Baby's First WNBA Game
A conversation with Frankie de la Cretaz
We all build our arsenals of experts. When I can’t get a stain out, I’m calling my mom. When I have a baking mishap, my sister-in-law Kate is getting an urgent message. And when I have a women’s sports emergency, you better believe I will be bugging the great Frankie de la Cretaz, who has been covering the topic, as well as trans people in sports, for a very long time, and, might I add, very well.
After drilling Frankie on my podcast a few weeks ago, I had to hit them up with some more personal and pressing questions! The event—my first (and definitely not my last) WNBA game! Below is our exchange, full of wisdom that the internet was not able in any way to provide me with (believe me, I tried, I try not to both my expert arsenal unless I have to, they do, supposedly, have lives of their own!).
Sarah: I'm taking my daughter to our first WNBA game tomorrow -- The Golden State Valkyries versus the Las Vegas Aces. I've been a lifelong men's sports fan, but I'm embarrassed to say this is my first professional women's sporting event. What should I expect?
Frankie: First of all, I'm so thrilled for you. You are going to have SO MUCH FUN. If you are used to attending men's sporting events, get ready for a completely different vibe. I've interviewed fans who have likened the experience to "a mini Pride party." For me, my experiences at WNBA games have generally been the safest I've ever felt and the most fun I've ever had at any sporting event (unless it's a Fever game full of Caitlin Clark fans, but I digress). Any heckling is good natured and almost never cruel. The entire experience is completely divorced from the male gaze; the men who do choose to come to the games generally understand that they're guests in a space that is not for them, and they act accordingly. The experience of women fans, queer fans, and fans of color are prioritized in a way that just doesn't happen at men's sporting events. The in-arena entertainment and honorees will reflect that, too.
I've been thinking a lot lately about this exchange from a recent piece at The Athletic by Tamerra Griffin. She spoke to a male National Women's Soccer League fan and investor who didn't feel that catering to inclusivity while the league was growing should be a priority; he pointed out that men's leagues like the NFL and NBA welcome everyone, regardless of their politics or viewpoints, to argue that centering an experience for marginalized fans didn't seem conducive to creating a successful sports league. But then that man attended his first WNBA game, the home opener for the Golden State Valkyries. His experience caused him to reconsider his perspective. “He told me he’d been thinking about inclusion since I interviewed him earlier in the week,” Griffin wrote, “and found himself noticing the finer details that contribute to a person’s sense of belonging in a sporting environment. At Warriors’ games, he’s used to fighting against the crowd for space, everybody elbowing their way against the tide to shuffle down a tight aisle or wind through a concession line. ‘But at the Valkyries game, it was all, ‘Come on in!’’ he recalled, gesturing with outstretched arms. Everybody was working together rather than in silos.”
SW: That's such a moving story, and now I'm even more pumped than I was. It makes me think of a dad-friend of mine, who was prepping his daughter for what the vibe would be at the Taylor Swift concert he was taking her to, based on his experience of football stadiums. He was like, “there will be drunk people and there might be fights, and it will be a bit overwhelming.” And then he was totally blown away by how supportive and lovely the rest of the crowd was. He said that even getting out of the parking lot was a nicer experience. I'm not trying to glorify women and queer people, who make up the vast majority of that crowd, but you can't ignore it
Okay, now for the basketball! Is there anything I need to know about the technicalities of the WNBA? What should I be looking for in the play?
FdlC: For people who have never watched women’s basketball before, I think they can be quick to write it off because there aren’t the flashy dunks and stuff that you see with the MNBA (Editor’s note: see what Frankie did there?!). But women’s basketball is a really pure form of the game, by which I mean these players are excelling at the fundamentals of basketball in ways the men never do. Even MNBA players have said that WNBA players have better fundamentals and skills than they do—dribbling, passing, ball handling, play making, mid-range shooting, defensive pressure, etc.
So pay attention to the ball movement on offense, watch the connections between teammates and the beautiful passes that happen. On the other side of the ball, these athletes actually play defense in a way the men don’t really (any complaints about women’s games being lower scoring than men’s (which is only sort of true, they’re also a few minutes shorter so) I would attribute to the fact that the WNBA players are defending and getting way more stops on the ball.
SW: I'm down for purity! Over at your newsletter, , you are launching a series on WNBA fashion. Who has the best fits on these two teams??
FdlC: Ok so the Valks have one of my favorite WNBA fashion icons in Tiffany Hayes. She has her own clothing line and styles herself; she does an incredible job balancing masculine-of-center queer style with high fashion sensibility.
On the Aces, A’ja Wilson always looks unimpeachable, and imo Jewell Loyd is an underrated queer fashion icon. Nothing too flashy but always stylish.
SW: Noted! Okay this isn't really about this one game persay, but if I'm getting ready to be a committed fan, what should I look for in the league this season? What's going to keep me jazzed all summer long?
FdlC: I live for the drama, and I think that's always a good way to buy-in to the league. For interesting dating storylines: NaLyssa Smith and DiJonai Carrington are girlfriends and teammates on the Dallas Wings, as are Natasha Cloud and Isabelle Harrison on the New York Liberty. Meanwhile, Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner are finances who play for the Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever, respectively (they spent the last few seasons as teammates on the Connecticut Sun).
You've also got some interesting revenge storylines to pay attention to. Skylar Diggins versus everybody is always a good mantra, but specifically between her Storm and Jewell Loyd of the Las Vegas Aces—Jewell and Skylar were teammates on the Storm last season (they were also teammates for a season in college at Notre Dame) and Jewell requested a trade. There were some rumblings about locker room trouble between the two, including Skylar subtweeting Jewell a few times before unfollowing her. The matchups between these two are all about revenge, imo.
From a purely basketball standpoint, though, look for the Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx to compete in a battle of the titans and potentially a rematch of last year's Finals. Those teams are wildly different in terms of team makeup and culture, but both look unstoppable so far.
SW: Romance! Revenge! Rematches! Oh my. Okay final question: pretzel or hot dog??
FdlC: Hot dog!
SW: Me too, every time.
Post-script: The game was friggin awesome. Frankie’s every prediction came true. Even the public transportation journey had a different feel than most sporting events I’m used to (and much more creative styles — you can do a lot with lavender!). When Ramona and I were listening to our “Mama Momo” playlist while waiting for our second train, I said “you know, this crowd is so fun I bet we could play our music out loud and they’d dance!.” “Mama,” she replied, “I DO NOT want you to do that.”
At the game, there was free face painting and hair styling. Mo got purple hair glitter and looked like a queen.
We each picked a favorite player, and every time mine (Monique Billings, baby!) hit a shot my daughter looked at me suggestively and said “Mama, it’s your girl!”
When two (seemingly queer) women competed in the crowd free throw contest, I was almost moved to tears (also one of them totally slayed and won $1000!).
We did not get on the Jumbotron, which is always our goal, but we danced our hearts out every time out and Mo said “We didn’t get on, but we tried, at that’s what matters.”
Also, this:
Speaking of Jumbotrons, and of trying, this perfect nine-minute-film made by the talented director, writer, and animator Micky Duzyj and starring my one and only brother Ben has just been made available online! It’s about basketball and love and vulnerability. It was selected as last week’s Short of the Week and premiered at Tribeca last year (I went, obviously), and no matter how many times I watch it it makes me giggle and tear up and appreciate the beautiful side of sports and random groups of people and of course, my tender brother. You can watch it with kids, mine are obsessed and (see above) inspired.
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