As the Lynx battled the New York Liberty in their second game in the best-of-five series, a group of fans paced around the Fitspace gym in St. Louis Park, their heart rates elevated along with thousands of other Lynx fans across Minnesota.
They hoped their team could pull out of an early deficit for a second come-from-behind victory. But, the watch party ended on a disappointing note with the Lynx falling 80-66. Still, Lynx fanatics, perched on treadmills and stair climbers, were upbeat throughout the game.
“I want this for them so bad,” said Nancy Johnson of Minneapolis. As a longtime season ticket holder, she has gotten to know some Lynx players. She used to sit courtside with her mother, Marion, who died two years ago.
On Sunday, Johnson wore a T-shirt of her mother pictured cheering at a Lynx game. She said she felt close to her mom watching games.
“It’s cool to feel so alive with my mom right now,” Johnson said as she waved a rally towel in the air.
Nancy Johnson, whose mother Marion was an ardent fan, roots for the Lynx in St. Louis Park, on Sunday. (Richard Tsong-Taatariii)
During a commercial break, Johnson and fellow fan Nancy Campbell of Chanhassen took turns spinning a basketball on their fingers as Adam Winters of Wayzata egged them on.
“My heart is pounding, and it’s only the beginning of the game,” Campbell said.
Campbell and other longtime fans hope to see another championship for the team. She said she was thrilled to see more people paying attention to the WNBA this season, after Caitlin Clark mania and the Olympics brought more fans to the women’s game.
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