The WNBA preseason is underway and there’s already drama.

Both Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark made their WNBA debuts this weekend, but only one among the games was televised.

I think you may guess which one.

Although the WNBA app showed that every one preseason games can be available to watch this weekend, this turned out not to be the case and fans were upset, especially those that were hoping for Angel Reese’s debut.

Since the sport couldn’t be viewed on TV or on the WNBA app, a fan in attendance streamed the whole event live, and while gauging views on social media is not an actual science, the video was viewed by roughly 434,000 people on Saturday.

Imagine if the league actually counted those views.

Does the league realize how much star power it has now? As Lynx’s coach – Cheryl Reeve said in a Friday morning tweet encouraging people to watch the Lynx/Sky matchup, the league is greater than just one player.

It’s still unclear to me whether this was the fault of the WNBA itself or the tv network that owned the rights to the Chicago Sky or Minnesota Lynx games, but it surely was one other example of a wasted opportunity to make the most of all of the current emotions around women’s basketball.

We keep hearing that we want to do more to support the WNBA, and judging by the response on social media from individuals who weren’t able to see Friday’s game (just search the WNBA to see people furiously screaming at them), plenty of people that donated $35 to support the league.

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Why cannot they see all of the matches?

If there are strange bureaucratic structures that prevent certain games from being included on League Pass, everyone involved needs to come together and determine how fans – individuals who want to support the league by watching – can get their investment back.

I said it within the headline and I’ll say it again: this is the Angel Reese account. I just want to see her play.

The WNBA wanted all this attention and now they’ve it, but it surely looks like they do not have the horses to capitalize on all the eye, and ultimately, in the event that they don’t, recover from it, the players will suffer.

Monday was Angel Reese’s twenty second birthday. She spent the evening on the Met Gala.

She will play her second WNBA game on Tuesday night as her team takes on the New York Liberty, and since everyone caused such a stir on Friday night, the WNBA found a way to the sport is available to watch as a part of League Pass.

I hope everyone will tune in and watch our girl do her thing.

In the grand scheme of things, the dearth of availability of a preseason game may not seem to be that big of a deal, and that would be the case within the NBA, but within the case of the WNBA, the sport matters since the more eyes we will placed on it, Ladies, the more support we construct for the league and The more support we construct for the league, the more likely we’re to make changes that may translate into things like not having to fly ads to games and getting extra money for girls players.

There’s a fan base there. There is support. People are ready, willing and hungry for girls’s basketball.

WNBA, the ball is now in your court.

The development you’ve got been asking for is inside your reach. Are you ready to take care of it? Once you’ve got it, what are you going to do with it?

The Chicago Sky’s first game of the WNBA season began with rookies chosen on this yr’s draft, Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. However, the league did not televise its skilled debuts, which caused confusion and disappointment.

People wonder why – especially in the case of Reese’s college rival, Caitlin Clark (now playing for the Indiana Fever), who happens to be white, shown on TV. According to the Associated Press, the Sky match was listed as available for viewing.

But someone on X, the platform formerly often called Twitter, did their part to make sure that fans who did not have access to the game could see Reese and Cardoso’s debuts. User X, @heyheyitsalli wrote: “Would you want me to try broadcasting the game here? I do not promise quality, but I can try.

would you want me to try broadcasting the game here? I do not promise quality, but I can try

— alli (@heyheyitsalli) May 3, 2024

With this message, she not only gained the respect of users, but was in a position to fulfill many users’ dreams of watching the Chicago Sky season opener.

Lynx vs Sky preseason game!! https://t.co/fOHriWWcVV

— alli (@heyheyitsalli) May 4, 2024

The numbers were amazing – over 615,800 viewers watched the broadcast. Alli shared a screenshot of her 173,381 live viewers at the time of posting the news.

