You make some good points here. Girls basketball has been on the decline over the last 10 years. In Florida, participation has dropped to the point that high school girls can now play 6 quarters a night just so schools on the cusp can field JV and varsity teams. I’m seeing schools in Brevard that 10 years ago had 12 player rosters for both JV and Varsity now barely able to field a varsity team. Love her or hate her, Clark has more influence on young girls than a player old enough to be her mom.
Okay. And she didn't have to be on the team to make that happen. Be honest: if you tuned into a women's basketball Olympic game and she played 2 minutes, would you turn on the next game to see her play 2 minutes?
thanks. I had no idea it was down so. but here it is ... Report: High school girls basketball participation down 19% since 2002 - Just Women's Sports
Be honest. Now…hardly anyone will care about Women’s basketball at the Olympics. But if Clark was on the team there would actually be more people caring (significantly) and interested to hear about the team. I would not tune in either way. But it is clear she would bring more eyes to the game if she was on the team. Any honest person can see and understand that.
That's true of any sport where the Olympics is not the highest level of competition. For most team sports, it isn't.
Ok. I think even if she would have gone, no USA basketball game would have gotten close to the TV ratings of LSU v. Iowa. People want to see good teams play, not the USA beat Zimbabwe 150-40.
I agree it would not get close to the lsu/Iowa. There may never be a game again that gets that rating. But there is no doubt they are missing a unique opportunity by making the decision they did…
I think this is just an easy thing to say, and you don't even have to explain what tangible results would occur if they had taken the opportunity.
When we lived in Belgium, we had friends whose son was signed at 14 or 15 by a major league soccer team, just so they could guide his development on lower level teams.
Pay for play is a big problem with nearly all our sports right now. I think football is basically the only sport where you dont necessarily need to play tons of competitive games outside high school to get recruited or scouted.
That’s fair. I do think she could adapt to an off the bench shooting role but like you said there are other women with better three point percentages. And I also read somewhere that Clark’s defensive rating is near the bottom of the WNBA. No doubting the popularity Clark has brought to both college basketball and the WNBA. You hear all about the increased attendance but the reality is that there are several WNBA teams that still struggle to draw even 5000-6000 fans a night but sell out when Caitlyn Clark comes to town. But the Olympics are all about winning the gold and again, USA Basketball is obligated to sending the best team to Paris that can achieve that goal. Right now, there seem to be better options than Caitlyn Clark.
You really think that there is somebody out there that just desperately wants to see Clark sit on a bench for 95% of a game?
Can you imagine his posts if it was his daughter who lost their spot for a bench player who wasn't ready for the big time?
It is reality. It is not that it is an easy thing to say. It is reality. Look at the attendance numbers. They speak volumes! Fever Top Last Year’s Total Attendance in Five Games Shoot the Washington Mystics just set a record with over 20K when Lark showed up. Before that they weee rocking just over 5K…
Nope. But I do think the media would be talking a lot more about the team and game of women’s basketball if she was on the team.
Yes, they did this before the Olympics and will do it after. Which is why I'm skeptical that it was such a "missed opportunity." The Olympics arent going to build bigger arenas, get players raises or make better league TV deals.
That is a fair view. But the reality is this sport needs to take as much advantage as it can while the opportunity is red hot. History shows it will be tough to grow in the long run. There is no better time to take advantage of it than now. While nothing may really be lost. There is a real opportunity to gain on something now. Bad move if you ask me.
Right now women's sports is an investor's dream: - Low costs of entry & operation - Low player pay & weak player unions - Increased interest and marketable players Profitability is sort of meaningless in sports, as long as people seem convinced there will be growth or value of franchises increases, you can probably sell your team for a profit or attract new investors. This is basically how all businesses work now lol. Profitability is beside the point, you just have to convince people you will one day be profitable and attract share holders and investors for that next round of capital injection. Now, the only case for the Olympics to me is you keep the mythical hype bubble going. I dont think that leads to real sustainability, but I suppose it works in an attention economy where its all vibes based. People can just be like "hey, the Olympics right?" and hope some investor buys a stake in the operation. Its nothing tangible, but maybe a bored rich person will give you money or a sponsorship deal.
