Let the Ladies Dunk

So there’s been talk lately of moving three point lines (actually going to happen) and the weekend fellas over at Deadspin have some info on Tom Newell’s suggestions to move the goal height to 11 feet.  Well these moves are all fine and good (or terrible, depending upon your point of view) but what we here at Apias would really like to see is a change in the women’s game.  That’s right sports fans, move the ladies’ goal down to 9 feet.

More after the jump…

 Why move the ladies goal?  For one, why not?  It’s not like that many people watch the WNBA anyways.  Seriously, there were less than 15,000 people, on average, at the FINALS for the 2006 WNBA playoffs.  And why don’t people watch women’s basketball?  Some people say the speed of the game or the ladies aren’t as athletic, but people still go watch high school games.  So why the lack of interest in the WNBA?  Simple:  no dunking.

Barring the occasional Lisa Leslie or the freak that is Candace Parker, ladies just can’t get up above that 10 foot rim.  This is a problem because you are removing the single most exciting move in the sport.  You wouldn’t have baseball without the possibility of the home run.  Football wouldn’t be what it is today without the advent of the forward pass.  Soccer isn’t soccer without the opportunity to score goals (wait a second).

The bottom line is basketball is just not exciting without the opportunity for a girl to jump up, hang on the rim, and put her crotch in the face of her opponent.  Without the dunk, the WNBA just looks like your 12-year-old brother’s AAU game (except for that 6’2″ kid who can already mash).  Plainly put, Donna Orender needs to send down the edict to move these goals down to a manageable level for these ladies.  Then atleast we might get to see someone dunk with two hands on a fast break.