July 2007: Season Subscriber Q&A

The Liberty's front office doesn't seem to know where their fans are, organization is somewhat lacking, and someone needs to tell Cathrine Kraayeveld she's a power forward, not a small forward.


If nothing else, today's event up at Tarrytown was illuminating because of what it revealed about this team that they didn't state outright.

-the front office has no idea where its fanbase is. Seriously, it was an hour drive each way out of Queens for a one-hour event, and the Jersey drivers had to have come from further away. From what I've experienced, the Liberty fanbase is west and center/south- New Jersey and New York City, with some east (Long Island) and a small minority from points north. Why schedule events at a place that's inconvenient for most of the fan base? And then why compound it by giving bad directions? We were lucky in that we only missed the turn. (Apparently when the MSG front office says "make a right", they mean "pass the roadway marked by the address you're looking for and instead take the next, unlabeled, right".) According to some other people who came from other points of the compass, their directions were flat-out wrong and misleading to the point where even plugging them into a GPS didn't help matters. And if you're going to do all of the above, at least make it worth the trip.

-the reason the team might be struggling is that their goals are… mediocre. I'm sure that they would spin them as realistic, but if you're hoping to barely shoot better than your opponents and battle them to a tie on the glass, with the personnel we have, that's not setting the bar very high. Five-year plans didn't work for the USSR; they're not going to work for the Liberty in that regard. Rebuilding personnel, yes. Not setting them goals that low.

-one of the other reasons why the team might be struggling is that we seem to have two small forwards in the starting lineup- or more precisely, one small forward and one power forward who's gotten it into her head that if she wants to play out on the perimeter, she damn well can. I walked out of that room with less respect for Cathrine than I went in with.

-Patty didn't have the guts to show up. Nor did any of the other coaching staff. Considering that they ran practice earlier that day, I find it hard to believe that none of them were around to field questions. Martina wasn't around either. I guess everyone was afraid that someone would ask her if she was there for decorative purposes, or about the size of pickles in Germany.

We couldn't hear much of the team intros, since the sound system kind of sucked. The people in front of us (who were the cowbell wielders of section 120) agreed with us that it sounded an awful lot like the conductor's announcement on a NYC Transit train. So we missed most of what the players were saying about each other. We did, however, see Barb's curtseys, Ashley's bows (and curtsey), and what looked suspiciously like Erin and Loree going Motown on Shay. Barb later lamented that Tiffany called her old.

Unmoderated, disorganized questioning started in our section with Barbara and Tiffany. Tiffany noticed that we were section 3, took the note off the back of the chair, and set it very primly in front of herself. Someone asked Tiffany how things at Texas would be now that Jody Conradt had retired. Tiffany said it would be different, but clearly she still has faith in her old team, since she threw the horns… and Barb threw something that looked suspiciously like mockery of the horns. The difference between the college game and the pro gam, as per Tiff, is that it's stronger and more physical- she finds the pace to be about the same. There's also more teaching and less training. Then someone asked Barbara if it was rougher overseas, and she said that overseas teams generally sign foreigners to play on the inside, since they have the preconceived notion that Americans are more physical. I guess it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. She had sounded a bit frustrated with that, and I teased her that that would be an odd sentiment from a former Bad Girl, to which she replied that she doesn't mind hitting/getting hit- anywhere below the neck is fine. The cowbell wielders built on that and described a rather miserable experience on their trip to Detroit a few years ago, during which the Shock mascot punked them. Barbara listened to their tale and said, straight-faced, "Well, that's not funny." Then she burst into laughter. Someone then asked- well, probably Barb, since she seemed to have the floor- why we can't win the close ones. Barb said that the team gets distracted from executing, and she said something about how their offense relies on setting screens both to free up teammates and to free oneself up, and that the screens haven't been set. I wonder if she was calling out anyone in particular who used to set bonecrushing screens but has hardly set any this year.

Next up we had a pair of guards, Loree and Lisa. Someone asked Loree why she doesn't shoot when the clock's winding down to six or seven seconds, and she said that with five seconds left, there's still time for a quality shot, so why panic? Guy was badgering her a bit, but there is a good point there- just because she looks like the reincarnation of T-Spoon and is getting mentoring from T-Spoon does not mean she has to take on all of Spoon's habits, such as not shooting even when the nearest defender has gone out for a knish and a soda. Someone then asked Lisa the differences between New York and LA, and she said that New York is more team-oriented (no stars), and the defensive schemes are different, that there's a difference between the East and the West in terms of style of play, that the West is more uptempo and less concerned about defense (Loree was in on this part of the conversation, and she volunteered Phoenix and San Antonio as teams that run but don't defend; good thing we're done with San Antonio, or else VJ might take that remark kind of personal.) I asked how it felt for the two of them to reunite, having been high school teammates- okay, it wasn't my least clichéd question, but I was already starting to tell that it was going to be hard to get a word in edgewise. Loree said it was the kind of thing you dream about and never expect to happen, that it was really great or words to that effect. Someone asked Loree if she thought she was ready to step up for this team, and she thinks she is, that they need to separate themselves from the rest of the conference. She's been practicing with Spoon, as per another question.

