A lot of that comes down to how one spends their money and time. I don't watch a lot women's sports, but watch a bit of the bigger events in golf and tennis, As far as women's golf goes, there is a solid base of potential viewers. I see women golfers on the course all the time. Where I live, tennis is pretty much dead. About half the courts have been converted to pickleball courts and it is dead after a couple of good years.
True. Women’s golf and tennis have been mainstreamed, but those consist of a string of tournaments, so the big time players come to town once a year. That will draw a crowd.
Selling team sports and league play is a different proposition and a harder sell. When the PGA or LPGA tour rolls around, if it’s a major event, most of the big names will be there. That’s not the case in a head to head matchup between two teams in league play; the NWSL does try to keep the USWNT players spread around the league, but that gets tricky. They are draws, but they also disappear during national team callups and major international tournaments.
What is needed is a fanbase that grew up with the team, that has followed it though up and down cycles, knows the players, and follows the draft — i.e., exactly what keeps fandoms engaged in the NFL, NBA and MLB. And fwiw, women’s soccer is a cheaper ticket than any of the men’s sports — and currently here in DC, the men’s teams are pathetic while the women’s team (if they can stay healthy) is a contender. They’ve had some tough rebuilding years, but they’ve become a good team in the recent cycle; their problem at the moment is that the injury bug has settled in for a long residency. If they can get healthy, they’ll be in the hunt, but as it is, they’re hanging tough with seven probable starters out. (One is out on pregnancy leave, which is another big difference between men’s and women’s sports. Yes, there are married heterosexual players in the NWSL. That’s a secret, so keep it between you and me. And not all of them want to wait until they are 35 to start having kids.)
But even so, they’re playing good soccer in front of big crowds in an appropriately sized stadium that is close enough for me to ride my bike. What’s not to like, now that Megan Rapinoe has finally taken her poison pill act into retirement? The stadium rocks and the women are good, as compared to the pathetic display put on by our current men’s teams.
Since our daughters are soccer fans, we see some MLS games as well — but would you rather watch winners or losers on the field? I’d go to some Nats games as well, if the owners ever decide that they want to put a winning team on the field again. As it stands, they’re drifting along on tv money, looking to sell, and doing bare minimum to field a team.