Influx in Flux

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No one gets more excited to go to the grocery store than a pack of toddlers. For them it spells sugary cereals, free samples, and automatic coupon dispensers that never seem to go empty. We can always count on the supermarket to have the product we're looking for...it satisfies a need, as well as stimulates the mind. It's business at it's best: supply meets demand.

When one delves into subjects of product appeal and customer satisfaction, it's easy to get mixed up in the terms. But the heart of the product must maintain its integrity. This is where women's sports have drifted off the mark.

Wrapping women's athletics in sex appeal and equal rights can create initial success, but without a legitimate product behind all that, the lambency will fade and cloud.

When you promote the beauty and sexuality of female athletes, you capture the large male demographic, but only for a short while. There is a wealth of explicit content available to men, and a lot of gorgeous women out there doing a lot of interesting things. 'Skin deep' is too true for women's sports; if the viewership is there for the label and not the soup, most of those consumers will get bored once the can is opened.

Promoting women's sports simply out of necessity, or because people "should" appreciate it, is also tenuous. Though women are empowered by the concept of sport for sport's sake, their support for the cause is still unlikely to be maintained if the entertainment value (skill) is absent or lacking. And sadly, the war cry for equality can often sound like a whining squeal to male audiences.

If the product is the novelty of the existence of the sport, then all kinds of women's sports are doing their jobs just by staying in business. But if the product is the competitive aspect of the sport, and the capabilities of the individual athlete, then not only have the majority of women's sporting leagues failed, but so have we.

Our league has continuously watched (and inadvertently promoted) the 55-0 score. Such a score does not promote fan attendance, local sports coverage, or spirited discourse in the sports media. Sure, people like to see the hometown team dominate at the home opener, but if they cut through a schedule like a spear through butter, that beloved hometown team becomes the hated Yankees, and the league becomes a joke.

Tier I and II often square off out of financial need. Some teams struggle to travel to their Tier I counterparts. One such example is Atlanta, whose nearest Tier I competitors are Miami, Houston, and DC (all 8+ hour drives or costly flights away). Though women's football leagues cannot be expected to fund individual teams' travel, league fee discounts and bonuses (such as supplemented advertising) could help encourage teams to play in their Tier, and promote the entertainment value of the league.

Big name teams are encouraged to put up big numbers. The Massey Rating system (which is used in nearly every sports league) determines who makes the playoffs and the match-ups once they get there, and is partially equated by points (stated as the offense's ability to score points). The playoffs are the alpha and omega of women's football--therefore the Massey Ratings game spells out life or death for a program, and more importantly, a dream. Yes, it's true that the Massey Ratings also take into account the schedule strength, but when divisions are heavy with talent, hapless teams will be kicked when down.

Obviously we can't change the formula for the universal Massey Ratings. But we can free ourselves from other blowout bait. Every player in the league loves the bonus system, except when they're being bonus-ed on. Certain weekly award categories reward skill without disparaging competition, like longest field goal, longest kick return, or highest completion rating. Other aren't so innocent. It's hard to imagine a bonus system without a most touchdown category, but it's worth considering. We're moving in the right direction by only rewarding games played within the Tier, and we should stay on that path.

The bulk of the pressure isn't on the league, however. It is on the team owners and front offices, and of course, the players. Teams must find the talent and cultivate it. Players must train at the level a paid professional athlete does. If we don't look like we deserve it, we're never going to get it. That means we need to catch more passes, run faster, and make cleaner tackles. We must train our minds with discipline, as well as our body with diet and exercise. No one ever got worse by being a student of the game, and we should each be walking advertisements for our teams and league (no, you don't need an uncomely facial logo tattoo, just be ready to tell everyone you meet about what you do).

And yes, the powerhouses have a responsibility to hit the brakes every now and then (provided they have no fear of being punished in the postseason for their mercy). There's no excuse for a team out of the playoff hunt, or securely in the postseason driver's seat, to run up the score on a lesser foe. It isn't just bad sportsmanship, it's bad business. We have to put the well-being of the sport ahead of our pride if we ever want to get a paycheck.

We go to the supermarket because we need to eat. And people watch sports to be entertained. We must make women's football a supermarket--somewhere that people can get what they need no matter what aisle (or game) they wander toward. Competition is exciting, (like the Dallas-Sacramento showdown this past July) and improves fanship. It also chums the water for the media, internet buzz world, and the betting community (which is sadly influential). When we gain these sectors, our sport will enjoy a more generous audience, and hopefully, more adequate cash flow.

Kids love the supermarket because of all the possibilities. And everyone knows, the greatest fans on earth are the kids.

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