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May 17, 2008
"The Perfect Storm"
Elaine and I caught the 2008 Seattle Storm Home Opener tonight; 7 PM, Key Arena, vs. the Chicago Sky.
We won, 67 to 61.
A few notes:
- I was pretty pumped up for this game, and confess to being very emotionally invested in returning to the Key. This was the first game of the first season where the Storm were out from under the shadow of the Sonics drama, first game with local ownership, first game with a new coach, first game with a new lineup. It felt, in a very concrete sense, like a new beginning for the franchise.
- As you'd expect, the Storm have a new marketing push, new look, new everything. The new slogan ("The Perfect Storm") plays up the presence of Swin Cash, Sheryl Swoopes and Yolanda Griffith along with LJ and Sue. It's clear that the team knows the assets they have, and are going to market the hell out of them. It's about time.
- The fans were excited; it was a sell-out-plus crowd, with a full lower bowl and about a third of the upper bowl opened up as well. The noise, as you might imagine, was off the charts.
- (The big turnout also allowed Doppler to deploy the t-shirt gun, which was a first, I think.)
- For all their raw talent, the Storm are still learning to work together. There were some moments of fantastic beauty (a few no-look passes, some excellent passing to get the ball under the net), but it looked a bit too much like players were actively searching ... for ... the ... next ... thing they ought to be doing.
- Lauren's game was off tonight; she was consistently missing shots that she'd normally make while blindfolded and drunk. I can only imagine she's jet-lagged, given that she only arrived at training on Tuesday.
- Swin and Yolanda are awesome. Swin's fast, fast, fast, with a great arm and an ability to materialize right where she's needed. Yolanda's aggressive, and gets up in people's faces the way Betty used to. They're a dynamite point/counterpoint to one another, and I can't wait to see them once they're completely integrated into the Lauren and Sue show.
- We weren't great, but neither were the Sky. It was, overall, a low-scoring game, and we were behind a bit at halftime (29 - 35). The Storm caught fire at the end of the third quarter, and finally started to show the genius of what they could be. We came into the fourth with a 54 - 47 lead, and would have ended with a 16-point lead if we'd not put in the bench for the last 2:30.
- On a different note: I continue to be appalled at the speed of the concessions stands at Key Arena. Seriously. I went for a beer at halftime, was eighth in line, and managed to blow a good 10 minutes waiting for the people behind the counter to stop playing grab-ass with one another. The next time some team owner complains that you "can't make money in Key Arena", tell them to hire more folks to, you know, actually take an order and collect money. The line behind me was pissed.
It's going to be a great year - I can feel it.
We're vs. Monarchs, Tuesday, 7:30. Be there!
Posted by Gavin Shearer at May 17, 2008 9:20 PM. Posted to Seattle Storm.
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