How quickly can a flailing, comically incompetent franchise turns its fortunes around?
It turns out that with capable management, pretty fast.
Attending Mystics games the past two seasons has been more of a political act than a chance to catch a sporting event. I want my daughters to see women's professional basketball at Verizon because women's professional basketball should exist. But its been a drag. The coaching and management have been so horrid that you walk away feeling bad for the players and happy for the ones that were able to escape. And with DC BasketCases bringing to a close their terrific blog, if the Mystics were terrible again this season, it is a tree falling in the middle of the forest.
So no pomp and circumstance for the game against the Lynx tonight. I justified the trip downtown with reference to the homecoming of Georgetown's Sugar Rodgers and Rebekkah Brunson.
Now it bugs me that Washington opted for Ohio State's Tayler Hill over Tianna Hawkins in this year's draft. But, with Hill getting significant minutes on the floor and Monique Currie and Crystal Langhorne at the 3 and 4, the 2013 iteration of the Mystics' is well-balanced inside and outside.
Yes, Washington fell apart in the fourth quarter. But after scoring only eight points in the first nine minutes of the quarter, Washington notched ten in the last fifty-one seconds, including making eight of eight free throws and a back breaking nothing but net turnaround fadeaway jumper from Kia Vaughn.
Three wins in four games. For a team that won five all of last year and six the year before that. It has been a long time -- a long time -- since we have paid attention to the end of a Mystics game. That was fun.
Now if the team can convince enough people to show up to justify re-opening the Dunkin Donuts on game nights, we will be back in business.
Showing posts with label Washington Mystics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington Mystics. Show all posts
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Any press is good press
Last week, the Washington Post published a thoughtful and measured story by Mark Giannotto on a local professional team that is quickly becoming irrelevant to the region's mainstream sports fans. The gist of the piece was a description of a dwindling fan base and a sampling of opinions as to why the Washington Mystics have lost much of the goodwill the franchise has built up over the last fifteen years.
Giannotto's recounting of the Mystics woes is depressing, but not as disheartening as this fun fact he relays about the WNBA:
Giannotto's article is remarkably thorough; the one measure, however, that he doesn't hit on is the resale market for Mystics tickets. After deciding not to remain as season ticket holders, for the last several years we have not bought tickets from the club, but have instead used brokers. The secondary market for Mystics tickets is always brutal; this year it is a bloodbath. For the vast majority of home games this season, full corporate suites (18 tickets) have been on offer for less than $150 -- often $100 ($5.56 a ticket) -- as suite owners try to entice anyone with even a remote interest in women's professional basketball to games. Yet even with the opportunity to use a suite at Verizon for less than the price of two 100-level seats, there is little evident interest in spending two hours at the stadium for the Mystics.
Giannotto's recounting of the Mystics woes is depressing, but not as disheartening as this fun fact he relays about the WNBA:
After leading the WNBA in attendance in six of their first seven years (1998-2004), including an all-time high average of 16,202 in 2002, the Mystics averaged a league-high 10,449 fans per game last season. They rank second in the WNBA through 10 home games this year with 9,207 fans per game, behind only WNBA champion Minnesota (9,272). San Antonio (12-5), the most successful team this season to employ one person as GM-coach, ranked third in attendance at 8,407 fans per game.For the Mystics to be second in league-wide attendance, things must be horrible for the other eleven teams.
Giannotto's article is remarkably thorough; the one measure, however, that he doesn't hit on is the resale market for Mystics tickets. After deciding not to remain as season ticket holders, for the last several years we have not bought tickets from the club, but have instead used brokers. The secondary market for Mystics tickets is always brutal; this year it is a bloodbath. For the vast majority of home games this season, full corporate suites (18 tickets) have been on offer for less than $150 -- often $100 ($5.56 a ticket) -- as suite owners try to entice anyone with even a remote interest in women's professional basketball to games. Yet even with the opportunity to use a suite at Verizon for less than the price of two 100-level seats, there is little evident interest in spending two hours at the stadium for the Mystics.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Birthdays
Our youngest turned one on Friday. To celebrate, we took a group of fifteen people to the Verizon Center to watch the Washington Mystics host the Connecticut Sun.
Official attendance was 6,975. The game was so truly awful that counting the others suffering through it in the stadium was a welcome relief. Two or three thousand more accurately reflects the people at the game. The attendance was more depressing than the game.
Fifteen years. The Mystics are celebrating fifteen years in the WNBA; the attendance banners have come down from the rafters at Verizon and the once proud franchise has alienated even its most sympathetic fans.
Rather than a celebration, the setting was funereal.
It is a strange setting to watch the denouement of an enterprise that everyone seems invested in failing. We did not see the end coming for the Washington Freedom -- either time -- but it seems more cruel to have the promise of women's professional sports snuffed out by the franchise itself rather than external factors that could not be tamed.
My daughter turned one Friday. In fifteen years, maybe it will be a different story.
Official attendance was 6,975. The game was so truly awful that counting the others suffering through it in the stadium was a welcome relief. Two or three thousand more accurately reflects the people at the game. The attendance was more depressing than the game.
Fifteen years. The Mystics are celebrating fifteen years in the WNBA; the attendance banners have come down from the rafters at Verizon and the once proud franchise has alienated even its most sympathetic fans.
Rather than a celebration, the setting was funereal.
It is a strange setting to watch the denouement of an enterprise that everyone seems invested in failing. We did not see the end coming for the Washington Freedom -- either time -- but it seems more cruel to have the promise of women's professional sports snuffed out by the franchise itself rather than external factors that could not be tamed.
