NPF issues

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Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
I have two separate thoughts on this thread/issue:

1) The commenters here that claim that only mens sports can be popular because they are superior to female sports athletically...well that's just pure B.S. If that was the case, the ONLY successful leagues would be the top-of-the-top professional leagues like MLB, NFL, NBA, or say European or World Cup level soccer, because everything else would be inferior athletically. Yet, supposedly inferior athletic play is hugely popular in many cases due to competition, tradition, community, etc. Numerous college sports, many minor league sports, and high school sports across the country are wildly popular at times....yet the athleticism is far inferior to the best pro leagues. Popularity is obviously much more complicated than just pure athletic ability.

2) I would love to follow a professional fastpitch team if one was in my area and if the game time atmosphere was fun. I've been to several lower level minor league baseball games that were really fun largely because of tailgating tradition (yes, free flowing beer involved) with gametime events in between innings, etc. I think a pro fastpitch team could be popular locally if going to games were a big event...where that local popularity could spread to other teams and fan enthusiasm would show on TV.

There is another issue I don't know how to properly address here but I'll do it anyhow. I think NPF needs to attract male fans if it's going to be successful. However, in the modern day environment, I don't think I'd be comfortable attending women's athletic events without being accompanied by another female out of fear of being labeled a pervert, creepy, peeper, etc. I always bring my daughter or wife when attending our local D1 college fastpitch games or other big club tournaments. I know occasions where unknown lone males were questioned as to their intentions at local HS aged games. As such, once my daughter's done playing HS fastpitch, I'm probably done attending even though I know the female coach very well. This probably won't be a popular comment....but it's what I feel.

Some good points...

I really enjoy minor league baseball. Our family vacations in Myrtle Beach every summer, and the first thing we do when we pick a date is check the Pelican's schedule. We always attend at least one game while we are there, and sometimes more than one. We also attend some more local minor league games closest to home during the summer. We are also planning to attend a minor league hockey game before DD returns to college for her next semester. These things have been part of our life since DD was quite young. I bring this up because we would definitely attend a NPF game if we could. Just not many opportunities...

DD's high school team was playing an away game this past spring. There was an older gentleman by himself on the first baseline that was taking pictures during the game. The hosting school had two security guards approach him to see what he was doing, not realizing that he was the grandfather of one of the players.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
How long did it take MLB and the NBA to become popular? I don't think it was right away...probably took 20 to 30 years at least. It takes time to develop a fan base. As the sport becomes more popular at the amateur levels the professional softball league will gain traction. A big issue going forward is going to be attracting and keeping the best players in the game in the league. With MLB, at it's inception many players had the option of making money playing ball or making money working in factories,coal mines,etc....an easy decision for most. With professional softball, all of the players are college graduates so if they want to get the best players to enter and stick with the league they have to make the pay such that it is the best option for the athletes, allowing them to not have to take other jobs during the offseason (as many professional baseball players did for a long time). They also need to have more teams so that everybody has the opportunity to go watch a game. Finally, as Eric F has alluded to previously, they need to get them playing on softball fields..the visual of them playing on baseball fields isn't the best.
 
Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
Same for me with Serena Williams. Some days she is a poster child for bad sportsmanship but she is the greatest competitor of all time in her sport.

I think some may disagree with me here, but I don't mind her bad sportsmanship because she is so, so competitive that it kills her to not win. I don't really mind an athlete who loses herself every now and again because she's consumed by a drive to win. I won't argue that it's a good look, exactly, but I understand it. I'd rather have a player like that than one who isn't at all affected by the bad times (and I realize there's probably a happy medium in there that doesn't involve the occasional tantrum).
 
Jun 6, 2016
2,714
113
Chicago
How long did it take MLB and the NBA to become popular?

NBA Finals games were shown on tape delay as late as 1986.

