Note: This is an old post from my Multiply site last September 19, 2009.
I do. Most basketball-crazed fans don’t. Even Bill Simmons a.k.a. “Sports Guy” thinks that league stinks as he hopes that it stops its operations some time this year. There are various reasons why. You seldom see domination in that league. It is low scoring and you can count in only one hand all the WNBA players to ever dunk. If you watch their regular season game, you will notice that there are several empty seats in their small stadiums. Most people do not normally expect anything great from watching women play in a male-dominated sport. But still, WNBA has its tagline: “Expect Great.”
Nevertheless, I still watch these females play ball. Yes, and I do expect something great from them. Awhile ago, I woke up to tune in to BTV to check the WNBA playoffs (yes, it’s their playoffs now… I bet you do not know about that). The Los Angeles Sparks were battling the Seattle Storm in Key Arena. The former leads the series 1-0 and they just need a win to dispose the Storm. For everyone’s information, I root for two WNBA teams: San Antonio Silver Stars and Seattle Storm. This has got something to do with rooting for two WNBA cuties (yeah, I confess that I was drawn to support them because they are pretty as you seldom transcendent beautiful faces in WNBA). San Antonio is led by blonde (now a brunette) hotshot Becky Hammon while Seattle features the league’s best natural point guard in Sue Bird. I have to admit though that I became their fan because of their admirable skills (anyway, beauty initially entices you; in the end, what matters is the skill and talent). Becky, despite of her small stature, knows how to be transcendent with her scoring, passing and defense. On the other hand, Sue Bird plays like my favorite NBA point guard – John Stockton. She looks to set up the plays first but when clutch times call for her to deliver, she does it impressively. Today, it was my chance to watch Sue in action.
I began watching by second quarter. The Sparks mounted a good lead of nine and Seattle looks like a helpless squad as their star player – Lauren Jackson – is out with yet another injury. (Last year, the two teams also battled in the playoffs with LJ nursing an ankle injury. LA eliminated Seattle last year.) It appeared that we are headed to a repeat of last year’s playoffs when LA brought the lead to eleven during the third quarter. Seattle was shorthanded and LA is a powerhouse with WNBA’s version of LeBron James in Candace Parker so I was not expecting anything much from the Storm. I just hoped that they give one fight for survival. Just when I wished that, Seattle started to put a run of their own. Led by Tanisha Wright, Seattle stormed back and made the hometown fans erupt with cheers of “Beat L.A.” By the way, she looks like Dr. Bailey of Grey’s Anatomy now that it made me think of an appropriate monicker for her. Should I call Tanisha the “General Surgeon” or “The Ped?” But just like her TV show look-alike, I could not figure what suits her better. By the end of third quarter, the Storm are suddenly leading 56-55. I found myself cheering happily in front of my TV set. Hey, this is nothing different from watching an intense men’s ballgame!
As the crowd roared, I was in basketball nirvana. The Storm quintet was heavily pumped up by the crowd as they fueled an early fourth quarter run that had them leading by eight. They have fulfilled my wish. I am glad for rooting for them because despite of being underdogs, they had the heart to catch up the LA powerhouse. I was already thinking of what to tweet after I saw them controlling the game. Timeout L.A. Should I tweet or not? Argh! The laptop is upstairs. I will just wait further. Thank God, I did not tweet. I would have been an overconfident fool if I did. LA responded by decimating Seattle’s lead as soon as possible. As the crucial minutes of the game came, LA was back on top. Lisa Leslie really wants to win it all this year as she is about to retire. Candace Parker, though she is not dominating, was contributing crucial points down the stretch. As for Sue Bird? She continued to struggle. LA and Seattle exchanged leads until the last minute where LA found themselves leading after a crucial tip-in by Lisa Leslie.
27 seconds remaining. Seattle timeout. Cameras started to focus on Sue Bird. We all know that she is the clutch shooter of the team. The inbound pass went to Tanisha Wright. I was glad it did not went to Sue because I am sure she will pass it – I would rather have her take the pass and make the final shot. Unfortunately, Tanisha fumbled the ball and it went LA’s way. LA Ball. Now, the Storm have no choice but to foul. Argh! All of my previous positive energies went down the drain when Seattle failed to deny Tina Thompson the ball. She is an 87% freethrow shooter so when she calmly swished the free shots, all I could do was cringe. It’s over. Seattle’s season is over once again. There are just 15 seconds left and they are down by four. Suddenly, Tanisha “The General Surgeon/Ped” Wright became “The Choker”. Heck, at least I will not have a dilemma on what monicker to give her.
