With the president giving his State of the Union address this
week, I figured it was the perfect time to go over the state of
sports.
George W. Bush focused his speech mainly on the war on terrorism
and Iraq ““ two definite priorities, although not the main one
to many Americans (anyone else worried if they have a job or not?).
I’ve decided to focus on the state of women’s sports
““ also something that’s definitely a priority although
not as an apparent one in the United States today.
Most sports fans are concerned about LeBron, the BCS, Pete Rose,
the Lakers and A-Rod.
Fans definitely don’t care about the NPF right now.
But they should.
National Pro Fastpitch is a new professional women’s
softball league that will begin play in June.
It will have eight teams across the country and become the first
pro softball league in America since the WPSL folded in 1999.
Why should anyone care?
Well, the future of women’s sports in the United States
might depend on it.
With Title IX in existence, female athletes have equal
opportunities as men in high school and collegiate athletics.
However, there are limited options for women in pro sports.
The Women’s United Soccer Association folded in September
2003, and the WNBA has struggled greatly, kept alive primarily due
to the generosity of NBA owners, who also own their local WNBA
teams.
So how can women’s leagues survive?
Start out small, and grow slowly, like how the Arena Football
League and Major League Soccer are doing.
The NPF is trying to learn from the mistakes of past
leagues.
“We have a very strong ownership base,” Glenn Wolff,
general manager of the Sacramento Sunbirds said.
The WPSL had only one owner, while the NPF has eight.
The NPF’s eight teams are, for the most part, not in major
markets where they will be dwarfed by other professional teams.
Akron, Ohio; Tucson, Ariz.; Lowell, Mass.; San Antonio, Texas;
and Sacramento are good choices for a startup league. Teams in New
York and Denver don’t make as much sense.
The league still has a long way to go.
First of all, it needs to find a way to spread the word of its
existence.
Secondly, I know it’s an Olympic year, but the NPF needs
to find a way to incorporate the USA national team players into the
league (if nothing else, make them a separate team in the league to
warm up for the Olympics or something).
During what might have been the least publicized non-fantasy
draft ever, the Arizona Heat drafted UCLA’s World Series hero
Keira Goerl in the first round of the NPF college draft, probably
the biggest non-Olympian name out there.
“I was really surprised she wasn’t taken before the
fifth pick,” Matt Tiggas, Arizona Director of Player
Personnel said.
Three other Bruins from that 2003 NCAA Championship team were
drafted: Stephanie Ramos and Amanda Simpson by Sacramento, and
Claire Sua by Arizona.
Ramos and Simpson are part of a very good unwritten rule by the
NPF teams ““ draft local talent.
One way to get local fans to show up to games is to get players
with whom they are familiar. Every team in the league has tried to
sign players with hometown ties, and Ramos and Simpson were both
great high school and club team players in the area. The Sunbirds
drafted Simpson even though she has only started two games at
UCLA.
“Those are two very talented individuals,” Wolff
said. “They’ve grown up locally and have become
superstars. We will enjoy having them.”
With a lot of work and a little bit of luck, the league can
succeed, which would benefit young softball players everywhere.
Daniel Miller would appreciate a shameless plug for his
band, Paramount, here. E-mail Quiñonez at
gquinonez@media.ucla.edu.