBA has simultaneously fed off and
contributed to the already growing women's
sports industry. This year, Sports Illustrated's
Women/Sport and Conde Nast's Sports for
Women appeared on newsstands. These magaes
depart widely from traditional women's
publications, offering tips on downhill mountain
biking and faster marathon times instead
of how to keep him interested or lose weight in
five easy steps. The new sports magazines feature
a catch-me-if-you-can aesthetic that has
nothing to do with getting a man, and everyto
do with winning. It's an attitude that
appeals to the post-Title IX generation who want
know all there is to know about sports from
[venture racing to kick-boxing to soccer. As Sports
or Women's premier issue states, "The new American
woman no longer asks if she can play—she shows up
with the ball."
I The growing popularity of the WNBA and other
professional women's athletics means that more attention
is also being paid to young women athletes. Teenage
basketball players flock to summer sports camps, where
they play before visiting college coaches looking to
recruit tomorrow's players. Sports scholarships, once
the domain of male jocks, are increasingly available for
young women. But schools still tend to cut back on women's sport
facilities, equipment and staff when budgets have to be pared,
claiming they don't make money at the collegiate level—while the
same is often true for male student sports as well.
Beyond the number of T-shirts and tickets sold, the WNBA
is having an impact on female lives that is less quantitative but
perhaps more lasting. Such sports give women a common language
and experience, which men have long possessed, helping