You don’t have to be a WNBA fan to have noticed its surge in popularity over the past few years. Game attendance is the highest since the 1990s, and according to ESPN, it’s up 183% from last season. That’s remarkable to say the least. But I didn’t realize just how true it is until I attended a NY Liberty game against the Chicago Sky last month. Sitting with other fans, I noticed a much younger demographic below me than I expected. I saw young girls, teens and tweens sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for the players to take the court. Some proudly wore Sabrina Ionescu jerseys, while others wore colorful T-shirts printed with mascot Ellie the elephant. Some were there just for Angel Reese, wearing replicas of her No. 5 jersey and screaming when they spotted Chi-Town Barbie during warmups.

In fact, the WNBA has one of the largest percentages of young fans among major American sports leagues. According to a YouGov survey, 47 percent of WNBA fans are 18- to 34-year-olds, and nearly half of WNBA fans are women. And the best part? The rising popularity seems to be encouraging young girls to get interested in the sport and stick with it.

At the Boys and Girls Club in Whittier, California, the Mamba League, a basketball club for girls in third through eighth grade, is growing in popularity. “At first, a lot of boys were very interested, but with the rise of the WNBA, we have more girls than members playing for us,” says Samantha Robles, the youth director for the Boys and Girls Club of Whittier and Pico Rivera. There’s also been an influx of requests for girls-only basketball leagues, says Eric Osborne, senior director of sports and esports at Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

“It’s an opportunity for teenagers to see their role models develop and to realize that if we put our minds to it, we can be like them one day.”

The kids aren’t just playing ball, they’re talking about it. “It’s become so popular,” says Kanessa, 16, a member of BGC of the Valley. Although she hasn’t been able to attend a game in person, she and her friends watch clips and highlights of the players on social media. Kanessa’s favorite player: Brittney Griner. The 16-year-old tells PS that it was BG’s imprisonment in Russia and her return to the league that caught her attention and brought her to the WNBA. Before that, she was just an NBA fan.

“People say, ‘Oh, girls can’t do that,’ like they have to stay home and cook and stuff, and they’re not strong enough and stuff,” she says. But watching Griner and following the WNBA as a whole, she learned the exact opposite. “(The WNBA) empowers women to do things like that – that they may do something like that. And I think it’s really cool.”

Hailie, a fan of Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, echoes similar sentiments. The high school student has been playing basketball her entire life, but her freshman year of high school was her first exposure to the WNBA. Watching the W grow in popularity has been inspiring, Hailie tells PS, because it signals “opportunity” for her and her teammates.

“There’s really nothing impossible if you really put your mind to it,” says Hailie, adding that her biggest gain was seeing how the players supported the league and followed its development.

“It offers teens the opportunity to really see their role models grow and to know that we can be like them one day if we put our minds to it,” she says. In a society where girls are twice as likely as boys to quit sport by age 14 due to lack of access, social stigma, cost and a lack of positive role models, it is crucial to instill a positive idea of ​​what is possible.

As for Hailie’s future ambitions to play professional basketball, that option is there – and it’s thanks in part to the WNBA. “I’m open to it,” she tells PS. “It’s not something I would say no to.”

Alexis Jones is the senior health and fitness editor at PS. Her passions and areas of expertise include women’s health and fitness, mental health, racial and ethnic health disparities, and chronic disease. Before joining PS, she was a senior editor at Health magazine. You can find her other writing at Women’s Health, Prevention, Marie Claire, and more.