Of course! I'm always eager to pass along great writing (especially about the WPBL!)
Oooooh Minneapolis would be a great Midwest alt. The Lynx get a lot of love and I'm sure the Bar of Their Own folks would do a great job jumpstarting the local fan community.
While waiting for a Toronto franchise (ahem), it’s hard to say. If the New York team has a Mets/Liberty vibe, maybe them (but def not a Yankees vibe, I’m a Torontonian after all).
I am very interested in branding! I hope they lean towards traditional baseball looks and names. And I’d be fine with as few non-S plurals as possible. Basically, my rule for branding failure is when I ask “Could this be a roller hockey team?” 😄
Toronto would be cool! Or Montreal. Mary talked about the lack of Canadian representation in her post despite some stakeholders (and a good chunk of the player base) hailing from the north.
It will be interesting to see what direction they go with the branding.
I hate to fixate on the looming specter of the AUSL, but I can't help thinking they must be strategizing around them. Chicago is almost certainly a lock for an AUSL team, particularly the Bandits. The AUSL have shown basically zero interest in the Northeast and California is big enough to sustain lots of sports. So I suspect that PWBL is both
- making a bold statement by picking the 4 biggest markets
- avoiding starting off in markets where they have to compete for attention from AUSL
This quote from the Athletic is, I'm sorry to say, copium:
The emergence of the WPBL is coupled with the June debut of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, which had 18 games broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU. In July, MLB announced a strategic investment into AUSL. Grazioli-Venier doesn’t see AUSL as a competitor to the WPBL.
“I’m a huge fan of softball, but it’s two totally different games,” Grazioli-Venier said. ” … I wanted to make sure that silly narrative stopped in its tracks. I truly think there’s a world where softball and baseball coexist.”
---
They shouldn't have to compete...but they will. And AUSL has a big head start.
Thank you for the thoughtful reply as always - that's a really great point. My first thought was "there are people paying to see women hold a bat around here, let's double down!" but now that you mention it I can totally see the WPBL trying to zig where AUSL has zagged.
Hopefully their bold statement pays off. Lots to do in these announced cities, including watching some great already-established women's sports teams.
So awesome to hear of your interaction with Allie. You can tell a lot about a person in how they treat others.
I too am pumped for the draft. I'm working on a pretty fun project right now about the draft with a few friends in the WPBL creator space - stay tuned! 👀
thanks for the shout! hoping new york earns a lovable loser vibe (and my heart.) here's to a chicago or preferably minneapolis team soon.
Of course! I'm always eager to pass along great writing (especially about the WPBL!)
Oooooh Minneapolis would be a great Midwest alt. The Lynx get a lot of love and I'm sure the Bar of Their Own folks would do a great job jumpstarting the local fan community.
While waiting for a Toronto franchise (ahem), it’s hard to say. If the New York team has a Mets/Liberty vibe, maybe them (but def not a Yankees vibe, I’m a Torontonian after all).
I am very interested in branding! I hope they lean towards traditional baseball looks and names. And I’d be fine with as few non-S plurals as possible. Basically, my rule for branding failure is when I ask “Could this be a roller hockey team?” 😄
Toronto would be cool! Or Montreal. Mary talked about the lack of Canadian representation in her post despite some stakeholders (and a good chunk of the player base) hailing from the north.
It will be interesting to see what direction they go with the branding.
I hate to fixate on the looming specter of the AUSL, but I can't help thinking they must be strategizing around them. Chicago is almost certainly a lock for an AUSL team, particularly the Bandits. The AUSL have shown basically zero interest in the Northeast and California is big enough to sustain lots of sports. So I suspect that PWBL is both
- making a bold statement by picking the 4 biggest markets
- avoiding starting off in markets where they have to compete for attention from AUSL
This quote from the Athletic is, I'm sorry to say, copium:
The emergence of the WPBL is coupled with the June debut of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League, which had 18 games broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU. In July, MLB announced a strategic investment into AUSL. Grazioli-Venier doesn’t see AUSL as a competitor to the WPBL.
“I’m a huge fan of softball, but it’s two totally different games,” Grazioli-Venier said. ” … I wanted to make sure that silly narrative stopped in its tracks. I truly think there’s a world where softball and baseball coexist.”
---
They shouldn't have to compete...but they will. And AUSL has a big head start.
Morning Rachel,
Thank you for the thoughtful reply as always - that's a really great point. My first thought was "there are people paying to see women hold a bat around here, let's double down!" but now that you mention it I can totally see the WPBL trying to zig where AUSL has zagged.
Hopefully their bold statement pays off. Lots to do in these announced cities, including watching some great already-established women's sports teams.
Unrivaled also added two teams the second season! Let’s hope the trend continues 🤞
So breeeeezy
Great writing as always.
Pumped you’re following Allie B.
I got to tryout with her that faithful Saturday. She was so kind and supportive of those of us that had no business being there 😅.
I am hopeful we’ll expand to the Midwest (cough cough WI😂)!
I too will be supporting teams depending on where my favorite gals land. This is going to be wild! I can’t wait!
Thanks for reading, Chris (as always 😊)
So awesome to hear of your interaction with Allie. You can tell a lot about a person in how they treat others.
I too am pumped for the draft. I'm working on a pretty fun project right now about the draft with a few friends in the WPBL creator space - stay tuned! 👀
👀👀👀👀👀👀🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