A general view of the WNBA logo is seen on the court before Game One of the Third Round playoff between the Las Vegas Aces and the Connecticut Sun at Feld Entertainment Center on September 20, 2020 in Palmetto, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images/TNS)
Jim Souhan: Seven things the WNBA can address as it rises in popularity
Stop competing with the NFL
WNBA ratings continue to rise, and they were particularly good before the NFL season began. Then the Minnesota Lynx played their only home playoff game opposite a Vikings-Seahawks game at U.S. Bank Stadium, and the deciding game of the Sky-Mercury finals went up against an NFL Sunday.
Stop it. Even baseball, once America's most popular sport, can't compete with the NFL.
The WNBA should seize the summer, when it would be in competition with only baseball, which, during the regular season, is a regional sport. If the WNBA insists on playing in the fall — a mistake — then at least schedule games other times than Sunday afternoon.
As a general sports columnist, I desperately search for topics during the summer and am overloaded with options in the fall. When the Lynx play during the summer, I love covering a meaningful basketball game instead of just another baseball game.
Keep fighting the good fight
The WNBA punches well above its weight when it comes to social issues and social justice. It is America's most admirable league.
Keep it up. The people alienated by your stances were never going to attend a WNBA game, anyway. There are millions of good people out there who will gravitate toward women's basketball as the league grows in popularity and scope.
And as Maya Moore has demonstrated, there are things in life more important than basketball. Keep using basketball as a means to make the world a better place. It will pay off.
A general view of the WNBA logo is seen on the court before Game One of the Third Round playoff between the Las Vegas Aces and the Connecticut Sun at Feld Entertainment Center on September 20, 2020 in Palmetto, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images/TNS)