It feels like a new era, in so many ways. If you were or are on Twitter, you are probably scrambling to a new service that seems familiar. If you want my opinion, I like Post.news and Mastodon for the news with a reengagement of readers to keep up with sites and blogs that I like. Threads seems like it is winning out right now, but also brings my internet life a little bit too close to my personal life, and I would like to keep those two at arm's length. In the end, I think it is going to be like the transition from cable to streaming. One firehose of too much information to a diffuse amalgam of sources.
For us here in the hockey space, we are also seeing an important change, and I'm not just talking about the Connor Bedard era coming to Chicago. Existing women's hockey leagues have announced that they are ceasing operations, all in an effort to support a new women's hockey league that is expected to have close support from the NHL. There is a players association that is in agreement with the future leadership of the league. The shiny, marketable components of the league (like, say, its name or franchises) are not available yet. It's existence is confirmed, however.
There has been a rolling surge in interest in women's sports. The WNBA has the most successful resume in women's sports in North America. It should be noted that the best basketball players in the US have supplemented income by playing overseas, but the league has been mostly stable since it's inception, and has a growing fan base. Part of this is because players in the league have had the WNBA as an aspirational goal since their youth, and gifted athletes have stuck with it.
Soccer was the next sport that saw overwhelming support from fans, and brought about the NWSL. For a while, the women's game was actually more influential, more popular than the men's game, and after some trauma and scandal is reaching a similar level of stability. With the women's World Cup coming later this summer, it is sure to get a boost.
Couple that with sports like gymnastics or tennis, where the women's version of the sports are the more popular, the point I am trying to make is that investors needn't fear sinking money into women's sports any longer, especially ones with the following of hockey in North America.
The US plays Canada in every international competition in the women's gold medal game, and it is usually fairly well appreciated. The girls hockey tournament in Minnesota is extremely popular. There are enough women ready to play the game and there are more in the queue for the next generation. With the infrastructure of the NHL and eager investors behind it, the time is right and the success is there for the taking.
