If you recall, back in January, I used some credit card perks to get us some Golden State Warriors tickets. The Warriors lost that game and proceeded to lose a good portion of their next 40 games after Jimmy Butler got a season-ending injury and Steph Curry rolled an ankle that took him out for about two months. The rest of their season was lackluster at best — often a masterclass in how not to play basketball. Layups were missed. Passes went into the stands. Their hopes were then linked to their second-string players including a Brazilian, a Dutchman, and a former lacrosse player. While every once in a while each of them would have a good game, consistency wasn’t there. Nicole was nevertheless a dedicated fan, but for me, it was often painful to watch their season spiral into mediocrity. Even when playing other mediocre teams, the game wasn’t fun to watch as it was not unheard of for ten minutes to go by without either team scoring a basket.
At the time, I had mentioned to Nicole that I would like to see a WNBA game. I wasn’t keen on traveling far, so it would have to be the LA Sparks. As for their opponent, I had told Nicole I would rather see Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings over the oft hyped Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever. And as a surprise for my birthday, Nicole delivered. The game, however, wasn’t until June 5, so I had to be patient. With no Sparks or Wings merch, I rolled up with a t-shirt that simply said, “Go Sports!”
I suggested we take metro to get downtown for the game rather than deal with parking. The Warriors played at a different (and much closer) arena you see. Nicole was convinced to take the metro this time, and considered it like a trial run for the Olympics with several events taking place in or near downtown L.A. Overall, the metro was easy enough. They now allow simply tapping your phone on the turnstile to ride — eliminating the need to carry around the plastic TAP cards of yore.
It was just two blocks from the metro stop to the Staples Center (checks notes…) sorry, now the Crypto.com Arena (rolls eyes). Minus the very very top section of bad seats, the arena was filled. As was the case with the Warriors game, I’m not sure people were really here to cheer on the home team, but rather see the star player (Paige Bueckers) of the competition. It was a much nicer atmosphere compared to the NBA. There was no grown man screaming and waving his arms wildly inches from my face this time around. We were merely surrounded by lesbians and children. And what made it more interesting, was that the father of some of the youths remarked, “Wow, this is a lot better ball movement than the NBA.”
And that was no joke. One could speculate as to why. Not as many egos? Or maybe they’re just…dare I say better? Either way, in contrast to what misogynist memes may be out there about the WNBA, they did not miss. The lead of the game must have changed about a dozen times with both teams going shot-for-shot until the very end when the Sparks started to fade a bit.
Go sports! Paige helped the Wings pull out the win with a series of last minute 3-pointers, jump shots, and slick moves. I have found her to be more compelling than Caitlin Clark because CC is kind of one note in my opinion. She makes some incredible 3-pointers, but that’s about it. Paige is just a more dynamic player, and frankly a lot cheekier too. Her interviews with the press usually involve a lot of self-deprecating humor with such notable quotes like, “I feel bad for the people who are watching. They should get all their money back.” As a whole, it was an enjoyable game to watch. I wasn’t highly invested in the outcome, and I hope everyone just had a good time.
The metro ride home was a little bit more interesting. Earlier, when riding downtown toward East LA, we were with a lot of commuters finishing their jobs. It was crowded, but people seemed mostly sane. Coming back after 930pm, it was a different crowd. Someone had spilled a Starbucks drink on the floor, and this was really bothering the homeless people. One woman called on the intercom to complain about it and another man asked me how such a thing could happen. And there you have it, the homeless just want a clean metro car. Is that so wrong?
I would do it again, but wish the Sparks played closer to us. Despite that, Nicole now has the confidence to take metro in the future — especially for the Olympics. I personally would prefer to see another woman’s game before watching the NBA again. It’s just a better atmosphere. Less toxic masculinity. While it was still a bit loud, it was a manageable loud, though an outdoor venue would be even better. Why doesn’t LA or anyone do an outdoor basketball arena? We have the weather for it. Anyway, that will probably be the last of sports for us for a while. The World Cup is about to commence with many games taking place just down the street from us. The average ticket price, however, is somewhere around $1200, so credit card points will not assist me with that. FIFA has done the unthinkable and outcorrupted itself once again. But hey, if you’re looking to burn through thousands of dollars, GO SPORTS!
passports & pepto bismol 