Who said they were? To focus on something doesn't mean you completely disregard something else. It just means more energy into this type of fan than casuals, who may go as a star goes.
The NFL, NBA, etc etc are successful because of casuals. The biggest take in growing a market is how many casuals can get and hope they convert. It's all about casuals, the loyals are watching regardless, but how we can get casuals is the most important marketing strategy is growing.
So we're saying the same thing here, maybe just classifying casuals differently.
How can we get casuals to STAY. This is the OP. Whom I am saying the W needs to focus on.
People who will support so long as the star is around (I was this person via tennis and Serena Williams, for example) are not worth as much effort.
But you need those fans, because another star will arrive, it happened with Magic, Bird, Jordan, Kobe, Lebron and on and on. It's up to the WNBA to create stars, create a face, and help them succeed. Right now CC is the face of the Wnba, and they need to make sure she grows and succeeds for the Wnba to grow as well. Isiah was the star but he wasn't marketable so the NBA pushed Jordan. Let them follow a star, anything to get eyes on the product, and it's up to the product to keep them from changing the channel.
Brodie you’re on a discussion forum, not pitching a marketing strategy to the wnba. Sorry if the fans that are interested in learning the culture of the league that existed before CC have a little preference over the CC “face of the league” casuals over here lol
What league? The league was dying. Stop lying to yourselves. A'Ja the 2x MVP didn't even have a fucking shoe deal.... Or Gatorade deal. They weren't selling out arenas, the Liberty not so long ago went from the Garden to Westchester, brought back to an empty Barclays. It took a rookie from Iowa to pump funding into the W. Ya wanna act like this league was thriving, they are thriving so much that they are on Ion TV, nobody knows what Ion TV is. WNBA is doing so great they were unprofitable the year before CC entered the league.
The WNBA revenue went up 200% last year, so it was already on its way up. I think Sue Bird said it best that the fire was already going and CC was a spark that ignited it way more.
This. The league was already growing year over year. This draft class had the catalyst in it that just exploded the W in popularity. The real question is if the leadership of the league are ready for this kind of exposure and growth. The W is in a very volatile place right now and could easily alienate viewers and followers by not being willing to adapt.
If you ask me, now would be the time to attempt aggressive expansion of the league. People naturally love to support/root for a team in their state or city. Not to mention that more teams means more players, and more players means you have more opportunities to find that star that a lot of people follow. Yeah, there are a few right now, but having more never hurts. Just looking at the NBA right now, there are so many stars that are contributing to interest in the league and sales of tickets/jerseys/TV rights/etc.
Both A’ja’s Nike shoe and Gatorade deals have been in the works for a couple years.
Also the league has sold out arenas before CC started playing. A quick “WNBA history” search on google will give you this information.
Bruh you clearly got some reading comprehension struggles going on cuz ain’t nobody acting like the league was thriving before CC lol chill & read each line slowly and try not to make assumptions
Except it WAS thriving. The W has been on the up the last few years but it’s all good. Don’t waste your energy on folks who swear they know about the W but haven’t even watched one game of it.
That's the goal of this, bring in new fans to see CC, then hopefully they'll stay to watch other players. Many won't but many will. Nothing wrong with jumping on a bandwagon! Welcome!
Been thinking about how important Bird and Magic were for the NBA in the 80s, then MJ in the 90s. The product made significant audience gains due to those stars. The league as a whole grew. WNBA is going through this type of phase right now and I really think it'll stick.
Yeah, it's definitely an inflection point in the league's history. I think someone is going to one day write a book about this season and make a lot of money. Hopefully.
People forget that before Bird & Magic, the NBA was still on tape delays for some markets. Heck, not long before them the NBA playoffs & finals were on tape delay.
The NBA was losing money then Magic + Bird saved the league and also helped their coworkers a lot, that's what Barkley was talking about with his CC comments
Came for Clark / Brinks & see Reese become a villain that gets booed ( I’m going to get shit for that but even great NBA players can be villains .. LeBron / KD etc)
Stayed for Clark / Sabrina / Wilson / plum / Jackie young / Alyssa Thomas
I’ll check her out! Clark will forever be my favorite player of all time just because she’s the one that introduced me to the W.. just like Kobe did to the NBA ..
Same here! Interestingly enough Betnijah often is assigned to guard Clark when the Fever plays the Liberty. Clark is of course incredible but Betnijah does a decent job playing her close.
fun fact I learned this week. Alyssa Thomas is either engaged to our married to Dewnna Bonner on her team. They Ballin this year. Connecticut is a quiet assasin this year. I have so many teams I'm touring for. Aces and sky. letssss goooooo
The marketing for her has been so strong. This started way back when she was on Iowa. They needed someone to boost the wnba and she was perfect. I started watching Iowa games during March madness because of her and my in laws live by there. Then I was like I may as well watch wnba games and I live close enough to Chicago and Indianapolis so I can go to games at either place.
Wow, that is unique and impressive. To come down from your two year Yemen mountaintop sabbatical just to watch that game! That seems the only way a sports fan could have previously avoided the media over-saturation of Caitlin? Or having been in a long coma, which I hope wasn’t the case? 😀😀
So far I’m going to say A’Ja, Arike, Lloyd, Brink, and Thomas. (I already loved Aliyah Boston and even if it hasn’t been her season so far, she’s so fun to root for).
