Prospective fans, dozens of
them, members of Girl Bar, a lesbian social club, lined up for autographs.
They brought pennants, notebooks and basketballs to be signed by players from
the Sparks. They grabbed free key chains and some signed up for season-ticket
packages, which was the point.
No women's sports team has
ever partnered with a lesbian organization to attract fans. But Friday night
the Sparks came to The Factory in West Hollywood to ask lesbians for support.
Good for the Sparks. It is,
says Sandy Sachs, a barrier to be broken, maybe the last barrier of prejudice
to be broken in sports.
Sachs is co-founder of Girl
Bar. A couple of months ago Penny Toler, the Sparks' general manager, called
Sachs and asked if she would be interested in pairing Girl Bar and the Sparks
in marketing and promotions? "To be honest," Sachs said, "I was
surprised."
Sachs was surprised because
women's sports organizations and teams have tried to distance themselves from
associations with lesbian groups.
With her business and life
partner, Dr. Robin Gans, Sachs has, for several years, marketed a weekend
package to the LPGA Nabisco Dinah Shore golf tournament in Rancho Mirage.
"And the LPGA wants nothing to do with us," Sachs said.
We shouldn't be surprised.
The Sparks are the first WNBA team to reach out to the lesbian community, but
they shouldn't be the last. And let's understand something.
"This isn't about
marketing to sexual lifestyles," Toler said. "It's about marketing
to a group of people we think will buy tickets."
Historically there has been
the perception that some women sports, such as golf and softball and even
basketball, were dominated by lesbian athletes and fans.
As women's sports have
grown, as professional leagues have begun in women's basketball, soccer and
softball, those perceptions have met reality. All sorts of women play sports.
All sorts of fans come to watch women's sports.
Spark crowds are diverse.
There are families--mom and dad bringing their sons and daughters. Boys and
girls wear Lisa Leslie jerseys. There are boys and girls high school
basketball players. There are lesbians too, and if you ask many of them,
they're often coming as families. It's just that nobody before has bothered to
make a sales pitch to them.
The Sparks have sat behind
tables to sign autographs and chat with prospective fans at high school gyms,
church basements, YMCA youth programs, boys and girls clubs, at malls and
department stores, at amusement parks and grade schools. It is part of the job
to encourage people who know nothing of your game to buy their first ticket or
to give a nudge to people who do know your game to buy a second ticket.
Previously, there were no TV
cameras to meet the Sparks. There were no debates on radio talk shows and no
newspaper articles.
Until Friday night.
Friday night there were TV
cameras and newspaper reporters. Friday afternoon the Sparks were talked about
on radio talk shows. That seldom happens.
Was this a bad move by the
Sparks? Would this send a signal to mothers to discourage their daughters from
attending Spark games? Or was this courageous and innovative, pinpointing a
group with disposable income and an interest in sports?
"We've gotten a couple
of negative calls," Spark President Johnny Buss said. "That's too
bad, but all we're doing is adding to the marketing we've always done. We've
reached the point now where we can be smarter about our marketing. We can
target particular groups. Our market is girls age 12-14. It's also these
women."
DeLisha Milton, a Spark
player, was surprised that anybody would think it was special that the Sparks
would be asking members of Girl Bar to buy tickets. "We're in Los Angeles
which is one of the most diverse places in the world," Milton said.
"We want everybody to
come to our games. Blacks, whites, men, women, people who have alternative
lifestyles. We've got plenty of room for anybody who wants to watch us
play."
Toler, who grew up in
Washington, D.C., and was labeled a tomboy when she started playing
basketball, said times have changed.
"Women's sports have
moved beyond the old stereotypes," Toler said. "We don't sell
tickets for Section D, Rows 1-4 for black fans and Section C, Rows 1-4 for
white fans and Section F, Rows 1-4 for lesbian fans. We just want fans. We've
reached out to many different parts of this city looking for fans."
Toler understands that there
will be criticism. "Our society isn't perfect," she said.
Buss said he understands
there are Spark fans with religious beliefs that tell them alternative
lifestyles are wrong. Buss said this makes him sad and that he would want to
tell those fans to be fair and come to the games and be part of the diversity.
And here's a final thought
for those who might feel this is wrong, that the Sparks should not send their
players to meet with Girl Bar patrons on a Friday night.
How many basketball fans
would ever have a problem taking their daughters and sons to Laker games? Say
a Laker-Trail Blazer game? A game where Shawn Kemp plays? You know Kemp? He
has fathered a number of children by a number of mothers. His season came to
an early end when he entered a drug rehabilitation program.
The Staples Center seats are
a lot cheaper for the Sparks. The players will happily sign your autographs
and tell your daughters and sons about their college educations.
Most of all the Sparks are
about basketball and reaching out to prospective fans so they can continue to
play a game they love. "If we want to keep getting paid to play
basketball," Milton said, "we've got to get fans. That's what we're
doing. Getting fans to come to our games. That's all.
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