I would never call myself an “athlete” and I am not athletically gifted.
I’m too short, bow-legged, and clumsy. I’m not that into the Olympics, and I missed basketball games during my college years at the University of North Carolina because I was working instead. I heard they have a good team.
But recently my attitude towards sport has changed. Like most good things in my life, I have women to thank for that.
I’m one of those casual fans who got swept up in the enthusiasm for women’s basketball, fueled in part by Caitlin Clark’s rise to household name status. I’m also from the South, and I felt compelled to cheer on the University of South Carolina Lady Gamecocks when my friends and I squeezed into a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn this month to watch them win the women’s basketball national championship.
I couldn’t tell you the most interesting plays of the game, but I could tell you what I felt when South Carolina coach Dawn Staley broke down on camera, surrounded by the team that helped her to her third national title as a head coach after an undefeated season. It was the feeling I’d been waiting for, the feeling that keeps the sport in our collective consciousness and keeps fans coming back year after year.
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That feeling — I think it’s called being a fan — continued throughout the month as I watched Clark and Staley’s respective moments. I saw Clark attack Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update” host Michael Che for his misogynistic jokes at the expense of female athletes, while taking the time to praise other basketball players who paved the way — including the Gamecocks coach. I heard Staley praise Clark, now a player for the Indiana Fever, for taking the game to a higher level and increasing viewership.
It is actions like these that make this moment so special for me.
There’s a reason why tickets to the women’s Final Four games cost more than the men’s. There’s a reason why viewership for the women’s basketball championship exceeded that of the men: 18.9 million viewers versus 14.8 million.
There’s a reason you can’t go online without seeing Clark’s face or hearing mentions of the WNBA Draft, whose 2023 season also saw a surge in viewership.
The reason lies with Clark, but it does not change the fact that the entire sport should have received more recognition years ago.
The fact that women’s sports have been treated as secondary to men’s teams for so long is the result of generations of misogyny. It shouldn’t take one uncomfortable comment from a sportswriter or a player speaking out about their working conditions for the rest of us to realize that women still don’t get the respect they deserve.
This lack of support impacts game attendance, which in turn affects players’ working conditions.
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For this reason, the United States women’s national soccer team had to go to court to obtain salaries comparable to those of their male counterparts, despite having won four World Cups and four Olympic gold medals.
That’s why WNBA players have spoken out about the conditions under which they travel and play, and why Clark, arguably the most talked-about basketball player of the past two years, makes a fraction of what men’s first-round picks make in their first contract.
It is not fair that women are not paid the same as men in their field, and it should not matter that this happens outside of what we consider a “typical” job.
Before the hype dies down, we could potentially see another surge in popularity.
Every few seasons, it feels like we’ve made progress in promoting the perfectly harmless idea that women’s sports deserve the same enthusiasm – and fair pay – as men’s, only to then move on to other sports when the season is over. We saw this before at the 2019 Women’s World Cup.
I hope that we all continue to care about these athletes
Women’s sport doesn’t have to be a niche community – I’m happy to be here and I want to get other people on board.
These games can be for everyone, they just need the support of the sports media landscape and advertisers.
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We’ve already seen how this can create household names. We only have to look at athletes like Simone Biles, Serena Williams and Megan Rapinoe. They’re all well-known because they’re both phenomenal players and have become a staple on our screens thanks to advertising.
I hope to keep the momentum going by attending some New York Liberty games this coming season. I hope you’ll also look into getting tickets for your local WNBA team. We should all walk the talk and continue to fuel the excitement for women’s sports.
Everyone deserves to watch a team they care about, with people they care about. I’ve come to realize that it’s good for the soul, regardless of the gender wearing the jerseys.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Caitlin Clark and the WNBA are having a moment. I love it