Y’all, these are a few of the WILDEST numbers. WOW pic.twitter.com/DJF6Xloss1

— alli (@heyheyitsalli) May 4, 2024

When asked about Alli’s performance, Lnyx coach Cheryl Reeve said she deserved “three dollars” per viewer.

“Anyone who watched this could send that person three dollars. I do not even know who that’s,” Reeve said. I suppose I’d say the growth is going on in a short time. It’s so sped up. I’ve been saying this repeatedly in our own organization – business as usual will now not work.

Cheryl Reeve shared some good comments post-game about the decision NOT to broadcast the Sky-Lynx game. Watch the full clip.

“The growth is happening so fast. The previous actions will no longer work. You will be left behind and this is an example of that.” #WNBA 🎥 @minnesotalynx pic.twitter.com/VIYfrzUteD

— Vanshay Murdock 🎥🎥 (@VanshayM) May 4, 2024

The Sky lost to the Minnesota Lynx 92-81. Reese scored 13 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes, while Cardoso scored six points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 13 minutes.

Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso played for various teams during their standout college basketball careers.

Reese won the 2023 women’s college basketball championship with the LSU Tigers, and Cardoso and the South Carolina Gamecocks defeated Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in April.

Now Reese and Cardoso have teamed up as rookies playing for the Chicago Sky. Although Clark’s preseason debut with the Indiana Fever was made available for viewing on the WNBA App on May 3, there have been some disruptions related to the published of the Reese-Cardoso game that took place on the identical day.

The WNBA apologized for its app flawed combination Sky’s preseason matchup with the Minnesota Lynx was available to watch and attempted to make clear its broadcast schedule, claiming that the Fever’s preseason opener was the one game the league planned to broadcast.

However, fans were still unhappy that the game was not easily accessible.

“Ridiculous” – one said the fan. “It really shouldn’t be that difficult to broadcast 11 preseason games.”

A fan from the Lynx home arena decided to step in and help bring the game to as many individuals as possible.

“Would you like me to try broadcasting the game here?” – asked user X @heyheyitsalli. “I don’t promise quality, but I can try.”

Then, on the spur of the moment, the social media user launched a live broadcast, which attracted an enormous audience.

Although the variety of viewers for the livestream fluctuated throughout the day, as of May 6, the video had over 600,000 total viewers and the post itself had 2.5 million views. On May 3, heyheyitsalli shared a screenshot showing that the live broadcast had attracted 173,381 viewers on the time.

“These are some of the WILDEST numbers, WOW” – them he wrote.

One of the live broadcast viewers was three-time national championship-winning coach Dawn Staley, who was tuned in to watch Kamilla Cardoso’s big game. She even he tipped Alli $100 for being gracious enough to pick up where the WNBA failed.

“I didn’t mind watching with friends. Let’s pick up hockey sticks to make changes,” Coach Stalley said.

Flau’jae was also spotted on the livestream, apparently cheering on her former teammate Angel Reese.

“Imagine your NCAA Championship-winning head coach @dawnstaley had to watch his player’s first game live on Instagram. But seriously, it’s so problematic and unacceptable that it’s a shame” – user X he tweeted. “You can’t think @WNBA something like this can happen again and lose support by the minute.”

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve shared the identical sentiment as many fans. During the postgame press conference, she said that times are changing, and while it’s comprehensible that the league wants to weigh costs and put money towards quality players, Caitlin Clark is not the one helpful WNBA player.

“Caitlin’s first game was certainly appreciated. I’m for it, I understand it. People want to see it, but they also want to see… it’s not just about Caitlin,” Reeve said.

She continued: “This is in no way Caitlin’s fault. Rather, it’s about knowing that there’s a widespread excitement about the WNBA that we haven’t seen before. So we have to leverage the potential to really make sure this is a movement.”

The WNBA has learned of the impressive numbers (and complaints), and Sky’s next preseason game, scheduled for May 7, will now be available via WNBA League Pass. Originally, it was not planned to be broadcast on television.

The match can be expected to be televised in local markets.