Loyalties: Divided; Status as Fan: Cemented

I woke up today at 3:30. In the afternoon. It was glorious. I'm finally beginning to catch up on the sleep I missed last weekend. I had to shift my day's schedule, however, as I had planned to take a trip to the grocery store. Realizing that I had two WNBA games back-to-back, and a Sox game to switch to on the commercials, I ditched the grocery store.

The first game, a re-match between the Indiana Fever and New York Liberty, really tested my mettle as a fan. Now, I'm a Liberty girl at heart, but I love Catch. How can you not love Catch? Plus, I consistently root for the underdog (Indiana, in this case). I couldn't help it. I was really happy when the Fever won, snapping the Liberty's six-game winning streak.

The Storm-Sun game is ongoing, but the main reason I wanted to watch (to see Lindsay Whalen now that's she's got her pro feet under her) isn't: Whalen is out with strep throat. I'm still watching, because I love the game. I have to say, I really enjoy watching the rookies play -- a lot of these women are players I've watched for the last three years, at least, and I know their style, I know their strengths, I know where their favorite spot to shoot from is. It's fun being able to predict their moves when their defenders haven't necessarily learned these things yet. All of this is going through my head while some quotes from Minnesota's Katie Smith are rattling around as well. In an interview earlier this week, Smith said she's uncertain about the future of the league. (Who isn't?) But what irked me was her comment that both players and fan are lacking in loyalty, and more disturbingly, pride. The WNBA may be low-profile compared to other pro sports in the US, but I expect the players to have pride in their game. If they don't, no one will watch.

(On the side here, I think the comment particularly irked me coming from Smith. As a new Lynx fan, I wish she would have a little more something -- she's consistently shown up late for games this season, scoring the majority of her points in the second half. Maybe the Lynx are just a second-half team (you know, like BC used to be). Not really a critique on Katie, since she leads the team in scoring, but a note.)