Monday, July 27, 2009
Dumbest WNBA Article of the Year: Nominations Now Open
Mike Wise at the Washington Post tries to create a controversy where none has existed.
A question to WNBA fans out there: does anyone really miss the KissCam? Did anyone even want the KissCam? Seriously? Hell, I never even noticed its absense! A quote:
A rite of spring in the NBA -- where couples of mixed creeds, ethnicities and ages are suckered by peer pressure into puckering -- is somehow taboo in the WNBA.
"Rite of spring"? You gotta be kidding me. It's a frigging promotion used to kill time, nothing more. This isn't a hate article, but it has to be the dumbest article ever written about the WNBA that I've read about in my two years of following the league. I mean, you actually have to click on the link for not just its stupidity, but its offensiveness as well. This article manages to offend both straights and lesbians, which is a rare two-fer.
Come to think of it, I would like to thank Ron Terwilliger, Bill Bolen, and the rest of the Atlanta Dream organization for not using a ball cannon like the Liberty uses. Following Mr. Wise's logic, I'm sure that the reason we don't use it is to avoid offending any sufferers of testicular cancer.
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4 comments:
Never liked the KissCam, regardless of who's doing the kissing. PDA's are not my cup of tea.
Just read the article and while I think it's a non-issue - I think KissCam is silly whether it shows up at a NBA or WNBA game - I don't feel as strongly about you that it is the dumbest article, even of the year...
His framing was off because you're right that it's probably not a big deal to WNBA fans and he failed to establish that it is...
However, I think he has presented a number of different perspectives on the issue that perhaps get at some of the questions of how the WNBA markets itself and manage their image that both of us are probably interested in.
Unless the quotes were taken way out of context, the reasoning people articulated about taking away the KissCam could be considered problematic...and reflects something that the WNBA seems to be struggling with differently that other sports leagues.
Obviously he's taken an issue that I would consider insignificant and probably blown it out of proportion, perhaps asking leading questions of those he interviewed to make it seem more urgent than it really is...and maybe he didn't frame it in a way that I find particularly compelling... but there has been far worse written about the WNBA in public spaces...and certain ESPN Celtics fan boys haven't really even gotten started yet this season...
FYI-- Jayda Evans of the Seattle Times has also responded to the issue...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/womenshoopsblog/2009546129_monday_morning_dribble_obama_k.html?syndication=rss
Q, it was the "rite of spring" that definitely set me off. Such flowery language over a cheap promotional gimmick, as if Naismith was rolling over in his grave because people couldn't kiss on the Jumbotron.
It was also the argument presented. "Why is there no KissCam? Because those nasty lesbians would kiss on it, and those bigoted heterosexuals would raise a fit."
I will agree, however, that it might not be the dumbest article of the year. "Speak of the Devil, and it appears." Schlussel posted her signed confession of ignorance today, and Simmons still has a good five months to get his bash in before 2010 arrives. You can never ignore two strong candidates in the running.
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