wnba

#126: The fans spoke, and Unrivaled listened

Unrivaled had a fun rollout planned, but there were elements they didn't consider. Instead of standing 10 toes down, they listened to the fans.

Plus: Kudos to the Cardinals, fuck Kanye West

Unrivaled just gets it. While there is always outside noise within the WNBA around a certain subsection of fans, Unrivaled is a league that people can turn to for the hoops, the vibes, and for doing things the right way.

And that leads to success, too, as the league announced it has surpassed an initial $100 million target and is now oversubscribed at a league valuation of $650 million.

They are doing things the right way.

But that doesn't always mean getting everything right all of the time.

See, last year, Unrivaled took its show on the road for the first time, setting an attendance record of 21,490 fans in Philadelphia, and then played its semifinals in Brooklyn.

If you build it, they will come, and Unrivaled is proof of that.

So, for 2027, they announced that they would be doing an eight-city tour across the United States.

Fans were excited. The Unrivaled marketing machine was running smoothly.

Until it wasn't.

They announced at 11 a.m. on Thursday, September 3, that they would be playing in Brooklyn with a voiceover by Breanna Stewart.

In the same post across channels, they announced that tickets would be on sale at noon.

A slow rollout makes sense. It builds the hype.

But it also feels disconnected from the fanbase that makes up Unrivaled, and they were quick to let the league know.

They voiced their displeasure in having tickets go on sale an hour after the announcement (in this economy, around the same time the renewals were happening for WNBA tickets with a large year-to-year increase), but also that the league was mum on where else it was traveling to.

New York was announced, yes, but if a fan in, say, Chicago wanted to see the 3-on-3 league live, should they buy their tickets for New York, or should they wait to see if one of the stops will be in their city or nearby?

With 60 minutes to decide, I get the frustration.

The league did, too, as it released a map with the regions for the tour stops.

It also had some fun with its posts.

It heard its fans. It adjusted on the fly. It realized that the rollout plan was a great idea in theory, but when people are struggling financially and want to support a player-owned league, you need to be able to pivot.

Kudos to Unrivaled for getting it right once again.

Fuck Kanye West

I don't know anyone that went to Soldier Field in Chicago last weekend to see Kanye West play a sold out stadium show on multiple nights.

I like to think it's because I choose the people in my life carefully. But if you see this and you were there, fuck you.

There's no art and artist here. There was no apology here.

There's just a nazi who wrote a song called "Heil Hitler" less than two years ago.

There was no "what I did was wrong. I'm struggling and looking to get help. I had people in my life who hurt me and during a manic episode, I wrote, produced, and released a song that I shouldn't have. I'm getting help."

No, there was a full-page advertisement (framed as an apology that was released leading up to an album that he was dropping) talking about his car accident, the damage that has had on him, and owing a huge apology to the Jewish and Black communities.

Because people are stuck on the Old Kanye, have Yeezys, or whatever the reason may be, you'll overlook his hate speech and continue to line his billionaire pockets.

Shame on you. Shame on you.

That goes for you, too, people who are going to see Chris Brown on tour and making him not just relevant, but a top draw over the last two decades.

You're inconsistent in your outrage. You'll crucify Morgan Wallen (fuck you, Morgan) and Shane Gillis (middle finger to you, too, Shane) but you'll be fine supporting a nazi in Kanye and an abuser with a pattern of, well, abusing.

Be better.

Shoutout to the Cardinals

I never thought that I'd write those words as someone who grew up in Pittsburgh following the Pirates.

Rookie pitcher Hancel Rincon was making his major-league debut – a moment every player dreams up – and umpire Doug Eddings told Rincon to straighten his hat since no one will wear their hat like that – with a tilt – on "his" field.

I've seen a lot of power trips by umpires in my three-plus decades following baseball.

This is near the top.

Not only ruining this kid's debut, but using micro-aggressions toward a player of color.

Oli Marmol, the Cardinals manager, went off on Eddings after the game, and when the Cardinals and Rockies took the field the following day, both teams made a statement.