Just like the previous Seattle timeout, the cameras started to zoom in Sue Bird. The commentators start to talk about her. All throughout the season, she was able to force overtimes by tying leads by her rainbow shots. This time, she won’t be tying it as she will just decrease the lead should she sink the triple again. I was also concerned because LA should know this. They know how to defend the best clutch shooter – they did it before against Becky Hammon. If in the previous inbound I did not expect her to get the ball right away, this time I knew that she will get it (there’s not much time to set up a play anyway!). Sue did get the ball. Outside from the arc, she faked. A Spark was tricked by jumping at her. Sue jumps. Sue shoots… Sue scores! BAM! I shouted as if we won the game. Mom had to shout back at me because I was getting too noisy. But hey, I am a basketball fan and this is how we react in such scenarios. Sue did it again. Just another day in the office… but wait, LA is still leading. Sue scored but Seattle is still losing. Damn! LA Timeout.
LA Inbound. Just like the previous episode, they look for the best freethrow shooter. Unfortunately for them, Seattle was prepared this time. Camille Little tipped the ball after it was passed. I automatically reacted by standing. Is it a complete steal? Yes it was. The ball goes to Seattle and they are running in free court. Wow! We have a chance of winning! The ball goes back to the running Camille Little for the fastbreak layup. She scores! I was jumping up and down to celebrate. Seattle suddenly found themselves winning. LA has one last chance of winning but their two attempts failed. Seattle steals a win from the jaws of elimination. After being down by 4 with just 15 seconds remaining, the Seattle Storm pulled off a dramatic win. That was simply fantastic! If that is not entertainment at its best, I do not know what it is.
But still, there are just few WNBA supporters. I highly doubt that that victory would entice people to watch. But as for me, I am glad I watch WNBA games. This is because I expect great and I know I can witness greatness.
I do. Most basketball-crazed fans don’t. Even Bill Simmons a.k.a. “Sports Guy” thinks that league stinks as he hopes that it stops its operations some time this year. There are various reasons why. You seldom see domination in that league. It is low scoring and you can count in only one hand all the WNBA players to ever dunk. If you watch their regular season game, you will notice that there are several empty seats in their small stadiums. Most people do not normally expect anything great from watching women play in a male-dominated sport. But still, WNBA has its tagline: “Expect Great.”
Nevertheless, I still watch these females play ball. Yes, and I do expect something great from them. Awhile ago, I woke up to tune in to BTV to check the WNBA playoffs (yes, it’s their playoffs now… I bet you do not know about that). The Los Angeles Sparks were battling the Seattle Storm in Key Arena. The former leads the series 1-0 and they just need a win to dispose the Storm. For everyone’s information, I root for two WNBA teams: San Antonio Silver Stars and Seattle Storm. This has got something to do with rooting for two WNBA cuties (yeah, I confess that I was drawn to support them because they are pretty as you seldom transcendent beautiful faces in WNBA). San Antonio is led by blonde (now a brunette) hotshot Becky Hammon while Seattle features the league’s best natural point guard in Sue Bird. I have to admit though that I became their fan because of their admirable skills (anyway, beauty initially entices you; in the end, what matters is the skill and talent). Becky, despite of her small stature, knows how to be transcendent with her scoring, passing and defense. On the other hand, Sue Bird plays like my favorite NBA point guard – John Stockton. She looks to set up the plays first but when clutch times call for her to deliver, she does it impressively. Today, it was my chance to watch Sue in action.
