An Afternoon WNBA Finals Game Reminds Us Of The Value of Teachable Moments…

A week ago I was at the University of Texas listening to legendary swimming coach Bob Bowman talk about “teachable moments,” and how even his star pupil, Michael Phelps, had to learn to draw items out of not his biggest accomplishments, but the failures he had along the way.

What we learn from loss…from mistakes…from the cringy worthy…he said, will only help us to improve if we are given the chance to grow, and if we are open to learning.

It was with teachable moments in mind that we went into class last Thursday, the same time as the Golden State Valkyries and Atlanta Dream were playing Game Six of the WNBA Finals…at 12:30 pm at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, not exactly the best time, or best series of events for the W. Words like “embarrassing” and “disaster” were thrown around by my students, who were allowed to check the score as class went on.   

However instead of oiling on, we encouraged them to think about what arises from a challenge the W was facing that day, and as the packed house, and a solid viewership number rose as the homestanding Dream sent the series back to San Francsico for this past weekend’s deciding game seven, the “teachable moments” started to flow.

Some thoughts:

We are more accustomed to watching games when they are on, not when we think they will always be on. Now this was not ideal…but… the NFL, the Premier League, March Madness, the World Cup, all showed that not all appointment viewing that is now live happens in prime time on the east coach. We have mobile devices, we build community, we find time to carve out in a few hours…and we watch from every device, so the “time” of the game mattered less because fans wanted to find a way to watch. As Terry Lyons pointed out here,  college basketball is now on at all hours of the day and night, so let’s worry less about the start time and more about how we enjoy. Breakfast and basketball suddenly became a thing on the West Coast last Thursday, and people had the rest of the day to get things done.

Also let’s not forget we are not that far away from late night games being the issue that drove young viewers away from games on school nights, and that in the not too distant past, the World Series was played…yes…in the day time.

Teachable moment: The afternoon game showed leagues that building a crowd for a marquee matchup, or trying to draw a different audience, is doable for the W. Summer afternoon camp days have worked, maybe there is a window for other special events. Also, add in that the early timeslot appeals elsewhere in the world, so building a global audience to watch in might not be such a bad thing.

Years ago, this was a much bigger actual vs perceived issue, but the teachable moment opened a door that no one was expecting.

Another one. The ‘crisis’ of the time change drew even more attention to the league for casual fans. While the audience for a prime time game six was going to be big, the drama of where and when the game was going to be played became even bigger news, and opened up a door for more casual fans…and media…to cover the drama than may have before. Also the mid afternoon start…maybe it drove these casual fans to a time whereas at night maybe they were doing something else. Again not intentional, but a teachable moment.

Third. The schedule issue exposed a need for more readiness and projection on dates and availability of arenas, and probably gives the new incoming leadership of the W a topic to embrace, improve on, and put in the rear view mirror. Now scheduling conflicts are not new, and the NBA was rife with arena issues well into their history. The Detroit Pistons playing playoff games in multiple locations, the LA Clippers getting sent to Anaheim  Arena and on and on. What happens now in the teachable moment is a better system and pointing back to the fall of ’26 as a never happen again at all costs…literally and figuratively.

In the end, the emergence of highly telegenic and competitive talented athletes, the boom of attendance, the expansion of rivalries and the depth of the league as a business and media property is what will arise out of the WNBA’s landmark season. What an amazing year of growth coming off what could have been a bleak work stoppage, and the fixable issues combined with the teachable moments wll give everyone a chance to see and realize the potential.

Who knew an afternoon game could yield so much benefit? You just have to listen, learn and grow, with the ego checked at the door and the drama on low boil, just as Coach Bowman pointed out for his stars of the pool.