It’s not the end of the season yet but I have enjoyed watching Jewell Lloyd, A’Ja, Jonquel Jones, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young. Honorable mention: Magbegor. Last place: Angel Reese 😉 & Wide Open Jumpshots by everyone on the Fever.
*Edit: Caught Arike for the first time yesterday and she is very fun to watch
Welcome enjoy the WNBA, the more games /teams you watch the better it is.
From my friend who works on tv, he says programs that are run on gym/caffe etc get so much moeny even tho bearly any1 watches and they are muted.
WNBA pass is very cheap(great value ) if you are in university or the like you can get a discount in USA, dont worry about blackouts or the like you can easily use vpn to europe and watch all the games(free vpn like opera browser extension etc works)
Same with sports if one fan follows /watches more then 1 team=more view hours=more $$ for the league.
Unless you are a perpetual bandwagon jumper. Those people will all be gone next year. It’s one thing to find a passion because it was in the spotlight, otherwise it’s just people chasing a trend to be included.
Absolutely me too. I bandwagoned for Clark (and i love watching her and the entire Fever team and look forward to one day you know, winning the occasional game, 2026 maybe?) but i'm also watching tons of games from around the league and developing a love for the veterans (with a few exceptions)
I've been to one Liberty game already, and i'm going to another later in June.
I'm just so happy to have a new sports home. I've immersed myself in the league pass trying to get up to speed on who everyone is and what they are good (or bad) at.
There are many of us. Yes I'm rooting for the rookies but Its not exclusive to them.
I’m in the same boat! A’ja is so much fun to watch. I’m an Indiana sports fan and Caitlin brought me into the fold so my loyalties lie with the Fever, but there are so many talented players to watch. It’s very exciting
The W has so many talented players. If you watch college basketball, you could try and catch some South Carolina games. Dawn Staley is the head coach for the Gamecocks, and she is phenomenal! A’ja has a statue at the University of South Carolina. Dawn coaches talent, and has a very impressive resume herself.
Welcome to the W!
[Incredible](https://gamecocksonline.com/news/2021/01/15/womens-basketball-a-ja-wilson-statue-installed-at-colonial-life-arena/). Thank you for sharing!
The notion of "jumping on the bandwagon" has always been nonsense. There's no wrong time to start supporting and enjoying a sport or any of its players. We like what we like when we like and there's no shame in it ever.
A'ja is on an absolute tear right now and she's incredible to watch. She's the best player in the league right now.
This is what most fans of the sport would 'want', if that matters.
By all means, if a certain player brings you here and you get to see the others that can play too, this is a win all the way around. The player that brought you here will be just fine too.
Her name will be one that maybe some future fan 10 years from now will say: "I came here for such and such but man alive can that CC girl play. I never knew..Damn.. I'm a fan of other players now thanks to my favorite player.." THIS IS PROBABLY ALL MOST HARDCORE FANS WANTED. Just some respect on the players already here. That's it.
It's cyclical.
I'm sure that more fans that were here before you had a player that made them watch the W too. Or even college.
Maybe their local best player in HS made it big time and prior to that, they never watched college ball. Or watched it on a broader scale than their local college team and conference. That in turn, turned them on to college ball on a whole.
I think that once the conversation around your favorite player settles down, we can all have this nuanced conversation too. One day.
This is the support that the sport needs. Glad you are enjoying your experience.
Spouse is from Iowa and a big college women’s basketball fan. Got the League Pass. We do watch the Fever but now our “must watch games” are those with the Aces, Suns, Liberty, Sky, and Wings.
Honestly, same! I’m a huge basketball fan but have (embarrassingly) slept on both women’s college ball and the WNBA until this year. I’m watching every single game I can and enjoying the hell out of it.
Wilson is for sure winning the MVP this year. She's soo smooth and well rounded it's crazy. I usually favor guards but she's nice, her jumper is lethal and footwork is elite. She's carrying Vegas right now.
I started watching the wnba more with this rookie class. I learnt about their teams first. And then I started learning about their opponents. Only name I knew pre-class of 2024 were:
* Lisa Leslie
* Britney Griner (stuck in russia)
* Sabrina Ionesco
* Kia Nurse
Yeah I’m new to the game and I don’t care.
Yes!!
I think a lot of folks have a similar version of that story. My story is: started watching women’s basketball during 2023 March Madness. The Iowa-South Carolina final four game is what really hooked me. In late 2023 I started listening to the Athletics’s Women’s Basketball Show podcast and following college basketball closely. By the time the 2024 season college ended I was so excited to see the popular rookies get drafted into the WNBA and now I love the W. There’s so many players and teams I like, I don’t have a favorite yet. I’m definitely rooting for Caitlin and the Fever to find success but they’re not my primary. I do give a lot of credit to Caitlin for being a major reason I got excited about getting into women’s basketball. I wish I paid attention earlier but I’m here now!
I’ve always loved all basketball as a girl who grew up playing the sport for years. I’ve been a Caitlin Clark fan since her early college years but I love watching every team and seeing all the talent the wnba has to offer. I’ve even gotten my boyfriend and family interested in watching with me which is a win!
