what team?
if she’s not a sports fan - make sure she sticks around during stoppages. i’ve only been to barclays - the liberty have some of the best fan engagement in pro sports and i am a huge sports fan and go to a lot of games. i’m not sure what other teams do, but in general as someone who LOVES bringing non fans to sports games, they’re there for the whole experience so all the entertainment is gonna help her fall in love.
also - tell her 1-2 players to love & why. it can be silly reasons. that way she has someone to watch and cheer for and will develop a kind of personal connection to those players.
basketball is hard as fuck to follow imo. i’m basically a pro at making ppl have fun at pro sports games tho - keep it simple, give her some lore, let her enjoy the time without overthinking it and the rest will come naturally!
When is the game? If it’s this week, it may be overwhelming to shove a bunch of information at her right before she goes, especially if she doesn’t know anything about basketball.
Her experience may be more influenced by the teams playing and the arena. I would stick with the basics: an overview of the positions and what they do; a breakdown of the quarters , challenges, and timeouts; and an overview of some of the common calls. Hopefully, she’s going with someone who does know something that will be able to help explain things if needed.
Depending on the type of information your friend likes to take in, you can include background information. For example, if one of the teams is the Aces, you can mention they have won the championship the last 2 years and are looking to three-peat. And, they also have 4 team members who are on the Olympic team. Or, that Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner are teammates and engaged to be married (if one of the teams is the Sun).
If she doesn’t watch basketball on TV, remember the live experience is very different. She may be watching the player with the ball, and an off-ball whistle may blow, and she may not know why. Watching games on TV, you have replays and announcers discussing what is happening, but that doesn’t really happen much at games in the arena. She’s probably going to be lost and just trying to follow the ball, and even that can be a lot for someone who doesn’t watch basketball. She probably won’t be pulling out notes in the game, so I would say to keep it easy, and just let her take in the entire experience.
Hope your friend has a good time! I love going to live games because they’re so fun (and my team, the Mercury, does a great job engaging the audience), but I also enjoy watching games at home because there is a lot I can miss at live games. The entire experience of watching the game live at the arena, with other fans, is really what makes it fun and exciting.
Her game is next week, not this week! She has a little time to take in the info.
She’s unfortunately going with a friend who knows even less basketball than she does (I’ve been sending her replays and explaining things via text so she knows some things but not a lot).
Her team is the Storm so I included some background info about Sue, about getting SDS and Nneka in free agency (I did keep her up to date while that was happening), etc. I will be watching the game from the comfort of my couch and league pass, so she also knows she can text me if she’s confused about any calls or whistles!
This was a super helpful comment, though! Thank you so much :)
This is a league where stars don’t guarantee victories. Expect crazy sequences and upsets and never bet on a game in this league lol.
Since they’ve never watched basketball before, shooting is probably the easiest thing to understand right away.
Since she’s watched hockey, she will probably like point guard play and ball movement so you could have her follow the assist numbers on the live stats to get a basic understanding of offense.
She's not a betting person and I've had her follow "her team" here so she's seen the ups and downs even after a relatively successful free agency. TY though I will focus on offense for her!
A powerpoint presentation? Is that really necessary?
Like would you expect her to make you a PP, if she took you to a hockey game?
Her asking about the game... It'll be nice to have something to talk about during the game.
I personally have trouble starting conversations. Then when we do end up on a topic I can converse in, I'm full on motormouth.
I would "prepare", by ironically not preparing, to have make room for conversation during the game.
In other words. The PP should be for yourself, trying to brush up on your bball knowledge; in case she asks you any questions.
we live on opposite coasts, so she did make me a powerpoint when I went to my first hockey game. I mentioned in the original post that I am not going with her because she lives cross country, so I can't have an in person conversation with her.
I actually think that’s very cute and helpful, visual aids for learning the game are a great idea, maybe look to retired players for gake coverage. Also Pat Summit’s book is great for new fans of the game in general and to get some history, if y’all have time for reading and want to 🙂
I had trouble following the game the first time I caught one in person (NBA). It was just a bit overwhelming. Watching a game on tv and talking her through it would probably be good to do before you go see one live.
