When Natalie Williams made a put-back with 2:13 remaining, the crowd at the Delta Center roared. It wasn't a small roar, either. It was as loud as 6,488 people can be in a building that holds 19,911.
When a sizable portion of the audience is 12-year-old girls, the roaring tends to come out in a pitch that makes dogs whine.Nevertheless, once it was over -- the game and the roaring -- the Utah Starzz had their first win of the season and a perfect 1-0 record at home. They were about as perfect as they've been since the league began just over three seasons ago.
"If we put some wins up, people will get behind us," said guard LaTonya Johnson. "But we need to get some wins early."
The Starzz are back for another season, which wasn't a foregone conclusion. They arrived at the inception of the WNBA in 1997, but when talk got around to renewing the agreements last fall, the WNBA stalled. It didn't come out and threaten to move the team if attendance didn't improve, but it implied as much. Eventually, the WNBA tendered the Starzz a three-year contract, with the understanding that the fan base needs to rise.
Tuesday, then, began a home season of major importance, for two reasons. First, the Starzz must prove they can draw large crowds. They have been among the three lowest-drawing teams in the league every year of their existence. Last season, despite winning as many games (15) as the first two seasons combined, average attendance was just 7,106. Only Charlotte had a lower average. Second, the Starzz have their best team ever, one that Johnson says is the deepest in the WNBA. They were picked in the preseason to finish seventh, which would put them in the playoffs for the first time.
That optimism must be tempered by the fact that the Starzz still haven't appealed to the masses. Attendance on Tuesday was 618 below last year's season average, despite the fact that it was the home opener and nearly 11,000 upper bowl tickets were offered for free, compliments of Phillips 66. But only about 1,000 took up the offer.
It isn't as though the Starzz, or their promoters, aren't trying. They pulled out all the stops, including a live band outside prior to the game, clowns on stilts, jugglers and an inflatable balloon that said "Titanic" on the hull. (I'll leave that one alone.)
During introductions, a flaming star was unveiled, along with fireworks and pulsating music. Afterward, a recording group called F.A.T.E. (For All That's Endured) did a mini-concert.
As for the Starzz, they've endured a lot, too.
There are a number of theories why the Starzz don't draw well. It could be the smaller-market syndrome. Perhaps it's because Salt Lake is an "outdoor" city and fans want to spend their summers doing recreational sports. It has even been suggested the Starzz don't draw well because Salt Lake is a town in which young girls -- the core of the fan base -- are taught to stay at home and do "girlish" things. Considering the tens of thousands of girls in Utah who play Junior Jazz, youth soccer and prep sports, that theory is foolish.
"At Louisiana Tech, Tennessee and a few other places, they outdraw the men's game. There are significant pockets of cognizance about the women's game," said owner Larry H. Miller. "So in part, it's a market thing."
The most common theory is that winning will bring fans -- a theory to which Miller subscribes. But even that isn't a guarantee. The Washington Mystics had the second-worst record in the league last year, but still drew a league-high 15,003 per game. The Starzz, a considerably better team, drew less than half that many.
Those facts didn't keep the Starzz from claiming a win on Thursday, much to the delight of the squealing crowd.
"I hope people will come out," said Williams. "There's nothing better. People should go do things outside during the day and watch the Starzz at night. What else are you going to do at night? I hope they'll come out. We'll entertain them."
As a matter of fact, they're working on that already.
E-mail: rock@desnews.com