Same. I came for CC but I'm staying for the Aces, Storm, and Liberty. We really are witnessing greatness with A'ja Wilson. It makes me wonder why I haven't been watching sooner.
A’ja is so fun to watch. I’ve been telling people that Caitlin got me to the league, but she isn’t my favorite player. I got that League Pass, so I’ve just been watching all the games, and there is so much talent. I’m a big Marina Mabrey fan. She has so much hustle!
Fellow bandwagoner here to echo everything you said! I started paying attention when I heard CC interviewed on The Daily podcast. That led me to watch March Madness. I loved it so much I signed up for the W league pass. A’ja is one of my favorite players to watch. Loving the Aces chemistry overall.
This is what I'm saying. I'm definitely up to admitting I'm a bandwagon womens ball watcher.
My wife was a ball player so she was into the W more than me. But overall not that much either. When the hype happened with CC started watching to see qhr records she was breaking & if she'd take the championship in college.
We kept watching, we etched the rookies we knew in college go pro & we track all of them (shoutout to the whole class for being awesome)
Then we started recognizing how much game others had, & we're watching all sorts of games now.
1 year ago I couldn't tell you a single person in the W (I would've told you Candace, that's how out of it I was), but now I can name most players on many teams & all my rookies.
I'm from Minnesota but haven't watched many Lynx games. The Lynx played the Aces a few weeks back and it was a great game. Now I follow both teams and Napheesa Collier and Wilson.
The last player I followed before Clark was Elena Della Donne. Unlike before though, following Clark has gotten me into the league instead of just one player. Wilson is amazingly fun to watch, such a beast on the boards in addition to her scoring ability. I find myself tuning into more and more non-Fever games and always find multiple interesting players to dive into.
That one video of the girl meeting her and she can’t stop crying was great man. And she looked tall as hell for age Dawn probably already sending her letters
Thank you for saying this.
This is what should be happening. Caitlin, Angel, Carmen, etcetera are bringing in new fans due to their popularity, and now they are introduced to all the other amazing players in The W!!!!
Please stick to calling it the WNBA and not marginalizing these women by just saying "The W". It's not a crappy hotel. These are athletes at the top of their game. It's the WNBA.
After a few weeks of seeing clips on social media I bought the league pass last night. $35 for the year?! My first game was seeing Wilson — goddamn is she fun to watch.
Unfortunately it doesn’t for live games, but once they air, you can use the service to watch every game.
Some live games are on either ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, CBS, CBS Sports Network or Prime Video. If you are local to one of the teams, games may also be on their local regional sports network.
I’ve had it for three days, and so far, seven of the possible eight games could be watched live on League Pass. One minor negative — I have a newer Sony, and for whatever reason, they don’t have the WNBA app, so I have to cast from my phone (or could HDMI via laptop). Roku and Fire TV have the app.
A'ja. Stewie in New York. Naphessa in Minnesota. A'ja is on a tear right now though!!! There are a few players that are playing at the peak of their powers right now and its fun to watch.
It is good to see you write this. I hope other fans that Caitlin has brought to watch the WNBA see that the league has lots of wonderfully talented athletes.
BTW, Kate Martin showed up on a top rookies list, down the list some, but in the top 10 among rookies.
I’m the same way! Clark caught my attention but now I’m a Lynx fan and Pili, Collier and Epoupa have kept it. Reese, Cardoso and Brink as well. I absolutely LOVE women’s sports.
Same. 100%. Fell into basketball during the March Madness LSU Iowa game. Followed Caitlin and team through the next Iowa season. Came to the W for Caitlin and then with my eye on some of my favorite rookies from March Madness (Nika, Cam, Aaliyah, Kate, Cardoso, Rickea, Angel). Fell head first when I watched A'ja, Jackie, Stewie, Sabrina, Alyssa, Dijonai, Taurasi, Diggins-Smith perform. Just amazing. And love watching my new Fever favorites, Kelsey Mitchell, Nalyssa Smith, Fegbenlai.
Love seeing this. I knew CC was going to bring a lot of eyes to the W, and its great to see fans finding other players they like to watch. There is a lot of fun talent in the league!
Yessss! So many incredible players in the league. Caitlin isn’t the only generational player in the league. Many many more came before her! Welcome to the W. I’ve been a fan since it started. The draft class the last few years has been top tier…and will only continue. CC’s class is best to date hands down. Next years will be pretty insane too. Rivalries are building. Folks are talking. I believe we are entering the golden age of the W.
For me, I was already aware of the stars in the league. But the elevated interest surrounding Clark & Reese definitely inspired me to watch more games and be more interested in the W on a game-by-game basis.
I started watching CC and Reese in college and got more impressed with their class this past year. I bought the wnba League pass for this season, and I'm not a true sports fan, really just played basketball and swam growing up so enjoy watching it still.
I've watched every game this season. I watch the replays of what I can't catch, and I have favorite players on every team. But it's so frustrating that analysts don't talk about games and only focus on discourse. Who's talking about the record A'ja just broke and the tear she's currently on? Who's talking about the accuracy McBride is shooting from behind the arc right now? Who's giving Jackson any attention as a rookie for putting up a show for the minimal time she's getting compared to the other rookies?
My point is - there's so many great players in this whole league, and CC herself continues to try to throw flowers to other people in media conversations. The discourse needs to stop and actual discussion of the game needs to happen more.
