Picture a sports league with a Finals series, a 3,500-seat backup gym, and a calendar. It chose lunch.
The WNBA moved Game 6 between the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries from 8 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET Thursday. The reason is the Atlanta Hawks. They play the Cleveland Cavaliers at State Farm Arena that night. The Hawks and Cavs got bumped from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. so a championship could be decided while your boss thinks you're at the dentist.
The league weighed three options. Play at the dream's own Gateway Center, which seats 3,500. Play at 12:30 p.m. at State Farm Arena, which seats 17,000. Or slide Game 6 to Friday and push a possible Game 7 to Nov. 3 in San Francisco. It picked the sandwich slot.
The league's explanation is a masterpiece of corporate calm. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert cited the sellout crowds for Games 3 and 4 and the chance to give "thousands more fans" a look. Thousands of fans who, at 12:30 on a Thursday, are presumably between meetings.
Nobody asked the NBA to move the Hawks game earlier. It couldn't move. The Hawks play Wednesday night too, and the NBA's labor agreement requires 22 hours between games. So the WNBA yielded to a regular-season game in October. Valkyries one win from their first title. Hawks one win from a Thursday in October.
This is the third time in this series the schedule had to be rebuilt around the Hawks. Game 3 got moved up a day. Game 4 got a new time. Game 6 got lunch. At this rate, Game 7 airs during a dental cleaning.
The game streams on Peacock and airs on USA Network. Valkyries lead 3-2. Angel Reese and the Dream need a win to survive.
Retail traders will call this a bearish signal for women's basketball. Those are the same people who bought a stock because the ticker looked friendly. They can watch from their parents' basement at 12:30 p.m. on a Thursday, which is also when they usually wake up.
Photo by LOGAN WEAVER | @LGNWVR on Unsplash
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