First and foremost, congrats to Kelsey! It's a great honor and opportunity that most people never get the chance to see. She's worked really hard and, as she said herself, putting in the time makes a difference -- good things happen.
Now, on poking fun at the WNBA. I only watch three pro sports -- soccer, tennis, and bowling, and I often don't even sit down to watch those unless I have the time, I turn on the TV, and it happens to be on. The only thing I probably plan my schedule around and really try to catch is pro soccer games. I don't pay attention to the NFL, MLB, WNBA, NBA, or NHL. Yes, I might catch a game every once in awhile, but I'm definitely not a fan. In the last year I've watched half of an NFL game, 1 MLB game in person (none on TV or listened on the radio for that matter), 0 NBA games, 0 WNBA games, and 0 NHL games.
I'm not a big pro sports fan for the most part. I would prefer high school or college any day. I think part of that is that Iowa's only pro sport is women's football. It's hard to follow something closely, even with the Internet, when it isn't near you. For example, I'm a big Seattle Sounders MLS fan. I get to see them play on TV probably three times a year if I'm lucky. Otherwise, I have to follow on Twitter or somewhere on the Internet. If I wasn't truly dedicated to the team/sport, I wouldn't put forth all the time to follow them.
There were very similar reactions from people, and probably even moreso, when it was time for the World Cup last summer. I quit coming to this website for several months because of the nonstop bantering about how awful soccer is, how people thought no one was watching the World Cup, and the only comment most people could make was about the vuvuzelas. People are entitled to their opinions and the ability to share them. I'm all for that, but you don't have to attack a sport, or in this case a league.
Those that don't appreciate the WNBA, or the World Cup, feel free to state your opinion and move on. Don't stick around and try to convince the people that appreciate the athletes, the leagues, the teams, the sport, etc. that it's awful that they support it. People know that the WNBA isn't one of the most successful sports -- all you need to see that is ESPN or pick up a newspaper. They get that it isn't the most popular and probably never will be. They're fine with and accept that.
As I started off in the beginning, I don't follow most pro sports, but I also don't go out and tell people reasons why they shouldn't watch it or care about it themselves. If someone asks why I don't follow or pay attention, I let them know. If not, I move on and keep my comments to myself. I guess I'm just different than a lot of people, and I have to remember that this is a messageboard. Unfortunately, this is what most messageboards have come to.