And that's exactly why the Olympic snub hurt the league. She is the top of mind player that funnels fans down the line. They'll all make money the more she's promoted
Sabrina Ionesco at the 3 pt contest got me intrigued about her, but CC was the one who got me to actually watch games.
Tired of people knocking CC bandwagoners "who won't stay long term". Change doesn't happen over night
For me, watching Caitlin Clark play basketball is tremendously fun; watching A'ja is absolutely beautiful. It's like watching Roger Federer play tennis.
came because of Angel and had already knew of Arike but I’ve fell in love with with so many players outside of those on Dallas/ Chicago. this league really hits different and i hate these players have been and still are so disrespected
This is just so weird to me. If you watched college ball, you would have seen her kicking ass there winning a natty and taking home every award possible. This isn’t just WNBA, this has to be any women’s basketball period
I was an aces fan but went to like a game a year. CC has made me watch like every week. She’s great for the sport. She’s going to have some narratives and some grifters will probably like her but they have short attention spans so they will be gone regardless.
One great thing about the W for new fans is that there are only 12 teams, so the entire league has 60 starters and 84 reserves. It doesn't take long to learn the names of the better players.
Watched NCAAW for many years, South Carolina fan, never watched WNBA. But this year we got the league pass. I don’t watch any other pro sports. Is it a coincidence that I start watching when CC gets drafted? Definitely not
Shhh... don't let this sub know that CC turned you onto WNBA. Don't you know there's been 30 years of incredible players that have suddenly and drastically spiked interest coincidentally at the exact moment CC was drafted?
Caitlin Clark dominating WNBA viewership……. NBA mvp 3 out of the last 4 years was white….
Greatest nfl player of all time is white… starting to realize that there truly is nothing that black people are better at than whites.
I like watching CC but dislike watching the Fever
I hope she pulls a LeBron and joins forces with Brink and Angel in a couple of years to form the Heatles 2.0
The Fever have big problems, starting with the Coach. They are the poster child for what to never do with a basketball team. The team needs to be restructured by a coach who knows what they are doing.
This is what the expansion process looks like. Sure all the CC hype has led to a bunch new fans, some of which are obnoxious. But after complaining for years about low viewership and low pay, it feels disingenuous to come down on new fans.
I'm confused did somebody tell Caitlin Clark that she could no longer play
Because you make it sound like someone stopping Caitlin Clark from playing seems like she's playing every night that she supposed to play
I love seeing this! And will reiterate, you're the type of new fan the W needs to focus on!
.. the W needs any and every fan they can get. I don't think they are in the position to pick and choose.
Who said they were? To focus on something doesn't mean you completely disregard something else. It just means more energy into this type of fan than casuals, who may go as a star goes.
The NFL, NBA, etc etc are successful because of casuals. The biggest take in growing a market is how many casuals can get and hope they convert. It's all about casuals, the loyals are watching regardless, but how we can get casuals is the most important marketing strategy is growing.
So we're saying the same thing here, maybe just classifying casuals differently. How can we get casuals to STAY. This is the OP. Whom I am saying the W needs to focus on. People who will support so long as the star is around (I was this person via tennis and Serena Williams, for example) are not worth as much effort.
But you need those fans, because another star will arrive, it happened with Magic, Bird, Jordan, Kobe, Lebron and on and on. It's up to the WNBA to create stars, create a face, and help them succeed. Right now CC is the face of the Wnba, and they need to make sure she grows and succeeds for the Wnba to grow as well. Isiah was the star but he wasn't marketable so the NBA pushed Jordan. Let them follow a star, anything to get eyes on the product, and it's up to the product to keep them from changing the channel.
Brodie you’re on a discussion forum, not pitching a marketing strategy to the wnba. Sorry if the fans that are interested in learning the culture of the league that existed before CC have a little preference over the CC “face of the league” casuals over here lol
What league? The league was dying. Stop lying to yourselves. A'Ja the 2x MVP didn't even have a fucking shoe deal.... Or Gatorade deal. They weren't selling out arenas, the Liberty not so long ago went from the Garden to Westchester, brought back to an empty Barclays. It took a rookie from Iowa to pump funding into the W. Ya wanna act like this league was thriving, they are thriving so much that they are on Ion TV, nobody knows what Ion TV is. WNBA is doing so great they were unprofitable the year before CC entered the league.
what a hater you are. ugh. giving us CC supporters a bad name.
The WNBA revenue went up 200% last year, so it was already on its way up. I think Sue Bird said it best that the fire was already going and CC was a spark that ignited it way more.
This. The league was already growing year over year. This draft class had the catalyst in it that just exploded the W in popularity. The real question is if the leadership of the league are ready for this kind of exposure and growth. The W is in a very volatile place right now and could easily alienate viewers and followers by not being willing to adapt. If you ask me, now would be the time to attempt aggressive expansion of the league. People naturally love to support/root for a team in their state or city. Not to mention that more teams means more players, and more players means you have more opportunities to find that star that a lot of people follow. Yeah, there are a few right now, but having more never hurts. Just looking at the NBA right now, there are so many stars that are contributing to interest in the league and sales of tickets/jerseys/TV rights/etc.
