Eight-Team WNBA Opens This Week

They’re strong, fast, sweaty and yes, some of them can dunk. These are the women of the WNBA, the new pro basketball league that promises an aggressive, finesse-filled game much better than anyone expects.

The league enters a crowded sports market where male athletes rule and another new women’s basketball venture, the American Basketball League, is fighting for fans.

So, while the WNBA claims “We got next!” how long can it hold the court?

“We have no idea what to expect this first year,” says Olympic gold medalist Rebecca Lobo, a 6-4 center/forward with the New York Liberty. “But the reason we joined this league is because we believe we’re part of something that’s going to get much better.

“We’re laying a foundation and we expect to be celebrating our 50th anniversary just like the NBA did this year.”

Of course, that’s also the hope of the NBA, which owns and operates the league. To try to make that happen, the WNBA’s big brother has organized marketing, corporate sponsorship and national TV coverage that is unprecedented for a new league and all carefully planned to raise awareness of women’s basketball.

With sponsors like GM and Nike and three nationally televised games a week--starting with the first game June 21--the eight-team WNBA is off to a flying start.

“This is a historic moment. The start of the WNBA marks a new era in the evolution of women’s sports and professional sports in this country,” WNBA president Val Ackerman said.

“Our interests are very much long term. We recognize that it is going to take time to develop a stable fan base and we’re focusing on the future of the league. We believe that you cannot underestimate the importance of prime-time TV coverage. The exposure will set us apart.”

Although it is too early to tell if the WNBA and ABL can make it, interest is exceptionally high, said Richard Luker, executive director of the ESPN Chilton Sports Poll.

“Right now, women’s basketball has drawn a 50-to-60% interest rating. That’s mammoth, it’s huge, but it has not articulated itself. I would count on 30% of those people (becoming real fans). Many of the others are drawn by curiosity,” he said.

Of the poll’s 12 major interest sports, the NBA garners 60% of the population rating and men’s NCAA basketball has 55-60%, Luker said.

“I think (the WNBA) is going to work and work well,” he said. “If I was spending sports marketing bucks it would be in women’s professional basketball.”

The year-old ABL, operating with much less TV exposure and corporate sponsorship but with many good players, believes the market is big enough for two women’s leagues, especially since it plays in the fall, while the WNBA plays in the summer.

“It’s a competitive situation. We’re the underdog. But ultimately, this is great for women’s basketball,” ABL’s co-founder Gary Cavelli said. “Two years ago, great college players had two choices: drop their sport or play overseas. Now, exposure to women’s basketball is at an all-time high in this country.”

The WNBA hopes it will continue to grow.

Although the league estimates an average attendance of just 4,000, the TV audience will be much bigger. The three WNBA games a week will be broadcast on ESPN, NBC or Lifetime. (NBC will show the inaugural game between the Los Angeles Sparks and the visiting Liberty).

The 28-game regular season runs through August, with the winners of the Eastern and Western conferences and the two teams with the next best records advancing to single-elimination playoff games.

The league features Olympians and top college players, like Lisa Leslie of the Sparks and the Houston Comets’ Sheryl Swoopes, who’s expecting her first child this month and may not play this season.

Foreign professionals also have signed up, including Elena Baranova of Russia, a 6-5 center/forward with the Utah Starzz, and Catarina Pollini, a 6-5 forward with the Comets who also plays in the Italian league.

Among the WNBA’s 80 players, 15 are from 14 countries outside the United States, 22 are former Olympians and 12 have won Olympic gold medals. The ABL, on the other hand, limits each team to two foreign-born players.

“The WNBA has the best players from around the world,” Ackerman said. “These women have been playing in obscurity overseas. People’s heads will turn when they see the skill of these women.”

Indeed. The WNBA game will be played at a level that will shock fans, with an up-tempo, physical style like the NBA, players and coaches say.

“When I look at the ABL, it’s much more of a guard-based game, with so many of the good young college guards,” said Mary Murphy, coach of the WNBA’s Sacramento Monarchs.

“The WNBA will be much more of a post-game, and we have a great inside-out game. Overseas leagues look for post players, 6-foot-2, 6-3 and up. We have those players.”

Pollini warns against comparing the women’s game with the men’s.

“Basketball is basketball. Physically, the difference between men and women is big. But technically, what we can do with the ball can be very good,” Pollini said.

“Of course, we can’t dunk every time. But basketball isn’t only dunking or alley-oops. Just go out and see what we can do,” she said. “When you go see a team score after five players touch the ball, that’s great basketball, too.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Teams, Some Marquee Players in New WNBA

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Los Angeles Sparks--Lisa Leslie, 1996 Olympic gold medalist.

Phoenix Mercury--Nancy Lieberman-Cline, 1976 Olympic silver medalist; 1979, 1980 AIAW champion, Old Dominion.

Sacramento Monarchs--Ruthie Bolton-Holifield, 1996 Olympic gold medalist.

Utah Starzz--Dena Head, 1991 NCAA champion, Tennessee.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Charlotte Sting--Vicky Bullett, 1988 Olympic gold medalist.

Cleveland Rockers--Lynette Woodard, 1984 Olympic gold medalist.

Houston Comets--Sheryl Swoopes, 1996 Olympic gold medalist; 1993 NCAA champion, Texas Tech (on maternity leave).

New York Liberty--Rebecca Lobo, 1996 Olympic gold medalist; 1995 NCAA champion, Connecticut.