It was unbelievable...actually it was just Storm basketball. The Storm has been making things exciting from Day 1 this season and they weren't going to stop now. With everything on the line in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals the Storm was down to the wire. Tie game, 1 possession left...ball in Sue Bird's hands...the clock ticked down 5,4,3...the ball soared into the air and landed with a triumphant swish in the basket. The arena went crazy, towels flying high everywhere you looked. The Storm was up by 2 with 2.6 seconds left in this foul-crazy game called Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. Going for the win, Angel McCoughtry pulled up for a three at the buzzer...the arena held its breath as the shot fell...NO GOOD! The Storm Won!
From the minute you stepped into the Arena around 11pm today you could feel the excitement in the air. We had been waiting since 2004 for a chance to come back to the Finals and be champs again. Today, the Storm went one step closer to that goal. But, it didn't come easy. The Referees were blowing the whistle like there was no tomorrow and the game quickly turned into the Referee's game. Swin was called for 2 quick fouls in the first. And when I say quick I mean QUICK. Swin had to sit out of the rest of the quarter and most of the second, and then after playing for a bit after she finally came back in, she picked up her 3rd foul. Back to the bench... If Swin had not been charged with those fouls, the momentum of the game would have switched. Swin would have and could have been the difference maker for the Storm. Instead she was stuck as a cheerleader on the side.
Going into halftime, the score was tied 39-39 on a buzzer beating 3-pointer by the Dream. Coming out of halftime Key Arena was nervous but ready to cheer the Storm on to victory. The teams kept on battling back and forth, but the refs just couldn't give them a break. Or should I say they didn't call it both ways...a foul on one side, is apparently not a foul to the other...Bottom line...WE NEED NEW REFS!!!!
So, other than the refs messing up a perfectly good game, the game was exciting and it was a game that anyone would have paid to go see. Sometime in the third quarter, Angel McCoughtry and Jana Vesela collided. Both fell to the ground and Jana was charged with the foul. CMT's were called over to look as Angel and it appeared as she had a bump on the side of her forehead. She eventually got up, took her free-throws and headed to the locker room. Even with their star out, the Dream still looked to push. This sadly made Swin Cash pick up her 5th foul. In the fourth things were tense. Angel came back and looked strong. Swin was on the bench and Lauren had picked up a Technical late in the fourth. Things were looking ugly for the Storm, but somehow, like they always do, they pulled through. With Sue making that shot, it was a moment every Storm fan will cherish.
However, the player of the game was no other than Camille Little. She had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. She was a player even I didn't notice played a big game until I saw the stats at the end. I watched the game from Row 3, Section 106 and it was one of the the best, most nerve wracking games I have ever seen. The arena was packed on the lower-bowl and they even opened up the upper-bowl for fans! Basketball icons were in the stands to support the Storm. Bill Russel, Jeff Green, Jamal Crawford, Lenny Wilkens, Fred Brown, and Nate Robinson were there. Nate even showed off his "Stanky Leg" dance to the crowd in the second half, surprisingly it was very good too! It was a game that no one in Seattle will forget! Only 2 more games to win and we are the champs!
Game 2 is Tuesday Night, 6 pm on ESPN 2. If you can't make it to the game be sure to watch it on TV. They need all the fans they can get! Go Storm!
No comments:
Post a Comment