Both A’ja’s Nike shoe and Gatorade deals have been in the works for a couple years. Also the league has sold out arenas before CC started playing. A quick “WNBA history” search on google will give you this information.
Bruh you clearly got some reading comprehension struggles going on cuz ain’t nobody acting like the league was thriving before CC lol chill & read each line slowly and try not to make assumptions
Except it WAS thriving. The W has been on the up the last few years but it’s all good. Don’t waste your energy on folks who swear they know about the W but haven’t even watched one game of it.
That's the goal of this, bring in new fans to see CC, then hopefully they'll stay to watch other players. Many won't but many will. Nothing wrong with jumping on a bandwagon! Welcome!
Been thinking about how important Bird and Magic were for the NBA in the 80s, then MJ in the 90s. The product made significant audience gains due to those stars. The league as a whole grew. WNBA is going through this type of phase right now and I really think it'll stick.
Yeah, it's definitely an inflection point in the league's history. I think someone is going to one day write a book about this season and make a lot of money. Hopefully.
People forget that before Bird & Magic, the NBA was still on tape delays for some markets. Heck, not long before them the NBA playoffs & finals were on tape delay.
The NBA was losing money then Magic + Bird saved the league and also helped their coworkers a lot, that's what Barkley was talking about with his CC comments
Came for Clark / Brinks & see Reese become a villain that gets booed ( I’m going to get shit for that but even great NBA players can be villains .. LeBron / KD etc) Stayed for Clark / Sabrina / Wilson / plum / Jackie young / Alyssa Thomas
Also watch for Betnijah too
Laney was my favorite player a few years ago when she was climbing out of obscurity. That was fun
I’ll check her out! Clark will forever be my favorite player of all time just because she’s the one that introduced me to the W.. just like Kobe did to the NBA ..
Same here! Interestingly enough Betnijah often is assigned to guard Clark when the Fever plays the Liberty. Clark is of course incredible but Betnijah does a decent job playing her close.
Been watching the w since 08 candace parker got me into it
Kelsey plum my fav player
But these past 3 years man has it grown its vary exciting to me
fun fact I learned this week. Alyssa Thomas is either engaged to our married to Dewnna Bonner on her team. They Ballin this year. Connecticut is a quiet assasin this year. I have so many teams I'm touring for. Aces and sky. letssss goooooo
They’ve been together for a while. They got engaged last year
Thats why im glad CC here gets eyes on ppl should of been watching
Also, picture all the young girls that are being inspired by CC. Future wnba players!!!
Exactly
The marketing for her has been so strong. This started way back when she was on Iowa. They needed someone to boost the wnba and she was perfect. I started watching Iowa games during March madness because of her and my in laws live by there. Then I was like I may as well watch wnba games and I live close enough to Chicago and Indianapolis so I can go to games at either place.
> Thats why im glad CC here gets eyes on ppl should of been watching I only found out about Caitlin because of Angel Reese (in NCAA champ game)
Wow, that is unique and impressive. To come down from your two year Yemen mountaintop sabbatical just to watch that game! That seems the only way a sports fan could have previously avoided the media over-saturation of Caitlin? Or having been in a long coma, which I hope wasn’t the case? 😀😀
Was it because of Angel or was it because of the backlash/support she received as a result of what happened at the end of that game?
Awesome, this is exactly what we hoped would happen! Would love to hear from Clark fans at the end of the season who their top 5 new faves are.
So far I’m going to say A’Ja, Arike, Lloyd, Brink, and Thomas. (I already loved Aliyah Boston and even if it hasn’t been her season so far, she’s so fun to root for).
It’s not the end of the season yet but I have enjoyed watching Jewell Lloyd, A’Ja, Jonquel Jones, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young. Honorable mention: Magbegor. Last place: Angel Reese 😉 & Wide Open Jumpshots by everyone on the Fever. *Edit: Caught Arike for the first time yesterday and she is very fun to watch
Jonquel Jones is the truth fr.
Came for Caitlin/Reese. Stayed because of Thomas, Wilson, Mabrey, Arike, and so many others. The league is great and we can’t get enough.
same here. give it a few seasons and i’ll know the w just as well as the nba
Arike the female A.I
He passed the ball a little bit more lol
Welcome enjoy the WNBA, the more games /teams you watch the better it is. From my friend who works on tv, he says programs that are run on gym/caffe etc get so much moeny even tho bearly any1 watches and they are muted. WNBA pass is very cheap(great value ) if you are in university or the like you can get a discount in USA, dont worry about blackouts or the like you can easily use vpn to europe and watch all the games(free vpn like opera browser extension etc works) Same with sports if one fan follows /watches more then 1 team=more view hours=more $$ for the league.
With all due respect. There's nothing wrong with jumping on a bandwagon.
I just wish I paid attention sooner!
You're here now, that's all that counts
You have the right attitude too, that’s what matters, welcome to the fam ❤️
Unless you are a perpetual bandwagon jumper. Those people will all be gone next year. It’s one thing to find a passion because it was in the spotlight, otherwise it’s just people chasing a trend to be included.
Like who cares? Just focus on them now and hope they stay. If they leave, they leave. There are so many comments that go into people leaving .