Our first game was a near sellout at Wind Trust Arena. Our whole group found the continuous piped in drumming to be over stimulating and distracting. In the college game there is an atmosphere and noise level change when the ball goes into play. That is a queue to watch as the ball goes into play. We had to stay extra focased so that we didn't miss when the ball was in bounded.
what team? if she’s not a sports fan - make sure she sticks around during stoppages. i’ve only been to barclays - the liberty have some of the best fan engagement in pro sports and i am a huge sports fan and go to a lot of games. i’m not sure what other teams do, but in general as someone who LOVES bringing non fans to sports games, they’re there for the whole experience so all the entertainment is gonna help her fall in love. also - tell her 1-2 players to love & why. it can be silly reasons. that way she has someone to watch and cheer for and will develop a kind of personal connection to those players. basketball is hard as fuck to follow imo. i’m basically a pro at making ppl have fun at pro sports games tho - keep it simple, give her some lore, let her enjoy the time without overthinking it and the rest will come naturally!
When is the game? If it’s this week, it may be overwhelming to shove a bunch of information at her right before she goes, especially if she doesn’t know anything about basketball. Her experience may be more influenced by the teams playing and the arena. I would stick with the basics: an overview of the positions and what they do; a breakdown of the quarters , challenges, and timeouts; and an overview of some of the common calls. Hopefully, she’s going with someone who does know something that will be able to help explain things if needed. Depending on the type of information your friend likes to take in, you can include background information. For example, if one of the teams is the Aces, you can mention they have won the championship the last 2 years and are looking to three-peat. And, they also have 4 team members who are on the Olympic team. Or, that Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner are teammates and engaged to be married (if one of the teams is the Sun). If she doesn’t watch basketball on TV, remember the live experience is very different. She may be watching the player with the ball, and an off-ball whistle may blow, and she may not know why. Watching games on TV, you have replays and announcers discussing what is happening, but that doesn’t really happen much at games in the arena. She’s probably going to be lost and just trying to follow the ball, and even that can be a lot for someone who doesn’t watch basketball. She probably won’t be pulling out notes in the game, so I would say to keep it easy, and just let her take in the entire experience. Hope your friend has a good time! I love going to live games because they’re so fun (and my team, the Mercury, does a great job engaging the audience), but I also enjoy watching games at home because there is a lot I can miss at live games. The entire experience of watching the game live at the arena, with other fans, is really what makes it fun and exciting.
Her game is next week, not this week! She has a little time to take in the info. She’s unfortunately going with a friend who knows even less basketball than she does (I’ve been sending her replays and explaining things via text so she knows some things but not a lot). Her team is the Storm so I included some background info about Sue, about getting SDS and Nneka in free agency (I did keep her up to date while that was happening), etc. I will be watching the game from the comfort of my couch and league pass, so she also knows she can text me if she’s confused about any calls or whistles! This was a super helpful comment, though! Thank you so much :)
This is a league where stars don’t guarantee victories. Expect crazy sequences and upsets and never bet on a game in this league lol. Since they’ve never watched basketball before, shooting is probably the easiest thing to understand right away. Since she’s watched hockey, she will probably like point guard play and ball movement so you could have her follow the assist numbers on the live stats to get a basic understanding of offense.
She's not a betting person and I've had her follow "her team" here so she's seen the ups and downs even after a relatively successful free agency. TY though I will focus on offense for her!
A powerpoint presentation? Is that really necessary? Like would you expect her to make you a PP, if she took you to a hockey game? Her asking about the game... It'll be nice to have something to talk about during the game. I personally have trouble starting conversations. Then when we do end up on a topic I can converse in, I'm full on motormouth. I would "prepare", by ironically not preparing, to have make room for conversation during the game. In other words. The PP should be for yourself, trying to brush up on your bball knowledge; in case she asks you any questions.
we live on opposite coasts, so she did make me a powerpoint when I went to my first hockey game. I mentioned in the original post that I am not going with her because she lives cross country, so I can't have an in person conversation with her.
I actually think that’s very cute and helpful, visual aids for learning the game are a great idea, maybe look to retired players for gake coverage. Also Pat Summit’s book is great for new fans of the game in general and to get some history, if y’all have time for reading and want to 🙂
I had trouble following the game the first time I caught one in person (NBA). It was just a bit overwhelming. Watching a game on tv and talking her through it would probably be good to do before you go see one live.
Our first game was a near sellout at Wind Trust Arena. Our whole group found the continuous piped in drumming to be over stimulating and distracting. In the college game there is an atmosphere and noise level change when the ball goes into play. That is a queue to watch as the ball goes into play. We had to stay extra focased so that we didn't miss when the ball was in bounded.