Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Life in the WNBA Bubble

During my time in WNBA media sessions from "the Wubble," I have asked players and coaches about travel food and life at the IMG Academy. My article with the interview snippets for Global Traveler is at Life in the WNBA Bubble.
It all started with Jackie Gemelos of the Connecticut Sun. I asked about her favorite Greek food and it started a whole conversation about Greek food, Portillo's and other food choices. I think it tested the patience of the Sun PR person Annette Hogan, but she was very cool in letting it go.
In addition to Gemelos, for the GT article, I used bits of interviews with Las Vegas Aces Coach Bill Laimbeer, Aces players Carolyn Swords and Kayla McBride, Dallas Wings Assistant Coach Bryce Agler and players Bella Alarie and Tyasha Harris, Chicago Sky players Courtney Vandersloot, Kahleah Copper and Diamond DeShields, and Seattle Storm players Jewell Loyd, Connecticut Sun player Natisha Hiedeman.
I got some funny answers and stories, including the Sun's Hiedeman telling her story of "escaping danger" at the beach. Laimbeer got a laugh out of it, while also expressing his disappointment at the WNBA buffet selection.
The shoot-around media sessions are generally looser than pre- and post-game sessions. I always asked these and other non-basketball focused questions for these sessions, saving my more serious stuff for the actual game sessions. Every player or coach has been great with answering questions. All seem to be happy to occasionally discuss things other than basketball. It really is a matter of picking my spots.
Go to WNBA.com for more on the players, teams and league. Check GlobalTravelerUSA.com for my recurring coverage of the WNBA.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Is there any heat in the bubble?