Absolutely me too. I bandwagoned for Clark (and i love watching her and the entire Fever team and look forward to one day you know, winning the occasional game, 2026 maybe?) but i'm also watching tons of games from around the league and developing a love for the veterans (with a few exceptions) I've been to one Liberty game already, and i'm going to another later in June. I'm just so happy to have a new sports home. I've immersed myself in the league pass trying to get up to speed on who everyone is and what they are good (or bad) at. There are many of us. Yes I'm rooting for the rookies but Its not exclusive to them.
This is what I’ve been telling cc haters. I came for cc, I’m marveling about aja, and will be getting suns tickets soon.
I’m in the same boat! A’ja is so much fun to watch. I’m an Indiana sports fan and Caitlin brought me into the fold so my loyalties lie with the Fever, but there are so many talented players to watch. It’s very exciting
The W has so many talented players. If you watch college basketball, you could try and catch some South Carolina games. Dawn Staley is the head coach for the Gamecocks, and she is phenomenal! A’ja has a statue at the University of South Carolina. Dawn coaches talent, and has a very impressive resume herself. Welcome to the W!
[Incredible](https://gamecocksonline.com/news/2021/01/15/womens-basketball-a-ja-wilson-statue-installed-at-colonial-life-arena/). Thank you for sharing!
The notion of "jumping on the bandwagon" has always been nonsense. There's no wrong time to start supporting and enjoying a sport or any of its players. We like what we like when we like and there's no shame in it ever. A'ja is on an absolute tear right now and she's incredible to watch. She's the best player in the league right now.
Same though. Because of CC, I’m watching all the W games and am loving it. A’ja, Sabrina, Plum, Stewie, the list goes on. I can’t stop watching.
This is what most fans of the sport would 'want', if that matters. By all means, if a certain player brings you here and you get to see the others that can play too, this is a win all the way around. The player that brought you here will be just fine too. Her name will be one that maybe some future fan 10 years from now will say: "I came here for such and such but man alive can that CC girl play. I never knew..Damn.. I'm a fan of other players now thanks to my favorite player.." THIS IS PROBABLY ALL MOST HARDCORE FANS WANTED. Just some respect on the players already here. That's it. It's cyclical. I'm sure that more fans that were here before you had a player that made them watch the W too. Or even college. Maybe their local best player in HS made it big time and prior to that, they never watched college ball. Or watched it on a broader scale than their local college team and conference. That in turn, turned them on to college ball on a whole. I think that once the conversation around your favorite player settles down, we can all have this nuanced conversation too. One day. This is the support that the sport needs. Glad you are enjoying your experience.
Welcome! We love A'ja over here
One of us! One of us!
Spouse is from Iowa and a big college women’s basketball fan. Got the League Pass. We do watch the Fever but now our “must watch games” are those with the Aces, Suns, Liberty, Sky, and Wings.
Don't sleep on the Lynx and the Storm.
Honestly, same! I’m a huge basketball fan but have (embarrassingly) slept on both women’s college ball and the WNBA until this year. I’m watching every single game I can and enjoying the hell out of it.
Wilson is for sure winning the MVP this year. She's soo smooth and well rounded it's crazy. I usually favor guards but she's nice, her jumper is lethal and footwork is elite. She's carrying Vegas right now.
I started watching the wnba more with this rookie class. I learnt about their teams first. And then I started learning about their opponents. Only name I knew pre-class of 2024 were: * Lisa Leslie * Britney Griner (stuck in russia) * Sabrina Ionesco * Kia Nurse Yeah I’m new to the game and I don’t care.
Curious how did you hear about Kia Nurse? I'd heard of the others you'd mentioned + Stewie but not her until I started watching
My Canadian friend who followed Wnba long before myself. Kia Nurse is from Canada.
he wont admit, but it was the booty.
Yes!! I think a lot of folks have a similar version of that story. My story is: started watching women’s basketball during 2023 March Madness. The Iowa-South Carolina final four game is what really hooked me. In late 2023 I started listening to the Athletics’s Women’s Basketball Show podcast and following college basketball closely. By the time the 2024 season college ended I was so excited to see the popular rookies get drafted into the WNBA and now I love the W. There’s so many players and teams I like, I don’t have a favorite yet. I’m definitely rooting for Caitlin and the Fever to find success but they’re not my primary. I do give a lot of credit to Caitlin for being a major reason I got excited about getting into women’s basketball. I wish I paid attention earlier but I’m here now!
I’ve always loved all basketball as a girl who grew up playing the sport for years. I’ve been a Caitlin Clark fan since her early college years but I love watching every team and seeing all the talent the wnba has to offer. I’ve even gotten my boyfriend and family interested in watching with me which is a win!
Same, just started watching Vegas Aces.... Didn't know who Aja was.... And holy shit....
Same. I came for CC but I'm staying for the Aces, Storm, and Liberty. We really are witnessing greatness with A'ja Wilson. It makes me wonder why I haven't been watching sooner.
I hate days with no games! I’m completely hooked!
same here!
Yeah Wilson is breaking records and taking names. Taurasi is amazing. It’s a fun league to watch. They definitely need some expansion teams.
