Community Court

This past Saturday I found myself stress-packing (the only way to do it) for my upcoming trip to Chicago for WNBA All-Star Weekend while watching every second of coverage from Flavor Flav's SHE Weekend. How quickly times have changed. We used to talk about the sports calendar like it's fixed: draft, regular season, playoffs, repeat. But SHE Weekend and WNBA All-Star, landing back to back, are building something else entirely: a cultural calendar for women's sports. Not a broadcast slot borrowed from someone else's schedule, but a weekend you plan your summer around.

These events are fresh and innovative. It's not a copy of the men's model. Nobody grabbed the NBA All-Star Weekend blueprint and swapped in different jerseys. SHE Weekend was built from scratch, for the female athletes, for the female fans.

I’m not going to lie, I had serious FOMO watching these incredible Olympians and Paralympians being celebrated with parades, dinners, and a Backstreet Boys concert. Everyone looked like they’d hit the joy jackpot. And of course, 99 percent of the athletes had never listened to Flavor Flav or Backstreet Boys, but I'm sure their parents were super excited. (So funny to think that these young athletes were getting the mid-life botox version of a boy band.)

For a long time, "a seat at the table" for women’s sports meant literally that: a seat at someone else’s table. I think about Kendall Coyne Schofield lacing up for the NHL All-Star Game skills competition, Sabrina Ionescu at the NBA 3-point contest, or even two weeks ago when AUSL stars Rachel Garcia, NiJaree Canady, Tiare Jennings and Alyssa Brito competed in the MLBx All-Star event. These icons were doing something important and necessary, pulling focus toward their sport, but inside someone else's spotlight. That’s not the same as throwing your own party.

SHE Weekend wasn't a favor extended to women's sports. It was women's sports building the guest list, picking the playlist, and deciding who got invited. You can see that in who’s willing to bankroll it. None of that happens by accident, and none of it’s cheap.

Dove's been in the women's sports sponsorship space for years. What’s new is the company it’s keeping: 72andSunny, Delta, MGM, StubHub, all committing real money to build an entire weekend. Brands don't do that for a market that isn't already there. They do it for one they're betting is about to get a lot bigger.

A few years ago, watching women’s sports meant catching the highlight reel buried in someone else's broadcast. Now I'm booking flights around it. That’s the shift, and apparently it also means trying to pack my entire closet for the trip.

Ten pairs of sneakers is enough for one weekend, right?