The New York Yankees averaged around 13,000 fans per game one year in the 1970s (I cherry-picked that year, but it's the Yankees and everybody assumes they've always sold out everything). At the beginning of their time as the Yankees, they were drawing fewer than 5,000 per game (this was in the early 1900s, but it does show that the sport took time to grow).

Everybody's perception of the major sports and their history of success doesn't necessarily reflect reality.
 
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
I think some may disagree with me here, but I don't mind her bad sportsmanship because she is so, so competitive that it kills her to not win. I don't really mind an athlete who loses herself every now and again because she's consumed by a drive to win. I won't argue that it's a good look, exactly, but I understand it. I'd rather have a player like that than one who isn't at all affected by the bad times (and I realize there's probably a happy medium in there that doesn't involve the occasional tantrum).


I’m the same way JD. The thing that makes her the g.o.a.t. is the same thing that makes her occasionally unbearable. It’s a good trade.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
How long did it take MLB and the NBA to become popular? I don't think it was right away...probably took 20 to 30 years at least. It takes time to develop a fan base. As the sport becomes more popular at the amateur levels the professional softball league will gain traction. A big issue going forward is going to be attracting and keeping the best players in the game in the league. With MLB, at it's inception many players had the option of making money playing ball or making money working in factories,coal mines,etc....an easy decision for most. With professional softball, all of the players are college graduates so if they want to get the best players to enter and stick with the league they have to make the pay such that it is the best option for the athletes, allowing them to not have to take other jobs during the offseason (as many professional baseball players did for a long time). They also need to have more teams so that everybody has the opportunity to go watch a game. Finally, as Eric F has alluded to previously, they need to get them playing on softball fields..the visual of them playing on baseball fields isn't the best.

Janelle Lindvall (Oregon, US Nat Team) was drafted by NPF after college. She played one season. She found that teaching private lessons and doing clinics was a much better financial choice.
 
Sep 3, 2018
87
0
Since there is no interest in watching women's pro softball here in the US, especially out west where there are no pro teams, these ladies can make way more coaching.
Go to the Workshop in Anaheim on any night and you can see that Jen Schro's place is easily pulling in over 100k a month. And that doesn't include her traveling clinics and all the money those pull in.
 
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
Since there is no interest in watching women's pro softball here in the US, especially out west where there are no pro teams, these ladies can make way more coaching.
Go to the Workshop in Anaheim on any night and you can see that Jen Schro's place is easily pulling in over 100k a month. And that doesn't include her traveling clinics and all the money those pull in.

Jen has done a VERY good job with marketing herself and her Package Deal program.
 
Sep 3, 2018
87
0
They will have anywhere from 15-20 girls at their catching workouts every hour, every weekday, paying 50 bucks a pop. Then they fielding classes with anywhere from 10-20 girls an hour every hour going on right next to them for 50 bucks am hour. And next to that is Jen's dad giving hitting lessons to 4-6 girls at a time for 45 bucks for half an hour and there's still 2-3 tunnels of pitching lessons going on at 54 dollars a half an hour and a shop selling workshop gear, bats, gloves.....
If they're open just 4 hours a day and getting their minimum lessons they're making 3k a day in catching lessons, 2k a day in fielding lessons and 1500 a day in hitting lessons. 26 thousand dollars a week only being open 4 hours a day (and I think they may be open 5 hours a day.
That doesn't include what they rent the tunnels to the pitching coaches to or what they make in sales through their shop.
Add the packaged deal clinics and that amount balloons more.
Obviously Jen and Morgan are going to have expenses at the work shop. Mike likely takes some of the money as well. But you have to imagine that each of them is making close to 6 figures a year.
Can't imagine players in a league with no fans, no TV contract and only 4 teams playing in other people's stadiums are paying many of their players 6 figures a year
 
Mar 13, 2010
1,758
48
Id side eye any man or woman who went to a high school game without knowing someone. But I think that’s a cultural ting.


I just hope NPF starts getting better run. I think we can all agree a big part of the problem is that it’s just badly run.
 

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