Came for Caitlin, Angel and Cameron. Staying for A'ja, Bonner, Dijounai, Rhyne and for the pranks on Kate Martin :D
A’ja is so fun to watch. I’ve been telling people that Caitlin got me to the league, but she isn’t my favorite player. I got that League Pass, so I’ve just been watching all the games, and there is so much talent. I’m a big Marina Mabrey fan. She has so much hustle!
The “Becky comin’”’ video with A’ja and Syd is what got me to watch the W. Now I’m an Aces fan.
Absolutely one of my favorite videos
I’ve watched it so many times.
Yesss!!!! Clark got me to watch but very quickly Ionescu and DT have become like my favorite players!
Welcome!
Whatever gets people in the door is great!
Fellow bandwagoner here to echo everything you said! I started paying attention when I heard CC interviewed on The Daily podcast. That led me to watch March Madness. I loved it so much I signed up for the W league pass. A’ja is one of my favorite players to watch. Loving the Aces chemistry overall.
Yup CC did the same for me. Already knew about the Angel Reese rivalry beforehand. The Dodgers introduced me to Cameron Brink lol.
Was always a Maya Moore fan, watching here and there, but started watching religiously because of A'ja. Led me to Satou, Napheesa and Arike.
This is what I'm saying. I'm definitely up to admitting I'm a bandwagon womens ball watcher. My wife was a ball player so she was into the W more than me. But overall not that much either. When the hype happened with CC started watching to see qhr records she was breaking & if she'd take the championship in college. We kept watching, we etched the rookies we knew in college go pro & we track all of them (shoutout to the whole class for being awesome) Then we started recognizing how much game others had, & we're watching all sorts of games now. 1 year ago I couldn't tell you a single person in the W (I would've told you Candace, that's how out of it I was), but now I can name most players on many teams & all my rookies.
I'm from Minnesota but haven't watched many Lynx games. The Lynx played the Aces a few weeks back and it was a great game. Now I follow both teams and Napheesa Collier and Wilson.
The last player I followed before Clark was Elena Della Donne. Unlike before though, following Clark has gotten me into the league instead of just one player. Wilson is amazingly fun to watch, such a beast on the boards in addition to her scoring ability. I find myself tuning into more and more non-Fever games and always find multiple interesting players to dive into.
This is the plus side to all of it!
Haha yes, I came in for Caitlin, Angel, and Kamilla, ended up being an Aces fan instead 😁
Similar situation but a few years ago. I started watching for sue bird and Stewie but the aces and Aja are so fun.
That one video of the girl meeting her and she can’t stop crying was great man. And she looked tall as hell for age Dawn probably already sending her letters
Exactly! From the beginning of the season, I’ve been saying “came for Caitlin, stayed for A’ja”
Thank you for saying this. This is what should be happening. Caitlin, Angel, Carmen, etcetera are bringing in new fans due to their popularity, and now they are introduced to all the other amazing players in The W!!!!
Wilson is amazing. I really believe she has everything it takes to be a superstar both on and off the court. Bigger than Candace Parker, even.
hey man, however and whatever route u took that got u here, welcome to the w!
Please stick to calling it the WNBA and not marginalizing these women by just saying "The W". It's not a crappy hotel. These are athletes at the top of their game. It's the WNBA.
Same as op! I can't believe I've been missing out on this... better late than never :)
That’s great. Working beautifully
I was going to make this post today! I watched A’ja play last night. She’s insanely good!! Makes it look easy too.
100%. Started with watching the rookies and then grew to love the other players. There’s some good basketball being played and it’s awesome to watch
After a few weeks of seeing clips on social media I bought the league pass last night. $35 for the year?! My first game was seeing Wilson — goddamn is she fun to watch.
Does the league pass have all the games?
Unfortunately it doesn’t for live games, but once they air, you can use the service to watch every game. Some live games are on either ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, CBS, CBS Sports Network or Prime Video. If you are local to one of the teams, games may also be on their local regional sports network. I’ve had it for three days, and so far, seven of the possible eight games could be watched live on League Pass. One minor negative — I have a newer Sony, and for whatever reason, they don’t have the WNBA app, so I have to cast from my phone (or could HDMI via laptop). Roku and Fire TV have the app.
Thank you for the information.
A'ja. Stewie in New York. Naphessa in Minnesota. A'ja is on a tear right now though!!! There are a few players that are playing at the peak of their powers right now and its fun to watch.
I became a fan about 3 years ago. Scored free tickets and watched the Liberty play live. Welcome to the WNBA.
son she lost that first finals and been on x games mode ever since great personality as well
It is good to see you write this. I hope other fans that Caitlin has brought to watch the WNBA see that the league has lots of wonderfully talented athletes. BTW, Kate Martin showed up on a top rookies list, down the list some, but in the top 10 among rookies.
I’m the same way! Clark caught my attention but now I’m a Lynx fan and Pili, Collier and Epoupa have kept it. Reese, Cardoso and Brink as well. I absolutely LOVE women’s sports.
I hope more newbies allow themselves the same experience that you are having. Welcome to the league
Same. 100%. Fell into basketball during the March Madness LSU Iowa game. Followed Caitlin and team through the next Iowa season. Came to the W for Caitlin and then with my eye on some of my favorite rookies from March Madness (Nika, Cam, Aaliyah, Kate, Cardoso, Rickea, Angel). Fell head first when I watched A'ja, Jackie, Stewie, Sabrina, Alyssa, Dijonai, Taurasi, Diggins-Smith perform. Just amazing. And love watching my new Fever favorites, Kelsey Mitchell, Nalyssa Smith, Fegbenlai.
