The check-in: Good vibes only edition
The WNBA Finals! The NWSL Shield! Marta! Stewie! Phee! TRAAAAAASSHHH!!
Hi, friends. There is a lot of serious stuff happening in women’s sports right now. The conversations aren’t that fun, and to be honest, the newsletters that I’m writing and revising and struggling with aren’t that fun, either. And in the world at large? My goodness. Floridians, you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Sometimes I need to remind myself that this is all supposed to be fun. Women’s sports are good!
But women’s sports, themselves, are ridiculously fun. I need to remind myself that. And maybe you could use a reminder, too?
Without further adieu, here are five things in women’s sports that make me happy right now.
1. The WNBA finals are here!!
The WNBA Finals begin on Thursday night between the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx. This series should be an absolute thriller. The Liberty have been far and away the best team in the WNBA all season, but the Lynx have the best record since the Olympic break AND they have a 3-1 record against the Liberty this season.
That’s fun.
After a very dramatic WNBA season, where off-court narratives often overshadowed on-court play, my hope is that this series gives us a chance to focus in on basketball and appreciate some of the best personalities and talents in the game.
WNBA Finals Watch Party Dance Party with Kate Scott and DJ Diamond Kutz
Power Plays is sponsored by the Working Family Party’s “Basketball House,” an organization that seeks “to build political power for the multiracial working class by creating community in our fandoms and making collective civic engagement convenient, accessible, and fun.”
On Thursday night in Philadelphia, the Working Family Party’s Basketball House and their local partner Watch Party PHL are hosting a WNBA Finals Game 1 Watch Party with Special Guest Kate Scott, followed by a Halloween-themed dance party with DJ Diamond Kutz! Click here for more information and to RSVP.
2. The Lynx celebrate wins with group victory dances.
Here they are after clinching the semifinal series over the Connecticut Sun in Game 5 on Tuesday. How can you not love this?
You can’t. (Unless you are a Liberty or Sun fan, I guess.) (But even then, you love it a little bit.)
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Natisha Hiedeman, who makes poses like this, also makes me happy.
Also here is a clip of Myisha Hines-Allen and Alissa Pili arm wrestling, which is honestly just a dream come true.
(I know I’ve said it before, but I really want to complain about it again: The inability to easily embed tweets/Xs in Substack posts makes these round-up newsletters, which I absolutely love doing, so much more difficult and less satisfying and engaging, which is why I don’t do them that much any more!! Elon Musk is ruining the world in many ways, but it’s important to me that this is not forgotten as one of them.)
3. Stewie hugs.
The Liberty, led by two-time MVP Breanna Stewart, one-time MVP Jonquel Jones, and a resurgent three-point assassin Sabrina Ionescu, did not perform a group dance after beating the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals.
But their post-semis celebration was moving for other reasons — mainly for Stewie’s beautiful embrace with her wife, Marta, who lost her father one year ago while the Liberty were losing to the Aces in the WNBA Finals.
Here’s a video if you want to watch it many times, in a non-creepy way.
The Liberty also have Ellie, who always makes me happy.
4. The Orlando Pride won the NWSL shield.
Meanwhile in the NWSL, which I promise I will be talking about more in-depth super soon, the Orlando Pride defeated the Washington Spirit 2-0 last Sunday Sunday to keep its undefeated season alive and officially clinch the NWSL shield with three games to go in the regular season.
It was absolutely pouring at Inter&Co Stadium, but that didn’t dampen the celebration for the team’s first trophy of any kind in the NWSL. Fittingly, Marta, who has been with the club since 2017, scored the clinching goal on a penalty shot in the 57th minute.
And friends? It meant A LOT.
"I've been here for eight years, so I try to find out why I still love to be here, to play for this team, to represent the community in Orlando," Marta said after the match, per ESPN. "Tonight, I had the answers, you know? I think when you believe about something, and then you know you can do that, and you just put me in your mind, like, 'I'm not going to give up.' And then I did that. I stayed here because I want to make history with this team. And then we did tonight, and then we go for more."
The Pride have been in the NWSL since 2016, and have been a laughing stock of the league for much of that time. In seven previous seasons, the Pride only made the playoffs one time, back in 2017 when it finished third in the league and made it to the semifinals. Last year it finished seventh, and in 2022 it finished 10th. Behind Barbra Banda, Marta, and an entire squad full of tough, resilient, and ridiculously talented players, the Pride are now the ones to beat.
5. Marina Mabrey and Dijonai Carrington.
Okay, back to the WNBA for one last thing. While I think the Lynx will give the Liberty the best go in the finals — and in fact could very likely get the upset — I miss the Sun already. Mainly because of the theatrics of Marina Mabrey and Dijonai Carrington.
Here you have a moment that will live on in infamy thanks to the power of a meme — Mabrey screaming the word “TRASH.” It might be my favorite moment of the playoffs so far.
Carrington, meanwhile, is enjoying her offseason already with her girlfriend, Indiana Fever forward Na’Lyssa Smith, and despite having to deal with a lot of bullshit over the past few weeks, is keeping her humor.
Just click here and watch this clip from their Instagram Live. If you don’t understand why it’s so great, I’m honestly jealous.
Love to you all. Please stay safe.