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WNBA players and organizers were pleasantly surprised when their minimum of 4,500 fans to turn out per game, was exceeded by almost double. This was because the athletes in the WNBA played a new game--one with finesse, lots of passing, and super high shot-point averages. With the likes of Rebecca Lobo, Lisa Leslie, and league MVP Cynthia Cooper, showing us what women can do on the court, we finally have found our role models in women pro sports. But what these women are doing with their pro status is more than cashing in on their new-found fame: These three also contribute to breast cancer research, help spread awareness of the disease, and increase fundraising efforts through a deal with General Motors and a program called Concept: Cure. "Breast cancer is an issue that really hits home," confesses Cooper. Cooper's mother was recently diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. "I am extremely pleased to work with GM and Concept: Cure to do my part in helping bring down a disease which affects so many women, including my MVP--my mother."
With the success of the inaugural season of the WNBA , comes international attention for women athletes in general. Not only can we look forward to more games and teams from the WNBA next summer, but women's soccer is also forming a league of her own: The National Women's Soccer Alliance, which will air games on national television starting in April, 1998. Add to that the hype already created for the debut of women's ice hockey and snowboarding in the Nagano, Japan, Winter Olympic Games, and it's easy to see what the world's been missing for so long: Namely, women in pro sports. For more information about the WNBA, check-out www.wnba.com--K.G.
photo: MVP cynthia cooper/houston comets by glenn james/WNBA |
More than a century of women's basketball stands behind the Women's National Basketball Association, yet it was only realized in April of 1996, how effective women's pro hoops would be. When the NBA approved the WNBA last year, they had conservative estimates about the new pro women's basketball league. Starting with salaries of only $50,000 for top players, along with 8 teams, for a two-month season this summer, it was more than a testing ground for women basketball players--it was a field of dreams for women in all sports.