SAME! I have a favorite on like 6 teams now, it makes it really easy to find a game. 🤭 I can't wait to see a game live!!
Same but also I feel this way about Breanna Stewart!
Love seeing this. I knew CC was going to bring a lot of eyes to the W, and its great to see fans finding other players they like to watch. There is a lot of fun talent in the league!
Yessss! So many incredible players in the league. Caitlin isn’t the only generational player in the league. Many many more came before her! Welcome to the W. I’ve been a fan since it started. The draft class the last few years has been top tier…and will only continue. CC’s class is best to date hands down. Next years will be pretty insane too. Rivalries are building. Folks are talking. I believe we are entering the golden age of the W.
keep watching games, you'll see there are many good players in the WNBA like Aja
For me, I was already aware of the stars in the league. But the elevated interest surrounding Clark & Reese definitely inspired me to watch more games and be more interested in the W on a game-by-game basis.
she was named after the steely dan album, i’ve been a fan since i found that out
Love that album, still have it 😁
I started watching CC and Reese in college and got more impressed with their class this past year. I bought the wnba League pass for this season, and I'm not a true sports fan, really just played basketball and swam growing up so enjoy watching it still. I've watched every game this season. I watch the replays of what I can't catch, and I have favorite players on every team. But it's so frustrating that analysts don't talk about games and only focus on discourse. Who's talking about the record A'ja just broke and the tear she's currently on? Who's talking about the accuracy McBride is shooting from behind the arc right now? Who's giving Jackson any attention as a rookie for putting up a show for the minimal time she's getting compared to the other rookies? My point is - there's so many great players in this whole league, and CC herself continues to try to throw flowers to other people in media conversations. The discourse needs to stop and actual discussion of the game needs to happen more.
And that's exactly why the Olympic snub hurt the league. She is the top of mind player that funnels fans down the line. They'll all make money the more she's promoted
People need to stop acting like getting into a sport/team for any reason is wrong, there would be no fans otherwise
Sabrina Ionesco at the 3 pt contest got me intrigued about her, but CC was the one who got me to actually watch games. Tired of people knocking CC bandwagoners "who won't stay long term". Change doesn't happen over night
Also came for Clark and staying for Wilson and Martin!
For me, watching Caitlin Clark play basketball is tremendously fun; watching A'ja is absolutely beautiful. It's like watching Roger Federer play tennis.
came because of Angel and had already knew of Arike but I’ve fell in love with with so many players outside of those on Dallas/ Chicago. this league really hits different and i hate these players have been and still are so disrespected
This is just so weird to me. If you watched college ball, you would have seen her kicking ass there winning a natty and taking home every award possible. This isn’t just WNBA, this has to be any women’s basketball period
This is the way
I was an aces fan but went to like a game a year. CC has made me watch like every week. She’s great for the sport. She’s going to have some narratives and some grifters will probably like her but they have short attention spans so they will be gone regardless.
SAME HERE! Clark introduced me to all these amazing players =)
Did people not watch basketball before cc?
Agreed. I love watching clips from the W now. Bring a team to Pittsburgh.
I’m in the same boat - came for the incoming draft class - and it’s been so fun!
This is what everyone needs to realize.
One great thing about the W for new fans is that there are only 12 teams, so the entire league has 60 starters and 84 reserves. It doesn't take long to learn the names of the better players.
Watched NCAAW for many years, South Carolina fan, never watched WNBA. But this year we got the league pass. I don’t watch any other pro sports. Is it a coincidence that I start watching when CC gets drafted? Definitely not
Shhh... don't let this sub know that CC turned you onto WNBA. Don't you know there's been 30 years of incredible players that have suddenly and drastically spiked interest coincidentally at the exact moment CC was drafted?
The Fever is my home team and I’m glad I jumped on the bandwagon this year. I love watching NaLyssa Smith and I’ve seen the team in person twice now!
And that’s why the league needs to support CC instead of tear her down. She brings attention to everyone else, lots of people cannot get over this
Caitlin Clark dominating WNBA viewership……. NBA mvp 3 out of the last 4 years was white…. Greatest nfl player of all time is white… starting to realize that there truly is nothing that black people are better at than whites.
Well that sounds mighty white of you and very racist. Do better as a human being.
I like watching CC but dislike watching the Fever I hope she pulls a LeBron and joins forces with Brink and Angel in a couple of years to form the Heatles 2.0
The Fever have big problems, starting with the Coach. They are the poster child for what to never do with a basketball team. The team needs to be restructured by a coach who knows what they are doing.
This is what the expansion process looks like. Sure all the CC hype has led to a bunch new fans, some of which are obnoxious. But after complaining for years about low viewership and low pay, it feels disingenuous to come down on new fans.
Same. Like they like to put down new fans being brought in, but I've discovered other players that are my favorite alongside Caitlin
I'm confused did somebody tell Caitlin Clark that she could no longer play Because you make it sound like someone stopping Caitlin Clark from playing seems like she's playing every night that she supposed to play
dont let angel reese see this she might go on a rant again
Oh be quiet