I began watching by second quarter. The Sparks mounted a good lead of nine and Seattle looks like a helpless squad as their star player – Lauren Jackson – is out with yet another injury. (Last year, the two teams also battled in the playoffs with LJ nursing an ankle injury. LA eliminated Seattle last year.) It appeared that we are headed to a repeat of last year’s playoffs when LA brought the lead to eleven during the third quarter. Seattle was shorthanded and LA is a powerhouse with WNBA’s version of LeBron James in Candace Parker so I was not expecting anything much from the Storm. I just hoped that they give one fight for survival. Just when I wished that, Seattle started to put a run of their own. Led by Tanisha Wright, Seattle stormed back and made the hometown fans erupt with cheers of “Beat L.A.” By the way, she looks like Dr. Bailey of Grey’s Anatomy now that it made me think of an appropriate monicker for her. Should I call Tanisha the “General Surgeon” or “The Ped?” But just like her TV show look-alike, I could not figure what suits her better. By the end of third quarter, the Storm are suddenly leading 56-55. I found myself cheering happily in front of my TV set. Hey, this is nothing different from watching an intense men’s ballgame!
As the crowd roared, I was in basketball nirvana. The Storm quintet was heavily pumped up by the crowd as they fueled an early fourth quarter run that had them leading by eight. They have fulfilled my wish. I am glad for rooting for them because despite of being underdogs, they had the heart to catch up the LA powerhouse. I was already thinking of what to tweet after I saw them controlling the game. Timeout L.A. Should I tweet or not? Argh! The laptop is upstairs. I will just wait further. Thank God, I did not tweet. I would have been an overconfident fool if I did. LA responded by decimating Seattle’s lead as soon as possible. As the crucial minutes of the game came, LA was back on top. Lisa Leslie really wants to win it all this year as she is about to retire. Candace Parker, though she is not dominating, was contributing crucial points down the stretch. As for Sue Bird? She continued to struggle. LA and Seattle exchanged leads until the last minute where LA found themselves leading after a crucial tip-in by Lisa Leslie.
27 seconds remaining. Seattle timeout. Cameras started to focus on Sue Bird. We all know that she is the clutch shooter of the team. The inbound pass went to Tanisha Wright. I was glad it did not went to Sue because I am sure she will pass it – I would rather have her take the pass and make the final shot. Unfortunately, Tanisha fumbled the ball and it went LA’s way. LA Ball. Now, the Storm have no choice but to foul. Argh! All of my previous positive energies went down the drain when Seattle failed to deny Tina Thompson the ball. She is an 87% freethrow shooter so when she calmly swished the free shots, all I could do was cringe. It’s over. Seattle’s season is over once again. There are just 15 seconds left and they are down by four. Suddenly, Tanisha “The General Surgeon/Ped” Wright became “The Choker”. Heck, at least I will not have a dilemma on what monicker to give her.
Just like the previous Seattle timeout, the cameras started to zoom in Sue Bird. The commentators start to talk about her. All throughout the season, she was able to force overtimes by tying leads by her rainbow shots. This time, she won’t be tying it as she will just decrease the lead should she sink the triple again. I was also concerned because LA should know this. They know how to defend the best clutch shooter – they did it before against Becky Hammon. If in the previous inbound I did not expect her to get the ball right away, this time I knew that she will get it (there’s not much time to set up a play anyway!). Sue did get the ball. Outside from the arc, she faked. A Spark was tricked by jumping at her. Sue jumps. Sue shoots… Sue scores! BAM! I shouted as if we won the game. Mom had to shout back at me because I was getting too noisy. But hey, I am a basketball fan and this is how we react in such scenarios. Sue did it again. Just another day in the office… but wait, LA is still leading. Sue scored but Seattle is still losing. Damn! LA Timeout.
LA Inbound. Just like the previous episode, they look for the best freethrow shooter. Unfortunately for them, Seattle was prepared this time. Camille Little tipped the ball after it was passed. I automatically reacted by standing. Is it a complete steal? Yes it was. The ball goes to Seattle and they are running in free court. Wow! We have a chance of winning! The ball goes back to the running Camille Little for the fastbreak layup. She scores! I was jumping up and down to celebrate. Seattle suddenly found themselves winning. LA has one last chance of winning but their two attempts failed. Seattle steals a win from the jaws of elimination. After being down by 4 with just 15 seconds remaining, the Seattle Storm pulled off a dramatic win. That was simply fantastic! If that is not entertainment at its best, I do not know what it is.
But still, there are just few WNBA supporters. I highly doubt that that victory would entice people to watch. But as for me, I am glad I watch WNBA games. This is because I expect great and I know I can witness greatness.
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