Supporting women's sports

It takes a staggering two seconds of looking at my profile, to see that I love sports. Basically any sport, minus soccer, if it's on I'm watching it. Hockey will always be at the top of the mountain, again no surprise there. However something I've noticed throughout the years, which really shouldn't be the case. I'm weirdly in the minority of sports fans, as someone who loves male and female sports. If you don't appreciate the product fine, I get it. But if there's something I absolutely cannot stand, it's all the hate women's sports gets by "sports fans" because it's cool to hate. It's cool to spread negativity. Unfortunately the WNBA gets the absolute brunt of this negativity with WMMA not too far behind. I see so many people's fight prediction cards with "bathroom break" over the WMMA fights on the card. Whatever bud, do you I guess.

Apologies, this article isn't supposed to be negative. I want to spread positivity and encourage others to appreciate all aspects of their respective favorite sports. And even if you aren't a big sports fan, but want to change the culture. I'll help you with some very easy and inexpensive ways to do so. I want to see a positive culture change, and I'm going to do everything within my power and with what little influence I have to help the culture change.

Live attendance: It's not a secret, at many female sporting events especially in the WNBA it's not hard at all to find very affordable seats. My first ever WNBA game, for the commissioner's cup I only paid $13 for my seats. A premier game with two of the best teams. I promise you, if there's a team in your area you can find seats for as low as $5 if you look hard enough. Anyways, the game I attended was an absolute blast. So if you've got a team in the area, some time on your hands, and a few extra dollars in your pocket. Show up, enjoy the show, and enjoy the energy. The energy here in Vegas at the game was absolutely incredible. Every single play good or bad, the audience was incredibly invested. I've been to LA Clippers games, my favorite NBA team. Where it sounded like I was watching a silent movie. The crowds were nowhere to be found. So go watch a game, buy some snacks if you'd like, but in my opinion most importantly of all. Let them hear you from start to finish. Not only will all those in attendance appreciate it, but when people are watching the games from home live or even after the fact with the highlights. The crowd's energy will really help attract new fans.

Merchandise: Another obvious one that does require a little bit of money, but find a team/player you like. And buy their merchandise. I'm not saying go all out for a jersey, but even the small trinkets you find. I've literally owned Vegas Golden Knights pens. In my personal life, I've talked about how even a surprise VGK key chain from my partner would make me immensely happy because it shows they're listening and they understand my interests. I get that a lot of times merchandise options and even availability could at times be difficult to find. But when you find what/who you like, proudly wear it. Of course again the dollars going directly to the cause help. But indirectly wearing a tee shirt, a hat, socks, having a key chain or even a sticker on your car. Again another easy way to share the love and spread the word of these incredible athletes.

Watching games:

So you can't make it in person or you don't have a team within reasonable traveling distance. That's completely understandable. If you still have cable, put on a game. If there aren't any in your area, there are still games that are played nationally. And even if you've cut the cord, many sports are now doing a great job pairing up with various streaming services such as Hulu or Amazon. And even if you don't have the time to truly sit down and watch from start to finish, that's okay. When you have time, or can play it in the background while you do other tasks. Hey, viewership numbers are still viewership numbers. And even then, if you can't watch live. Watch the highlights, it's completely free on Youtube and readily available to be consumed at your convenience.

Social Media:

Without question in my opinion the most powerful tool we have to support. All social media is free (minus premium subscriptions and of course the cost of internet if you want to be like that), so again. Find a sport/athlete you can connect with. Find their respective; Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc etc. And when you have time; drop a follow/like, leave some positive comments, and share whatever you like that's relevant. A lot of franchises and athletes are incredibly active on social media. It literally takes on click to show your support. And for some reason Instagram is a metric a lot of sports use to quantify their fandom. I don't know why, but whatever. I'll use it to help.

So if you aren't already actively supporting, not just when it's convenient or relevant. But claim you want things to change. Ask yourself why aren't you doing these very easy steps to help?

Thank you for your time, I hope you enjoyed what you have read today, feel free to subscribe. I have plenty of different articles on many different topics, if you so choose to check them out. Also if you would be so kind, I would greatly appreciate a heart. Lastly; if you really feel so inclined tips and of course pledges (currently only $2.99 a month) are always appreciated but by no means required.