What is everyone's opinion of how the media are covering the Beat? After game one, I picked up a Sunday paper (AJC) and opened up the sports page. Across the top, there was a sentence about Hamm and the Freedom. Inside there was a picture and a short article about the Beat's win against NY. Today I picked up the sports section of the paper and saw that the Beat had a small article at the bottom right-hand side of the front page... the article continued on the third page with no picture. The failure of the Braves dominated the sports section as did other Baseball teams from around the country. The Braves sucking is still getting dominate play over an Atlanta sports team that is kicking ass! I know it's women's sports and it is soccer, but they are representing Atlanta and I feel the media should give them more props. The Beat certainly deserve it. Wendy Parker is writing some good articles and we appreciate the air-time the Beat are getting, but I feel they deserve more. Since I'm not living in Georgia, I can't comment on local news shows or the radio stations. Could someone post about those aspects of the media? I know the players were being interviewed on a morning radio show last season... is that still happening?? Any highlights on the 11pm news?? I think Atlanta should know that there is a team representing them that is dominating their sport. A push in the media would be a big help in getting the word out.
well news sucks and hates womens sports, from all the articles my grandmum gives me i say newspaper is pretty ok
The league stats were buried on the last page and I don't remember seeing any articles about the others games in the league. And I thought that the parent company of the AJC owned the Beat!?!
Crap! And the New York Times is worse. This is definitely part of the reason that the attendance is so lousy.
Why should the media take seriously a league or a team that cannot get the simple facts of the standings correct. Even the Beat's site lists Washington ahead of the Beat. I guess that no one at the Beat checks this and at the WUSA they had it wrong last week and was called on it and corrected it NOW they have it WRONG again. Clearly the WUSA and the Beat do not take themselves seriously. Why should anyone else? I would buy the excuse that it was "Just a mistake" last week caused by simply ordering the games in order of finish BUT that problem was not fixed and that shows incompetence or laziness either are, or at least should be, unacceptable.
Well, if you had Mia then you'd be listed in first. So there. Seriously, kvetching about standings in the first week of a 21 game season is a waste of good air and bandwidth. Worry about the lack of marketing and fannies in the seats.
If we are #1 after the Founders Cup, that is all I really care about. Win the title and they can't spin doctor you out of the picture.
If Atlanta had Mia they would NOT have 11 goals for and none against. Instead it might be more like five for and two against. The problem with the standings is just one symptom of incompetence at the top that is also causing the lack of attendance. If the great ladies in the league loose the league the pathetic executives that are in charge, and the people they supervise, are to blame.
This may have already been pointed out but the problem involves the actual computer program calculating the standings and stats. The program is set up so that, in the event of a tie in a stat or standing, the default tie-breaker is the team name in reverse alphabetical order. This means that in every tied catagory, Washington players (ie Mia Hamm) will be listed first and Atlanta players by default will be listed last. This doesn't really bother me accept they could at least set the default tie-breaker for the team standings to be Goal Difference. I guess one extra line of computer code is too tough!!! Oh well, like I said elsewhere, all that really matters is whose name is on the Founders Cup when the dust settles.
Sorry BUT that cannot be correct as, last week, the order (before it was corrected) was Washington, Atlanta and then Boston and San Jose. Since they all had one win reverse alpha order would put San Jose and Boston ahead of Atlanta. The problem is that no one appears to check and that IS the problem. It is not truly important at this point BUT it does point to the larger problem at the top. That problem IS important and may cause the league to fold without the league’s great product ever getting a fair chance to be on display.
The New York Times didn't even carry the teeny WUSA standing chart in their big Monday Sports supplement section.
I know it's annoying, it's annoying to us as well, but trust me it's not being overlooked. The league, nor the teams, produce the standings chart on the web pages. Since many of the websites are run by the same company, that company lists the standings. Everything that comes from the league and the Beat, by way of press releases, stats updates, etc., is correct. So, to say that this shows a problem that stems from the top, is inaccurate. And to the point of the league not putting forth an effort, the league funds all of the teams and, trust me, wants to see all of the team succeed on and off the field. There is a lot of work that is done in the league office and each team's office, that is done so you the fans can see these players put on a great show on the weekends. The league does not have a fan base like that of MLB, NHL, NFL, etc., so much of the outreach is done in grass roots methods. So to see a rise in attendance, each team needs its hardcore fans, you guys, to spread the word. Bring your friends, families, etc. to enjoy the show these great athletes are putting on. If you do have any questions, comments, or concerns feel free to contact the Beat or the league. Send in an e-mail via the internet. Thanks for all of your support of the Beat and the WUSA.
I didn't look up the stats the first week, but it looks like the stats and standings this week use the team name reverse alphabetically as the tie-break.
Just looking at the "Points" section on WUSA In 8th place tie: (Ordered directly from the WUSA site) Abby Wambach WAS Christine Latham SD Jaclyn Raveia NY Maren Meinert BOS Dagny Mellgren BOS Birgit Prinz CAR Katie Barnes SJC While at first it looks like it might be reverse alpha clearly the last 4 violate that. I think someone just randomlly draws names out of a hat AFTER making sure the Washington favorites are first.
Hey guys, why does it matter how the standings our listed, if we really know who's in first place and who is kicking butt. And I think the standings were corrected on the site. As far as how the media is covering the BEat, think about all of the things that the BEat has had to deal with the past couple of weeks. Opening weekend, the women's final four was in town, the Bell South classic was in town, the Thrashers and Braves were in town. This past week, there was a little golf tournament going on. From an attendance standpoint, 4 p.m. games don't draw well because the soccer kids are still playing games and this past weekend was the last weekend of spring break. It probably didn't help either that the weather was so nice. People might have gone to the Park for Dogwood festival or might have just gone out to their pools. I think May's games are going to be great. Two games against hated San Jose and a game against rivals San Diego. I can't wait to see the BEat pummel Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain.
As someone that used to work for a newspaper, I can tell you that they really take subscriber feedback seriously. I'd guess that's why they put the editors name on the front page of their section and the writers name as a part of the byline. I'd recommend sending both Robert Mashburn (rmashburn@ajc.com) and Wendy Parker (wparker@ajc.com) emails sharing your views on the matter. I sent both an email earlier sharing my disappointment in their coverage of Saturday’s blow-out vs Boston. Can’t wait to see their responses.
Great advise! Everyone send off a nicely worded email expressing concern on the lack of coverage perhaps noting that we understand about competing sports, but hope the Beat are adequately recognized throughout their season. Big #8 ... let us know if you get a response! Srod and Beat 101 ... thanks for the posts... it's always nice having a staffers point of view. I think we just all feel frustrated that the coverage isn't any better than it is. Not just in the AJC, but local news and radio. Are the Beat doing spots on the radio like in previous seasons?
On the flipside of this, be sure to send them emails thanking them for the good coverage that they do provide. I don't know about any of you, but whenever I see an article on the Beat I send them a nice email thanking them for the coverage and telling them that we appreciate it and want to see more.
It's still early in the season, and two blow-outs do not a season make. However, if they keep this up the media and casual fan will take notice. Anyway, the only "real" sport in Georgia is UGA FOOTBALL.
Sorry to burst your bubble Kim, but I'm not a staffer, just someone who knows the game very well and keeps up with soccer in ATL.