WiserStudent557 t1_j6ah361 wrote on January 28, 2023 at 10:48 PM

Reply to comment by drtywater in Report: NWSL set to expand with three new teams in Boston, Utah, San Francisco Bay Area by MrAwes0m3

Yeah, I guess I didn’t even realize (or remwmber) that the NWSL even left Boston so I have this question as well. There’s very little mechanism for smaller sports leagues to starve out a niche and even men’s leagues that aren’t the big four have hardly grown. Women’s leagues have an extra challenge and the big leagues aren’t exactly willing to share the market. (I could touch on the whole “NFL only invests in MLS and to keep it small” but that’s a deep wormhole)

drtywater t1_j6ajjco wrote on January 28, 2023 at 11:06 PM

Exactly. I’m a big fan of College Hockey and that has a rich 100+ year history in the area. Outside the Beanpot and maybe Hockey East finals it barely has any coverage though. I don’t see how this will any better

bubumamajuju t1_j6d0owq wrote on January 29, 2023 at 1:58 PM

That will always have core fans because it’s an excuse for college students to drink and hang out. And it leverages the already large hockey fanbase here since you get to see a lot of good games / prospects. The fact that it’s actually exciting is just a bonus… which women’s softball definitely isn’t (baseball has had declining viewership relative to other sports because of its lethargic pace of play)

Edit: it’s soccer, not softball lmao