After Atalanta

If you're the ACC (or any other conference) you probably aren't so keen on acknowledging your lesbian fan base at this, the most exciting time of the year for intercollegiate basketball--despite the many benefits of lesbian fandom. This isn't a new issue certainly. There has been a lot of reporting on various WNBA teams and the level of attention (or inattention) they pay to their lesbian fans--of which there are many. But this article addresses the lack of marketing to lesbians by basketball conferences. This is despite that fact that there are marketing strategies in place that target other fan groups like youth and families. At this point, such a denial of a lesbian fan base is just bad business. Especially given the money lesbians spend when they travel to sporting events, including the conference tourneys and the NCAA games. Other entities recognize this: bars and restaurants hold lesbian-friendly events when tournaments are in town. Unfortunately, the basketball confe...

So said my tv-watching companion the other night when a car rental commercial featuring John McEnroe aired. The National worker was explaining to tennis's bad boy all the perks of choosing National. Guesses as to the punchline? Yep. "You cannot be serious!!" How much money has this man made off of that line? And his bad behavior generally? Can you imagine a female athlete benefiting to such an extent--and so long after her playing career was over--if she was marketing bad behavior? Are female athletes even able to capitalize on bad behavior? Can you imagine a black female athlete being able to? A gay female athlete? Note that this is not a call for equity in successfully marketing unsportspersonlike behavior. It's more disgust at how unquestionably accepting we are of it. And not just accepting but supportive. Because you know if companies thought McEnroe's bad boy history would negatively affect their products, they wouldn't use him and they certainly would n...

In my INBOX this morning was an email from Nike, NikeWomen specifically. (I keep telling myself to unsubscribe, but then I hesitate when I get bloggable moments like these.) Here's what I read first (It's all in caps but I won't do that to you. Also note the punctuation is the way it appears int he original.): Sport is universal. It appeals to our sense of adventure. Provides a platform for accomplishment. And an opportunity to forge bonds with like-minded competitors. As female athletes, sports defines who we are. Because, collectively, we are redefining sport. Gender doesn't define a great athlete. Great does. This is part of their ongoing ATHLETE campaign. If you scroll down the email you find a link to the ATHLETE t-shirts ready for you to purchase and the ads that have been running as part of the campaign. But directly underneath the above "gender doesn't matter in sport" message is this: Nike helps you put it all together with Shop by Outfit . Becaus...