With the attention given to Seattle in the days after their Superbowl Championship, a major issue as old as time itself has taken center stage. With the emphasis on this major accomplishment, the city's "first major title since 1979", has come under fire. According to sportsillustrated.com, Team President and CEO Karen Bryant spoke out on her twitter saying, "What's up w/reports re "no champ in Seattle since '79"? 2004 AND 2010! ". This of course brings out a major question, Is the way our media portrays men's sports as better than women's true? or is it just a sexist bias fed to the american public by big media?
One point of view of this argument is the sheer excitement of the sports. It is basic human knowledge that men are, on average, stronger, faster, and all around better athletes. This is not taking away from the female athlete's performance, but just stating a fact. This unequal athletic ability attracts more attention to the flashy, fast, high scoring Men's league. For the same reason we do not let Men and Women play together professionally, Men's sports attracts more attention.
Another reason for more attention to male's sports is how long the league has been around. The NBA has been around since June 6th, 1946, as compared to the WNBA's start in April 24th, 1996. This has allowed the Men's league to establish a fan base and dominate the market for 50 years. Along with the difficulty to start a league women also had to deal with their social inequality. Fighting for the right to play while also fighting for a league to play in has greatly affected the push for Women's basketball.
On the women's side of the argument, they play the same sport, train just as hard, and are treated as lesser. They are payed less, marketed less, televised less, and above all respected less. No matter how much a female athlete prospers, she will always be bogged down due to the fact that she is not male. A perfect example of this is Brittany Griner, a 6ft 8in center out of Baylor. She was the first NCAA basketball player ever to score 2,000 points and block 500 shots. She clearly could contend with male players, but wasn't allowed in the NBA, and was forced to play in the WNBA for less money. Even though she has the talent to play and excel in the NBA she has to play in the lower WNBA below her pay grade and ability.
With all this being said, is it true that men's sports are better? It depends who's asked. Some might say it's the same, with females having the same intensity and competitiveness. Others might argue that the flashy, high paced men's game is superior, in strategy and entertainment value. Although there is no way to actually tell, the ratings and ticket sales will speak for themselves.