My daughter turned one Friday. In fifteen years, maybe it will be a different story.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
A Night in Comcast
There is not much I regret about having kids, but I have missed the season tickets to Georgetown men's basketball. We had great seats, alongside good friends, and got to watch charismatic teams. Saturday mid-day games bridged into enjoyable afternoons in the city.
But it's no place for an infant and the three-year old has let it be known in no uncertain terms that she's not a fan. She says that Hoyas games aren't for kids and begins lobbying for a quick exit roughly ten minutes after finding our seats.
Now, however, I have found a suitable replacement. Maryland women's basketball games are now calendered events. This season we've lucked into a team that is as charismatic as any Hoyas squad in recent history.
While conference play has exposed weaknesses in the team, this iteration of the Terps has performed well beyond reasonable expectations. They are, simply, a fun team to watch; a well-balanced rotation of hard-workers without an elite level talent that towers above the rest. (Four players average double digits in scoring; four players average over five rebounds a game).
And then off the floor, there is the game experience in the stands.
Finding a gelato cart at tonight's game against Boston College eliminated any bad feelings that might have lingered from having to sit until the final whistle at Verizon.
More importantly, the school has shown its gratitude to the team's fans by making players consistently and regularly available. In the few occasions that our eldest has wanted to take advantage of the opportunity, she's thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it has palpably enhanced her interest in rooting for the team. I'd hazard a guess that this is true for a lot of the kids that come out to Comcast for games.
We've enjoyed the season so much, that I began to contemplate picking up Washington Mystics season tickets again. That idea was quickly quashed by the abysmally depressing escape of Marissa Coleman to Los Angeles. I'm not troubled if Maryland loses a game or two or three or four, because what the team offers, night in and night out, is competence. The contrast with the egos run amok that have torpedoed a good WNBA franchise is stark.
Tonight, incidental to demolishing Boston College, Maryland once again demonstrated that they provide maybe the best family-oriented sports ticket in the region.
Yesterday, in sending an iconic Terp on her way (rather than boldly arrest a stunning decline), the Mystics proved that when it comes to alienating loyal fans, the Wizards aren't the only game in town.
But it's no place for an infant and the three-year old has let it be known in no uncertain terms that she's not a fan. She says that Hoyas games aren't for kids and begins lobbying for a quick exit roughly ten minutes after finding our seats.
Now, however, I have found a suitable replacement. Maryland women's basketball games are now calendered events. This season we've lucked into a team that is as charismatic as any Hoyas squad in recent history.
While conference play has exposed weaknesses in the team, this iteration of the Terps has performed well beyond reasonable expectations. They are, simply, a fun team to watch; a well-balanced rotation of hard-workers without an elite level talent that towers above the rest. (Four players average double digits in scoring; four players average over five rebounds a game).
And then off the floor, there is the game experience in the stands.
Finding a gelato cart at tonight's game against Boston College eliminated any bad feelings that might have lingered from having to sit until the final whistle at Verizon.
More importantly, the school has shown its gratitude to the team's fans by making players consistently and regularly available. In the few occasions that our eldest has wanted to take advantage of the opportunity, she's thoroughly enjoyed the experience and it has palpably enhanced her interest in rooting for the team. I'd hazard a guess that this is true for a lot of the kids that come out to Comcast for games.
We've enjoyed the season so much, that I began to contemplate picking up Washington Mystics season tickets again. That idea was quickly quashed by the abysmally depressing escape of Marissa Coleman to Los Angeles. I'm not troubled if Maryland loses a game or two or three or four, because what the team offers, night in and night out, is competence. The contrast with the egos run amok that have torpedoed a good WNBA franchise is stark.
Tonight, incidental to demolishing Boston College, Maryland once again demonstrated that they provide maybe the best family-oriented sports ticket in the region.
Yesterday, in sending an iconic Terp on her way (rather than boldly arrest a stunning decline), the Mystics proved that when it comes to alienating loyal fans, the Wizards aren't the only game in town.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Mystikal
The Washington Mystics first preseason home match of the 2011 season was at 11:30 this past Thursday morning at the Verizon Center. 11:30 am on a weekday is a strange start time for a professional athletic event but the unusual scheduling transforms the stadium into a wonderland for little kids.
My daughter chose to skip daycare to join me for the game and we sat behind the Chicago Sky's bench. Outside of one run to grab food during the second quarter, there was enough happening on the court and in the stands to keep a two-year old's attention for the entire game.
The Mystics franchise does a terrific job creating a kid friendly environment for these early weekday games. And while that may not be what many look for in a sporting event, the basketball itself is worth the price of admission.
The Mystics' returning nucleus of Alana Beard and former Terps Crystal Langhorne and Marissa Coleman showed well in the game, although Coleman struggled from the floor.
Based on the little one's favorable response to the game, I'm guessing that we'll be able to add Mystics games to our schedule this summer.
My daughter chose to skip daycare to join me for the game and we sat behind the Chicago Sky's bench. Outside of one run to grab food during the second quarter, there was enough happening on the court and in the stands to keep a two-year old's attention for the entire game.
The Mystics franchise does a terrific job creating a kid friendly environment for these early weekday games. And while that may not be what many look for in a sporting event, the basketball itself is worth the price of admission.
The Mystics' returning nucleus of Alana Beard and former Terps Crystal Langhorne and Marissa Coleman showed well in the game, although Coleman struggled from the floor.
Based on the little one's favorable response to the game, I'm guessing that we'll be able to add Mystics games to our schedule this summer.
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