When I realized that guys would leap up, pull themselves up on the rim of the baskets and stuff the ball in, I lost what little interest I had in the game; I felt that any style and grace there was in the game had been taken away!
Then, when I was visiting some cousins some years ago, one of my littlest cousins showed me that there was a Basketball hoop buried behind some conifers in their backyard, and pestered me to help her clear up the space around the hoop, and finally to play Basketball with her! She was a cute, funny, bright little thing, so I couldn't resist.
The way she played it—she was about 10—it was all about getting the ball in the basket from different spots on the court. (We had bought a new net for the hoop.) This was actually a lot of fun, and once I had returned home, my aunt would send me regular reports about how the kid was getting seriously into the sport, hoping to entice me to visit again! There was no physicality in the game as she and I played it, just hand-eye coordination.
That's where matters stood until last year, when Caitlin Clark became famous in the media.
I was immediately drawn to this girl. At first, I was still clueless about every aspect of the game except getting the ball in the baskets.
After I had watched a few highlights reels, I realized how much fun it was to watch the passing game. And CC was really great at passing.
I also began to admire how generous and civic-minded she was. (She probably realizes that no matter how much she gives away, we would expect yet more from her. I don't think she's resentful of that expectation.)
Then, I began to take an interest in some of the other players in her Indiana Fever team: Aliyah Boston, Lexie Hull, Kelsey Mitchell, and then, later this year, Sophie Cunningham, DeWanna Bonner, and others whose names I haven't learned.
I hesitate to write about my feelings about these women, in case they're taken amiss, but they're so wonderful in many ways that I can't help myself! I have commented about Caitlin at length so I don't need to, any more. Her niceness as a girl is partially balanced by her determined attitude as an athlete, and a member of her team.
Aliyah Boston strikes me as a very kindhearted girl; the opposite of mean. Whenever she speaks to the Press, there's a strong element of idealism that is present. That's a very endearing quality.
Kelsey Mitchell comes across as a player who has just been fired up, and is determined to push the team to greatness.
Lexie Hull is a cross between a tough, physical player, and an ultra girly girl. Many of the members of the team—not all—are surprisingly into makeup and fashion; that makes some of the jocks in the team cringe, and I laugh to myself. But Lexie does little mini-podcasts that appear on YouTube, and they make me crack up!
Sophie Cunningham is very interesting. She is fearless about what she feels is unfair targeting of Caitlin and maybe others, for unnecessary roughness from other teams. She seems comfortable with physical conflict as well as tough talking; she doesn't hold back when Caitlin has been roughed up. To balance all this, Sophie is bubbly and cheerful in front of the cameras, and determined not to come across as a dragon. I love her sunny disposition, and I hope neither the WNBA nor the Fever management act against Sophie. I don't know about such things, being a determined outsider, but it would ruin the team.
Kay
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