Something old, something new, something borrowed, something Blue
WNBA RPFS, 5x100. People real, stories as always fake. (This would be the borrowed portion of our program.)
Teresa Weatherspoon/Vickie Johnson, both ex-New York Liberty; this was written in 2003.
"'Fore you leave, take this," she says. "Open it if you miss me."
You open the box on your first night in Italy. A ring sparkles at you, but not diamond. It's her 1988 NCAA championship ring. She somehow got a note in there too.
'Keep this for me. When you get the Liberty a title, you'll know what to do.'
You put it on. It's a little loose, but it fits well enough. You look at it in the moonlight, and you think that someday your WNBA championship ring will fit just a little too tight on Teresa's finger.
Teresa Weatherspoon/Vickie Johnson; this is a sequel to the previous, set in 2006.
The ring was a promise she could not keep. It mocked her from its tiny box.
She tried it on once. It was a little too loose, meant for a stronger, wider finger. She was too scared to keep it on longer than that, and put it away, sure that she would have one to trade.
That was before the front office power plays that drove everyone out, before Teresa in gold, before San Antonio and familiar black against her skin.
That was before she knew she had to send the ring back with her own note.
'I'm sorry. Goodbye.'
Erin Thorn/K.B. Sharp, New York Liberty and Indiana Fever; part one of two, set 2005
K.B.'s weakness is her strength. She has an innocent smile that makes you forget the tattoos and think she's the good girl next door. She plays with speed; no one gets by her.... not even Erin.
She is Erin's weakness, Erin's strength. The chemistry between them snaps and crackles on and off the court; neither of them ever misses a pass from the other. It's enough to make the veterans smile and the coach's eyes narrow.
Erin is K.B.'s weakness and the reason why Coach went with an injured rookie to play the point, why she's now an ex-Lib.
Erin Thorn/Loree Moore, New York Liberty; set in 2006, part two of two
Loree's strength is her weakness. Built as thickly and strongly as she is, she's afraid that she'll break Erin if she's not careful, no matter how often Erin reassures her.
"I'm not that weak," Erin says, stretching to emphasize her height in the bed they share this night only. "Who are you afraid of hurting, me, you, or God?"
Loree is confident in many things, but not in this relationship, and not for the first time, Erin wishes that Loree's strength didn't hide such contemptible fear beneath.
It surprises neither when they drift apart, Erin to K.B., Loree to a stranger.
Alana Beard/Nikki Blue, Washington Mystics (you thought I was kidding about the Blue, I bet)
It doesn't matter the arena, Blue is primed for a highlight reel, and Alana smiles. This is what she expected from the pros, not Chamique's drama or Coco's tears.
And Blue, the rookie, because rookie status isn't relinquished until next season, gives Alana everything else she's come to expect from her young teammates, scratches down her back, marks hidden against sweet chocolate skin, echoes in her ears.
Somehow, it isn't enough.
At least, that's what she tells Blue.
Stroke her ego too much and she'll backslide, and Alana won't have that. Better to make her work for approval she'll never quite get.
Teresa Weatherspoon/Vickie Johnson, both ex-New York Liberty; this was written in 2003.
"'Fore you leave, take this," she says. "Open it if you miss me."
You open the box on your first night in Italy. A ring sparkles at you, but not diamond. It's her 1988 NCAA championship ring. She somehow got a note in there too.
'Keep this for me. When you get the Liberty a title, you'll know what to do.'
You put it on. It's a little loose, but it fits well enough. You look at it in the moonlight, and you think that someday your WNBA championship ring will fit just a little too tight on Teresa's finger.
Teresa Weatherspoon/Vickie Johnson; this is a sequel to the previous, set in 2006.
The ring was a promise she could not keep. It mocked her from its tiny box.
She tried it on once. It was a little too loose, meant for a stronger, wider finger. She was too scared to keep it on longer than that, and put it away, sure that she would have one to trade.
That was before the front office power plays that drove everyone out, before Teresa in gold, before San Antonio and familiar black against her skin.
That was before she knew she had to send the ring back with her own note.
'I'm sorry. Goodbye.'
Erin Thorn/K.B. Sharp, New York Liberty and Indiana Fever; part one of two, set 2005
K.B.'s weakness is her strength. She has an innocent smile that makes you forget the tattoos and think she's the good girl next door. She plays with speed; no one gets by her.... not even Erin.
She is Erin's weakness, Erin's strength. The chemistry between them snaps and crackles on and off the court; neither of them ever misses a pass from the other. It's enough to make the veterans smile and the coach's eyes narrow.
Erin is K.B.'s weakness and the reason why Coach went with an injured rookie to play the point, why she's now an ex-Lib.
Erin Thorn/Loree Moore, New York Liberty; set in 2006, part two of two
Loree's strength is her weakness. Built as thickly and strongly as she is, she's afraid that she'll break Erin if she's not careful, no matter how often Erin reassures her.
"I'm not that weak," Erin says, stretching to emphasize her height in the bed they share this night only. "Who are you afraid of hurting, me, you, or God?"
Loree is confident in many things, but not in this relationship, and not for the first time, Erin wishes that Loree's strength didn't hide such contemptible fear beneath.
It surprises neither when they drift apart, Erin to K.B., Loree to a stranger.
Alana Beard/Nikki Blue, Washington Mystics (you thought I was kidding about the Blue, I bet)
It doesn't matter the arena, Blue is primed for a highlight reel, and Alana smiles. This is what she expected from the pros, not Chamique's drama or Coco's tears.
And Blue, the rookie, because rookie status isn't relinquished until next season, gives Alana everything else she's come to expect from her young teammates, scratches down her back, marks hidden against sweet chocolate skin, echoes in her ears.
Somehow, it isn't enough.
At least, that's what she tells Blue.
Stroke her ego too much and she'll backslide, and Alana won't have that. Better to make her work for approval she'll never quite get.