Love the Storm, Reign, and La Roja! Yay for Spain!
It’s been a week! I have been working on my website and events and social media – all new stuff for this fifty-something, new-to-business person! But in the back of my busy brain, I have been thinking about some of the things I want to write about, so I’m finally making some time for that. Woo hoo! This post will be about this last week in sports – from my humble perspective.
Seattle Reign vs. Portland Thorns
We went to the Seattle Reign vs. Portland Thorns rivalry match last Sunday. We hadn’t been to a Reign match for quite a while (yes, I’m a little ashamed to admit that, since it’s one of our upcoming events). Kris and I sat in The KEEP, which is the supporter section behind the south goal, and we had a great time. As I peruse the NWSL standings, it appears that Portland is (so far) having a better season than the Reign, but that doesn’t matter when it’s a home rivalry match. The Reign scored two goals in the first half and never looked back. Very fun!
Check out my Instagram post, if you missed it.
Seattle Storm @ Dallas Wings
Later that week, we watched the Seattle Storm almost beat the Dallas Wings at Dallas last Friday. In case you haven’t been paying close attention to the WNBA this season, the Storm are most definitely in the middle of a rebuilding year. They have not won very many games; they have a brand new head coach; and most of their players are younger than my 25-year-old daughter. Yes that makes me feel pretty old, but that’s a topic for another day. The thing is, while they’re young and somewhat inexperienced on the pro level, they’re quite fun to watch. Several of their losses have been close games against some really good teams (Dallas included). I like to be a positive, optimistic fan, and, since the Storm are coming out every game and showing so much hustle and effort, I love cheering for them. And talk about potential with a capital P! Within a few years, assuming they keep this young core group (look up Dom Malonga, Awa Fam, and Flau’jae Johnson to name three), the rest of the W should be concerned.
We are headed to see the Storm take on the Minnesota Lynx tonight, and Minnesota is one of the best teams in the league right now. As a lover of basketball since I was about 10, I just get so darned excited about the talent level of every team in the W, including the teams that are not winning games right now, so I know whatever happens tonight, it’ll be some really good basketball.
The Men’s World Cup!
What a fun World Cup. I think knowing that Seattle was hosting several matches added to the build-up this year. I had hoped to experience one of those matches at a watch party on the waterfront, but, alas, I was not in town for any. It looked so amazing – especially when the US played two different matches there. It really showcased Seattle in a positive way.
I was so excited to watch Spain win yesterday. I have very personal ties to Spain – my Brother married a Spanish woman right out of college and has lived there ever since. I have a niece and nephew, a great niece and nephew, and another baby on the way. LOVE my Spanish family! We were able to all be together in California a couple of weeks ago, and we got to watch two of Spain’s matches together. So special!
This brings me to what I was talking about in my post yesterday. We were at our favorite Tacoma watch bar, Doyles, and it was so much fun. I first experienced Doyles and the Men’s World Cup in 2022, just a month or two after moving south from Juneau. They close off their parking lot and set up a big screen with tables and chairs. So cool! The following year, the 2023 Women’s World Cup took place in Australia and New Zealand. The match times for the US were sometimes in the middle of the night, but Doyles always opened early or stayed open late for them. I made a point of going and supporting them in those wee hours. Doyles is also sponsoring my first two events, so I really appreciate them!
The community that you are a part of when you watch a global sporting event like a World Cup – it’s pretty special. This includes every phase, from the group stage to the knockout rounds. We went to a few Netherlands matches with our Dutch friend, only to see a bunch of Germany supporters wrapping up their visit from the match before ours. In a little town called Dorrington, California, we watched a very exciting, close knock-out round match between Mexico and England in a small, packed pub. Everywhere we watched, people had fan gear and jerseys from so many different countries.
Photos and video from yesterday at Doyles are below.
Can’t wait for the 2027 Women’s World Cup!
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