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Would any of you have an interest in a pro softball league for women started by MLB?
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:27 am
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:27 am
The NBA does this with the WNBA and has for years. Just seems like MLB would take a page from the NBA and do the same. They could pretty much start a competitive league just from the SEC alone almost. I know there is a pro softball league but it has like 4 teams in it. A league started and supported by MLB would probably do very well considering how popular the sport has become over the past 10-15 years.
It seems like every sports league these days is in a rush to be woke anyway. This would be one way everyone could get behind and support with no controversy.
It seems like every sports league these days is in a rush to be woke anyway. This would be one way everyone could get behind and support with no controversy.
21
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:30 am to RollingwiththeTide
Maybe if they were all hot and wore something attractive. Otherwise frick no
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:30 am to RollingwiththeTide
If the women aren’t hitting each other, I’m not watching.
Jennie Finch in roller blades and shoulder pads?
Now THAT is entertainment.
Jennie Finch in roller blades and shoulder pads?
Now THAT is entertainment.
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:31 am to RollingwiththeTide
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:32 am to RollingwiththeTide
No - and it would lose all the money just like the WNBA does if they did.
There is a market for women's college sports, especially ones that are built for women specifically like softball, but those are built around the idea that people enjoy watching a team represent their school and that those teams are good.
Softball has the 2 things that they could do for post-college players and does them as well as they can : The Athletes Unlimited short season league, which is scarcely watched in general but is heavily watched by young girls and high school girls who love softball............and the Olympic team, which they market well and have play all the time all over the place. Those 2 things market the girls/women themselves that people still remember from WCWS and great teams specifically. Nobody is going to care about a "team".
There is a market for women's college sports, especially ones that are built for women specifically like softball, but those are built around the idea that people enjoy watching a team represent their school and that those teams are good.
Softball has the 2 things that they could do for post-college players and does them as well as they can : The Athletes Unlimited short season league, which is scarcely watched in general but is heavily watched by young girls and high school girls who love softball............and the Olympic team, which they market well and have play all the time all over the place. Those 2 things market the girls/women themselves that people still remember from WCWS and great teams specifically. Nobody is going to care about a "team".
This post was edited on 6/5/23 at 10:33 am
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:33 am to RollingwiththeTide
I watch college softball.
But that is more because I love UGA.
I watch a little of the Olympics (USA).
I don't think I'd have the same affinity to professional athletes for a game where I flip channels, happen to find a softball game and stop flipping for 90 minutes.
But that is more because I love UGA.
I watch a little of the Olympics (USA).
I don't think I'd have the same affinity to professional athletes for a game where I flip channels, happen to find a softball game and stop flipping for 90 minutes.
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:34 am to meansonny
quote:
But that is more because I love UGA.
I watch a little of the Olympics (USA).
I don't think I'd have the same affinity to professional athletes for a game where I flip channels, happen to find a softball game and stop flipping for 90 minutes.
Exactly
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:35 am to RollingwiththeTide
quote:When the NBA started this, it seemed the idea was that you could benefit from shared facilities (same arena, maybe same training facilities). That's not really the case for softball, so I don't see any reason why MLB would necessarily need to be in on such a league. I guess if they go to a model where they own their rights, rather than selling it to 3rd parties, it might make some sense in order to have more content, but, that's about the only tangible economic benefit I would see for MLB.
The NBA does this with the WNBA and has for years. Just seems like MLB would take a page from the NBA and do the same. They could pretty much start a competitive league just from the SEC alone almost. I know there is a pro softball league but it has like 4 teams in it. A league started and supported by MLB would probably do very well considering how popular the sport has become over the past 10-15 years.
It seems like every sports league these days is in a rush to be woke anyway. This would be one way everyone could get behind and support with no controversy.
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:37 am to SummerOfGeorge
You said it better.
Mine was more the Bob Uecker response.
Mine was more the Bob Uecker response.
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:38 am to meansonny
quote:
Mine was more the Bob Uecker response.
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:41 am to SummerOfGeorge
Like I have said many times on here I am not a big baseball fan. It’s just to slow and bores me to death. I like softball a whole lot better. It’s much faster paced and 2 innings shorter. I would love to watch a pro softball league just because I love sports and competition. I have a feeling that if it was done a lot of people out there that would watch softball even though they really do not like baseball. I know this isn’t saying much but a pro softball league for women started and supported by MLB would be a much bigger success than the WNBA for sure.
This post was edited on 6/5/23 at 10:51 am
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:41 am to RollingwiththeTide
There is one. And it's supported by MLB financially but not at the level WNBA is.
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:43 am to meansonny
Lol that’s a blast from the past. I have not heard Bob Uecker in years.
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:44 am to RollingwiththeTide
I don't even watch MLB. So the chance of me showing even the slightest interest in the softball equivalent of something I could care less about is probably a negative number, if that's possible.
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:44 am to anc
quote:
There is one. And it's supported by MLB financially but not at the level WNBA is.
It folded after COVID. They're starting another league and putting teams in college softball hot spots (Oklahoma City, Oxford/Anniston, AL, Austin, Space Coast FL). Probably the best idea for something like that - put it in smaller places and hope that it becomes a local community pride point.
This post was edited on 6/5/23 at 10:46 am
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:46 am to marshallcotiger
Maybe if they dressed like the women's lingerie football league.
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:48 am to ouflak
This would probably be the one team sport I can think of where I would rather watch the women play than men. Well Baseball is different from softball but you catch my drift.
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:48 am to RollingwiththeTide
quote:
league started and supported by MLB would probably do very well considering how popular the sport has become over the past 10-15 years.
No it wouldn't. Women's pro sports are just not that interesting compared to men's.
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:49 am to RollingwiththeTide
I’m gonna say that no, none of us would.
Posted on 6/5/23 at 10:49 am to RollingwiththeTide
Are they naked? Maybe.
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