People don’t become fans of teams because they’re always victorious, they become fans for the opportunity to hope — for collective hope.

It’s my firm believe that people just don’t inherently care about things outside of the core elements to their life, my thought is that people need require a reason to give a shit.

The tipping point of interest and engagement is different for everyone, and the most honest way to gain support — especially from strangers, is by giving people a reason to believe.

We’re indoctrinated at an early age to the culture of sports, we’re shown that professional athletes are the pinnacle of hard-work, dedication, and discipline. We’re given the understanding team sports can give us the building blocks for success in our adult lives — think collaboration, tenacity, grit and success.

Essentially, from a young age people are given the idea of how we should view sports, and that perspective never really leaves us.

In my humble opinion the WNBA is has really revitalized the landscape of professional basketball, based on the ideals I mentioned above, and this one additional factor Genuine Passion.

I’m not well versed into the current happenings of professional sports, I’m a lapsed NBA viewer, but I’ve become increasingly interested in the WNBA. The players have given me a reason to believe, a genuine reason to give a shit about their league. I was initially captivated by their passion and love for the sport that they’re using as fuel in each game, there’s something inspiring about seeing people give their all towards a collective goal — no egos, just team work.

In real-time we’re seeing the WNBA develop a renewed culture of support for their league, and it’s being driven by the connection between the players and fans.

Going to see the Connecticut Sun play against the Washington Mystic was my first WNBA in over 20 years. I wasn’t prepared for the experience , I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but it was absolute fandemonium in the arena.

Typically I’m a wealth of colorful words and whimsical analogies, but I don’t want to distract from the point — The Connecticut Sun converted me into a fan.

The Organization

Nearly everyone in the arena was wearing some sort of team merch, like team t-shirts, jerseys, hoodies, or hats.
They didn’t require any crowd amplifiers, those are people who hype the crowd, because the crowd never settled after the tip-off.
The players engaged with the crowd during various moments of the game. This kept people cheering even during the timeouts and quarter breaks.
The Connecticut Sun staff does an impressive job of demonstrating that the team is part of the state, not a culturally disconnected entity.

There were various community groups in attendance at the game.
I was there to celebrate my sister being acknowledged as small business of the month.

The Game

It was evident that the players care about the game, they’re passionate about their craft, and they respect the audience.
There was no fear on the court, the game was aggressive, but not sloppy or unsportswomanlike.
The passion they played with translated to hope for the fans in the audience.

By the end of the first half, I was rooting for them to WIN! I was fully invested, quickly learning about the player, cheering when they managed to create a turnover scenario, I successfully joined their community.

The entire experience was a beautiful journey into fandom, to becoming an advocate for the team and supporter of the league. My intention was capture photos from the perspective of a fan, to show the energy of the moment, and to highlight the passion they played with during the game.

I hope you enjoy the images, and I highly encourage you to attend a WNBA game.

Peace!