Profile in Courage: A WNBA Player Puked in a Trash Can and Went Right Back on the Court
Ours is a relationship built on trust. So wouldn't pretend that I watched a second of the WNBA Finals last night, not when there was postseason baseball, Survivor, and ... well, anything else at all. Nor will I pretend I knew the WNBA was in the Finals. In fact, like most Americans, I'm only vaguely aware the WNBA exists, since most often the subject only comes up in fantastic Bill Burr bits:
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But if you were to tell me this is the kind of intense, human drama that plays out on a nightly basis in that league, I may just consider watching. Which is to say, I might flip to it between innings of the game once Survivor is over.
Just watch that clip. We use the word "hero" far too often in this culture, but Sabrina Ionescu is a hero in every sense of the word. Ralphing her brains out like some freshman fraternity pledge getting hazed. Then not only getting back into the game, but nailing a 3 that [checks which team she's on] tied the game in the final minute:
If anyone was watching, Ionescu's heroics would be right up there with some of the great inspirational moments in history. Joe Montana winning The Chicken Soup game. Jack Youngblood sacking Roger Staubach with a broken fibula. Kerri Strug sticking the landing on a busted ankle. Michael Jordan beating the Jazz with a 103-degree fever. Kirk Gibson's pinch hit homer off Dennis Eckersley on two bum knees. Tiger winning the US Open on a leg he could barely stand on. Curt Schilling and the bloody sock. Hell, everyone still talks about Willis Reed in the 1970 Finals, but he played four minutes and wasn't hitting 22-foot jumpers in crunch time.
If the WNBA has any sort of marketing savvy at all, they'll make this young warrior's (pardon the word) gutsy display of stoic courage the face of the league. This Amazon. This shield maiden. This Valkyrie. Sabrina Ionescu can drink from my canteen any time. And if's after she just emptied her guts into a bucket, she can keep it.