Is it time to Nuke the Whale? (NWHL)

[HWP1997]

The fact they were named after a dead hockey team should say something.

 

[GindyDraws]

I wish the conversation could gravitate to this point more often. The demand for any minor league hockey, regardless of level or gender, is always pretty dubious. AFAIK, Providence and Rochester are the only cities that have held a minor league hockey team since before 1990. Hundreds of men's teams have failed, often with attendance in the NWHL range.

So before we jump to the gender issue, it makes sense to take a bigger step back and ask, does this organization have strong fundamentals? Do they have a sound plan for attracting season ticket holders? Do they have the capital to advertise and to make the gameday experience attractive? Are they in a favorable environment for sports enterainment? What's their lease situation? Those are basics that cut across all teams in all leagues.

Unfortunately, whenever discussions are brought up, the point is often missed. My argument wasn't meant to discuss the merits of women's hockey as a whole, but rather the point being that a league should strongly consider getting rid of its worst team, especially in the face of it probably getting into larger markets with better players and sponsors in the pipeline.

They are in their fourth venue in 5 years, which indicates issues with either money or trust with the local market, so it's very unlikely they also have a sound plan for season ticket holders, either. Danbury has also gone through multiple FHL/FPHL teams in the past few years, so while there is a decent hockey arena, stability in general is hard to take seriously.

The team is 0-9-1 now. In terms of on-ice competition, Metropolitan has since been able to find their offensive game, leaving the Whale in the dust. They resume play tonight, so let's see the Whale once again become a bloated cetacean and rot on a beach.

 

[JMCx4]

... a league should strongly consider getting rid of its worst team, especially in the face of it probably getting into larger markets with better players and sponsors in the pipeline. ...

But those conditions don't apply to the 5-team NWHL. The "larger markets" have so far been St. Paul & Boston; and unless they're on a serious path to absorb the Toronto & Montreal markets from the defunct CWHL, they will be stuck with what they've got. Further, the "better players" are in the PWHPA playing exhibitions as they continue to boycott the NWHL. As for "sponsors in the pipeline," there's no clear evidence of such sponsorship forthcoming under the previously cited circumstances.

So IMO, the NWHL finds themselves in a business position much like the FHL when they were struggling to sustain enough teams to organize a schedule. The difference is that the FHL had a traditional men's hockey product to sell to unwitting communities, while unfortunately women's hockey is nothing more than a novelty in most cities & states in the U.S.. Thus the N' must do what they can to keep the 5 teams they have solvent (no matter how pitiful one or more of them may be on the ice), and hope the League's fortunes turn around. I wish them luck, but I ain't hopeful.

 

[HWP1997]

My argument wasn't meant to discuss the merits of women's hockey as a whole, but rather the point being that a league should strongly consider getting rid of its worst team, especially in the face of it probably getting into larger markets with better players and sponsors in the pipeline.

The thing with the Whale is they play in a part of Connecticut where no one cared/cares about the Hartford Whalers. It's silly to expect Rangers and Islanders fans to come out and support a team that was named after a team they never liked.

 

[210]

It doesn't matter if you've been to a game or not. By definition, the phrase "significant portion" doesn't in any way suggest a majority. Could it be a majority? Sure. But on its own, the phrase "significant portion" doesn't automatically mean there is one. So you can keep arguing that the majority of fans are from the LGBT community if you want, but the article you posted doesn't back your assertion that they are a majority simply because they're a "significant portion".

And for the record, I don't care one way or the other who roots for any team or league.

 

[Jumptheshark]

At an announced attendance of 423, the big question is: "If you nuked the Whale would anybody notice".

Women's professional hockey is a non starter. It's a massively inferior product and will never have any significant following.

And that is what they said about female football a few years ago. It is growing

 

[GindyDraws]

Over the weekend, the Whale finally got a win and their record is now 1-13-2.

But... I still advocate for the dynamite.

 

[JMCx4]

And that is what they said about female football a few years ago. It is growing

The equipment between those two female sports products - natural and protective - are starkly different.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The equipment between those two female sports products - natural and protective - are starkly different.

Pretty sure he's not talking about the lingerie league (or whatever they're calling it this month) but about the actual-football leagues that have sprung up alongside it.

 

[PCSPounder]

Bring the exploding whale video into a thread, expect an Oregonian. That's the rules, and I'm here to make sure that no good deed goes unpunished.

Size of league matters. Losing one team in a 6-team league is an alarm bell to potential owners and sponsors. I have followed a soccer team in a 5-team league before, that league just about failed before the failure of the old Canadian Soccer League allowed a merger, and then THAT league kind of got buried within what is now United Soccer Leagues.

Please to recall that there were two failed leagues before the current National Women's Soccer League. WUSA tried to work in major markets (and sometimes using large stadia, not always), and burned through their 5-year funding plan in year one. While it did not try to move franchises around and held stable, it lasted 3 years.

WPS arrived 6 years after WUSA failed. They tried being more economical, but that meant small stadia people generally couldn't find in larger markets, no promotion, and in this case a few franchises came and went. Three and done, as well.

So NWSL is about to embark on season 8. Yes, Boston didn't last that long, Sky Blue is only now finally playing in a place some people know (Red Bull Arena) after playing at Rutgers for so long. Kansas City became Utah. But guess what allowed this length of time.

Portland Thorns. Not the largest market, underserved... but had a convergence of factors that made things work. It has been admitted that the Thorns spread money out to keep the league solvent. It's the highest average women's professional team on the planet. It's a market with sensitivity to women's issues, a successful women's college soccer program, an active men's team with quite the reputation, and a facility that isn't NFL or major college.

I was going to make a little diatribe about how this confluence makes me think that the chosen region where NWHL is situated is the problem, that placing the league in the western US (as opposed to Calgary & Edmonton) would help. Eh, maybe, maybe not. The larger point is that nuking the Whale isn't nearly as important as finding your Portland.

 

[GindyDraws]

Bad news and good news. Bad news; the Whale got 2 wins. Good news, both were against Metropolitan, and they no longer have any games against the Riveters to bail them out.

 

[GindyDraws]

And now that the regular season is over, the Whale failed to break their win total of 2 wins, but tied it... at two wins. Tomorrow is their chance to embarrass themselves one more time this year (and perhaps for the final time ever) in the opening round of the playoffs against Buffalo.

 

[JMCx4]

@JDogindy : Since you've become the #1 Whale Superfan this season ... don't forget to watch them upset the Beauts on Friday night: NWHL on Twitch - NWHL

 

[GindyDraws]

@JDogindy : Since you've become the #1 Whale Superfan this season ... don't forget to watch them upset the Beauts on Friday night: NWHL on Twitch - NWHL

Oh, I'm gonna watch the Beauts destroy the Whale.

 

[210]

Oh, I'm gonna watch the Beauts destroy the Whale.

How'd that work out for you?

 

[JMCx4]

Ouch.