Next up was the comedy team of Janel and Erin, who cavalierly shooed Loree and Lisa out of the section. As I'm fairly certain every section asked, someone wanted to know what Janel thought of New York, and she said that it's a different atmosphere; Charlotte was a lot more low-key than New York is, something that she stated rather matter-of-factly, possibly because, um, duh. Does Janel think she's getting singled out by the refs? Yeah, but there isn't much you can do about it, because if you get after them, they'll just hold it against you and give you even less of a chance, so you get caught in a catch-22. (Pause. I have "fans" written here, but I'm not sure why…) Someone asked Erin about her ankle, and she said it was either play on it semi-injured or sit out, and she wasn't going to sit out. Both of them said that they prefer being aggressive- "run us wild". Someone then asked Erin about the different mentality in being the backup point guard versus being a shooting guard, and she said that it *is* different; she's still looking for her shot when she's running the point, but she's also looking for the right pass, and I think she specified into the lane, though that may have been 'cause she was sitting with Janel and I'm fairly certain Janel would give her a noogie or something if she didn't say the right things. Big loaded question: did Erin see herself, in ten or fifteen years, as head coach at BYU… or of the New York Liberty? Erin pondered this, and answered that she prefers the college game because of the player development done there. (ET, hon, look at your current teammates and tell me that there isn't player development needed on the professional level. We could use you on the bench in that capacity right the hell now.) I think someone asked Janel about developing in overseas leagues, but I don't have Janel's answer written down.

After those two, Shameka and Shay rotated over to us. Someone asked Shay what it was like at Christ the King, and she mentioned the whole best-grades-in-the-school-in-religion-class thing, and that she used to mess with her religion teachers when she was there, but that after she started playing, people started noticing her less as "that Jewish kid" than they did "Hey, that's the basketball player". She was glad to be called in the draft, period, but especially by New York. Someone said to Shameka that they'd noticed she was a streaky shooter (woo, bonus points, CAPTAIN OBVIOUS) and asked her if she ever brought it up to her teammates whenever they froze her out while she was on a hot streak. Her answer was a resounding NO, and I get the sneaking suspicion that she knew the guy was fishing, since That Moron didn't make an appearance. When someone said she was the closest thing we had to a shooting star on the team, she reminded us all that this is a TEAM, that there's a different high scorer every night. Someone brought up ticky-tack calls, and she made it very clear: "I don't piss people off until they piss me off." Since Sista Christon is so often Best Comedy Actress winner for the Golden Maddie, someone brought that little amusement up to her, and she said that they want to do them well, but really, the acting is all for us, but at the same time they're all embarrassed. Also, there is no real Golden Maddie. I think part of my childhood died that day.

The next two were Ashley and Lindsey. Naturally, the boy decides to stir Rutgers versus UConn shit with her. He claims that it was all in good fun, but either Ashley's got a terrifyingly good deadpan or it wasn't so much in good fun, and in either case, for the love of all that is sweet and holy, if anyone is going to stir that shit, it should be the daughter of a Rutgers alum, not a mere fan. The guy to our left (who, I should mention, was asking almost all of the questions) asked what it was like playing against Swin Cash and other former UConn teammates, and she said that it was always intense, but that it was always more fun to play against former teammates. Someone asked Lindsey about her rookie year, and she answered with a bunch of clichés. Someone asked Ashley how she plays defense on bigger players, since Ashley does tend to get the best player on the opposing team, no matter who that player is, and she said that she doesn't care- if they're bigger than she is, she'll use her strength against them, and if they're not, she'll take them out to the perimeter. She's got a good point. I'd be hard pressed to place a bet on a fight between her and Chuck Norris. I think someone asked Lindsey another question here- I know somewhere along the line we did get an inane "where are you from" question, but addressing one of those to Lindsey is kind of fair, since we hardly know her. How does Ashley enjoy the sixth man role, especially since she played it so much at UConn? She thrives on playing wherever she's asked to play and do whatever she's asked to do. At some point during the session, she said that she needed to hit the weight room.

Our last duo consisted of Cathrine and Jessica, who seemed determined to bring over the chairs from their previous section. The first question went right for the jugular- someone asked Cathrine whether she felt threatened by all the post players we acquired/drafted. She said no, that it was nice to have a real low-post presence. Curiously, when she was asked what she did in the offseason, she said she played overseas, but didn't specify where, even though I'd like to think she knew where she was, especially given that she's going back there; she also mentioned that she came back and worked out on her own, which is something she's done ever since college. The guy to my left proceeded to throw another loaded question, this one at Jess- why was her playing time decreased, and what relation did it have to the change in play? Jess shrugged and said, "Coach's decision." I think she might have had an explanation, but my memory is hazy and let's be fair, how the hell is she supposed to answer a question like that. There were a couple of questions related to each other at the end of the session, aimed at Cathrine, regarding her position and her play on the court, and she said that she prefers to play on the perimeter, she wants to play on the perimeter, she's always played on the perimeter, "but I'm tall". (To which I reply in my head, "in which case, get your goddamn ass into the lane". Doesn't she know that any number of undersized power forwards would kill to be six-four and broad-shouldered? I can come up with four off the top of my head, and those are just the ones who managed to make a professional career for themselves despite being under six-foot. Jeez, you'd think a football fan and football preferrer would want to be more physical.)

After that, each section chose a player and a fan for a shooting contest, winning section takes a tour of the facility. Alas, my section reached the finals, but Cathrine and our fan could not compete with Erin and her fan. Like true Libs, we just couldn't win that one last round.

And so it was over. Total drive time- over two hours, factoring in the charm of the Cross Bronx. Total event time- a smidge under an hour. As mentioned earlier, I walked out with less respect for Cathrine than I went in with… but I *love* Janel and Ashley, and they better stick around, because I think they get it.

Also, my friend who was in the section that won the tour informed me that Cathrine jumped on Janel from behind and Janel carried her around the room, and that they appear to have matching bling bling.