Lynx Bandwagon Anyone?

How about them Lynx? You know, the professional women’s basketball team out of Minnesota. They’re in the WNBA finals. That’s right, a Minnesota team made the finals.

As of the deadline for this paper (Friday for me), the Lynx are tied 1-1 with the Indiana Fever. The two teams will battle again Friday and Sunday in the best of five series.

By the team you read this, our Minnesota Lynx could possibly be WNBA champions. Or the Fever could be too, I guess. But, that is unlikely to happen. Why? Because the Lynx are simply dominant in the WNBA.

The Lynx ran the table during the regular season, going 27-7. They pushed through opponents with ease to reach the finals. Players Seimone Augustus, Maya Moore and Minnesota Gopher product Lindsay Whalen are some of top players in the league. Not to mention, the Lynx won the championship last year.

Despite all this, the excitement in Minnesota surrounding this team just isn’t there. And to be honest, I don’t understand that.

Why is it that when Christian Ponder throws a pick, my twitter feed explodes, but when the Lynx win a WNBA Finals game, I see one, maybe two tweets.

“Come on Sam, its women’s basketball.”

That’s ignorance.

Yeah, the NBA is a more exciting league. Dunks and the rest of that fancy stuff are always fun to watch. But the NBA always reaches that bland point in the season.

If you want to watch a league with no flops, no attitudes and no star players laying on the ground for several minutes because they simply got poked in the eye, then try and catch a WNBA game. It really is worth watching. You will see passion, pride and defense every single game. Any good basketball fan should see this. The WNBA is good basketball. It’s a different breed a basketball, but still a fun one to watch.

But that’s the thing--basketball fans just don’t care. As harsh as it is to say, fans don’t care about the WNBA. And there lies the problem.

The WNBA can’t expand their product without fan support and audience attendance. TV stations won’t want to air the games. ESPN shows won’t want to talk about the games. The league simply cannot get on the same national level as the male professional sports with their market.

Will that ever change? I really don’t know. What I do know is that the WNBA cannot do anything to change it. Their product is as good as it will be. What they need is basketball fans to tune in and recognize the level of play. With more viewership come the TV deals and the Sportscenter time slots.

And what better state to start this support than Minnesota? I mean, come on people, we’re two games from repeating as champions. Building the Minnesota Lynx fan base can be the stepping stone used for the WNBA.

I know we have passionate fans in Minnesota and the Dakotas. Yet, the best Minnesotan team is the least supported. It’s time to change that.

And although I’m not a fan of bandwagon jumpers, I think it’s appropriate we all jump on the Lynx and the WNBA.