Lish

local elections matter 🇺🇸

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@isKyleDanny @SOULbeautifulme CC fans started hate talk in sports? Wow 🙃

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@KyMaiescloset @kenswift She’s so unimportant that you have a diss account dedicated to her.

[💛🖤 KINNICK NORTH🖤💛 @KinnickNorth23]

Listening to Kelsey Mitchell's exit interview, I couldn't help but laugh a little.

Not because what she's describing isn't difficult. I'm sure it is.

But I continue to believe that one of the biggest adjustments happening in the WNBA right now is that these women are learning what it's like to play in a genuinely relevant, heavily scrutinized professional sports league.

KM talked about how hard it is being a Fever player. About waking up every day and giving your best, only for your best to not be enough for some people.

And my lifelong sports-fan reaction was basically:

Well...yeah. 😅

Ask an NFL kicker who misses a 38-yarder to lose a playoff game how many fans appreciate that he "gave his best."

Ask an NBA point guard who goes 3-for-17 in Game 7.

Ask an Iowa QB after three straight three-and-outs. 😅

She talked about how hard it is "showing up every day to compete for fans that may or may not like you."

Kelsey...

Sports fans have disliked players ON THEIR OWN TEAM since approximately 15 minutes after sports were invented. 😂

Iowa fans can love the Hawkeyes with every molecule in their bodies while simultaneously demanding that somebody be benched, fired, or launched directly into the sun.

That's SPORTS. 😅

And I've never seen a professional sports league collectively so consumed by social media discourse.

Players talk about tweets. Coaches talk about tweets. Reporters ask players about tweets. Other players respond to those comments. ESPN discusses the response. Then somebody's podcast discusses ESPN discussing the response to the response. 😂

Caitlin Clark didn't invent obnoxious sports fans.

She brought an enormous number of mainstream sports fans into a league that had never experienced this level of attention and scrutiny before.

And THAT'S the distinction.

What they're experiencing may genuinely be new for the WNBA.

It is absolutely NOT new for professional sports.

Fans second-guess you.

Fans criticize you.

Fans irrationally blame you for losses.

Fans love the superstar more than they love you.

Fans scream that you should pass her the damn ball.

Fans demand trades.

Fans say stupid shit on the internet.

Welcome to big-time sports! You've made it! 😅

For decades the WNBA wanted more attention. Bigger audiences. Packed arenas. Better TV ratings. More money. More relevance.

Well...

Mainstream sports relevance comes with mainstream sports bullshit. 😂

[Jaime Lardis @JaimeLardis]

If more WNBA players had the mental toughness Courtney Williams has, I genuinely believe the WNBA would be a better product. Major shoutout to her.

Playing with Caitlin Clark is like playing with LeBron James. The level of attention, criticism, and scrutiny that comes with it is different. If you’re not mentally tough, it can break you.

I’ve never heard LeBron or Caitlin complain about people harassing them in their DMs. The attention comes with the territory. You have to learn how to handle it. I see the lights were too bright for Kelsey and I was a strong advocate for her.

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@DBGyt_ CC is absolutely going to Cleveland

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@crashoutking1 When you have a lot of eyes on you - you’re going to get a lot of attention good and bad.

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@ZulekBoxing That’s called being a professional athlete. You play a game for a living.

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@_Breezy_Briii Based on what?

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@LegendaryEnergy It’s sad

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@IngrahamAngle Republicans are losing this one.

[Nike Basketball @nikebasketball]

*Just @caitlinclark22 making it look easy. It's really that simple.

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@IndianaFever Coaches - are you paying attention.

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@DineshDSouza According to Trump the economy is great. We’re all thriving.

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@EvanAKilgore 3 for Kennedy

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@rob_vendetti As he funds and arms them

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@mitchellvii Y’all are so out of touch.

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@SteveGrubbsVXR @rkrager8 They had two weeks off and this is what they came up with??

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@DerrickEvans4WV That’s barely middle class anymore.

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@_sprorgnsm lol!

[Lish @alicia1joy]

@leonmethvin @RealAlexJones Right? We’re yelling “stop” while arming Ukraine.