Despite a third straight loss, the Mystics' silver lining is that they may have gained some new fansNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The WNBA Mystics hope to have "gained some new fans" after enjoying the "loudest, most engaged crowd" they had seen all season for their Thursday matinee against the Lynx, according to Ava Wallace of the WASHINGTON POST. The official attendance "was 8,587, but fans filled the 200-level section" of Capital One Arena and "almost the entire lower bowl." That was due in large part to "early arrivals for the watch party" for Game 5 of the clinching Capitals-Golden Knights Stanley Cup Final. Mystics G Natasha Cloud: "We know they’re here for the Caps game afterward, but exposure is exposure for us. We can win a few fans over from this game, and they were in it from start to finish. We really appreciate them. It’s hard for that type of energy to not relate back to how we play on the court. ... Hopefully we won some fans over." Wallace notes red-clad fans in hockey jerseys "lined up to enter the arena hours before the game," and by the fourth quarter of Lynx-Mystics, the crowd was "downright rowdy." Mystics coach Mike Thibault: "I hope we made some fans. I think that people who knew something about us came away with -- I mean, if you didn’t enjoy that game, you’re probably not going to be a basketball fan anyway. ... I hope a lot of those people decide, ‘Hey, this was a worthy product to stick around and see'" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/8). USA TODAY's Christovich & White note Capitals fans in the fourth quarter "began waving their team's towels to cheer on the Mystics, started 'Lets go Mystics!' chants and booed Lynx players during free throws." Tickets to the watch were free, and those who purchased Mystics tickets were "allowed to stick around for the watch party." Other signs of enthusiasm around the Capitals during Lynx-Mystics could be seen, as national anthem singer Eli White wore a Caps shirt and halftime performer Red Panda "wore an Alex Ovechkin jersey" (USATODAY.com, 6/8).
