WNBA: We Got Next, but He Has Translation

Good luck to the WNBA. They possess the unenviable task of marketing women’s basketball. And judging from their ad slogan, it appears as though their target market is the illiterate. Enter my den for a recent conversation between my wife (an educated woman) and me while watching the TV commercial for the WNBA.

Wife: Why do they say, “We’ve got nets”? Big deal.

Me: No, Honey, they’re saying “We got next.”

Wife: We’ve got necks?

Me: No, “We got next.”

Wife: What the heck does that mean?

I assured her that it was a legitimate question. Fortunately, being a playground veteran, I was able to translate this chatter as, “We have assembled a team that will play the next game.” To the uninitiated, “We got next” has no more meaning than “Hubba-hubba.”

The WNBA should be looking for fans who enjoy a different type of basketball. But judging by the gibberish in their promotions, it appears as though they are trying to appeal to the basketball fan who likes the trash-talking bravado of the NBA. Unfortunately, women’s basketball will not be able to deliver it. And I doubt very many fans will watch simply because they’ve got nets.

THOMAS A. DERSE

Camarillo