YPSILANTI, MI- The WNBA's Detroit Shock beat the Silver Stars of San Antonio, 76-60, on Sunday, to complete a 3-0 sweep and win the WNBA Finals, an event no one even knew was going on.
"Oh, the WNBA Finals just ended," remarked Los Angeles native Bill Johnson, after seeing a headline about it on espn.com while checking his fantasy football team. "That's cool, I guess... I didn't even know they were on."
In an online poll, 79% of the voters responded to the question, "Who will win the WNBA Finals?" with, "Is that on?" 20% responded, "That's, like, hockey or something, right?" 1% said, "Ohio State."
The playoffs, which began September 18, went by largely unnoticed in the public eye. From the Silver Stars' semifinals triumph over the Sacramento Monarchs, to the New York Liberty's series win over the Connecticut Sun, sports fans around the country were too focused on college football to even be aware of the playoffs. ESPN had originally planned to air the Finals, but then decided not to, saying it would not get good enough ratings.
Part of the reason for the public's ignorance is the fact that the WNBA decided not to advertise the Finals or the playoffs.
"We just decided it wouldn't be worth it," WNBA Commissioner Donna Orender said.
"We've done that before, and we still haven't managed a blip in the ratings. We figured it wouldn't have made a difference anyway."
The Nielsen ratings were the lowest they've ever been, while attendance at the games also suffered, mostly because people didn't know there were any games to watch or go to.
"If I had known, I would have watched maybe, like, a quarter of a game or something. Maybe," Johnson said.
Orender was just happy people actually watched.
"Honestly, I'm surprised," she said. "I didn't think anybody would watch, just because they didn't even know about it."
As of press time, it is believed that the only reason people actually knew about the Finals before they were over was because they flipped by it while waiting for Matlock to come on.
"Oh, the WNBA Finals just ended," remarked Los Angeles native Bill Johnson, after seeing a headline about it on espn.com while checking his fantasy football team. "That's cool, I guess... I didn't even know they were on."
In an online poll, 79% of the voters responded to the question, "Who will win the WNBA Finals?" with, "Is that on?" 20% responded, "That's, like, hockey or something, right?" 1% said, "Ohio State."
The playoffs, which began September 18, went by largely unnoticed in the public eye. From the Silver Stars' semifinals triumph over the Sacramento Monarchs, to the New York Liberty's series win over the Connecticut Sun, sports fans around the country were too focused on college football to even be aware of the playoffs. ESPN had originally planned to air the Finals, but then decided not to, saying it would not get good enough ratings.
Part of the reason for the public's ignorance is the fact that the WNBA decided not to advertise the Finals or the playoffs.
"We just decided it wouldn't be worth it," WNBA Commissioner Donna Orender said.
"We've done that before, and we still haven't managed a blip in the ratings. We figured it wouldn't have made a difference anyway."
The Nielsen ratings were the lowest they've ever been, while attendance at the games also suffered, mostly because people didn't know there were any games to watch or go to.
"If I had known, I would have watched maybe, like, a quarter of a game or something. Maybe," Johnson said.
Orender was just happy people actually watched.
"Honestly, I'm surprised," she said. "I didn't think anybody would watch, just because they didn't even know about it."
As of press time, it is believed that the only reason people actually knew about the Finals before they were over was because they flipped by it while waiting for Matlock to come on.
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