It’s August, the last game is quickly approaching. It must be time for the season-ending season ticket holder party!

This year’s event is billed as a Global Grill Cookout with Jamaican Jerked Chicken, Down Under Dogs and Fried Green Tomatoes. Now, I know that some of us on the West Coast and the North wish that parts of the South were part of another country, but I don’t think fried green tomatoes qualify as a global food. And, we were pretty sure that the down under dogs hail from Costco.

It’s a joke! Just kidding! I’m sure the hot dogs were flown in from Sydney.

Anyhoo, with the sun fading in and out as if Doppler was off in a corner playing with a big dimmer switch, about 200 or so Storm faithful stream into the Furtado parking lot. We find tables smartly decorated with the many flags representing our players’ homelands, balloon artists, a face painter, an appreciation banner for fans to sign, beverages, food and an open court for a little shoot-around action.

Last year, there were many of the same activities but in a space about a third the size. Using the Furtado Center is probably a no-brainer for the organization, but it also has a lot more space. We don’t feel like we’re crammed in like sardines like last year. Several of the forum members are here and we get a chance to chat with a few.

Karen Bryant leads the team out on the steps of the Furtado entryway. She welcomes everyone and introduces Coach Dunn. After telling us that this time next year we’ll all be buying playoff tickets, she introduces her coaching staff. Missy Bequette, Director of Basketball Operations, Assistant Coaches Kay James and Gary Kloppenburg, and Trainer Sheri Hedlund. She then introduces the team one at a time and gives them an opportunity to address the crowd.

Jamie Redd goes first and thanks all the fans for their continued support. She says that without us, there wouldn’t be a Storm organization.

Semeka Randall is next and after telling everyone to calm down a little bit, she gives us “something the old folks say, keep on keeping on.”

Michelle Edwards lets everyone know that she is recovering well from the foot surgery, but that she needs to leave a little early so that she can stay off of it.

Charmin Smith thanks everyone and tells us to look forward to better things next year.

Simone Edwards tells us that she wants her jersey and her picture up everywhere next year. And, she wants the next bobblehead to be her. Coach says that it should be a bobblebody because of all the dancing.

Sonja Henning thanks us for making KeyArena sound like it’s a full house regardless of the actual attendance. She also said that fans that cheer even for a losing team is what makes the WNBA so special.

Katy Steding says that she is a woman of few words, and then says thanks.

Quacy Barnes says she is a woman of fewer words, and then says thanks too.

Allesandra Santos de Oliveira, after Coach gets her name wrong probably for the umpteenth time, laughs and says thanks for everything and see us next year.

Stacey Lovelace, who has her little dachshund with her, promises to try to keep getting better and better.

Kamila Vodickova, who Coach says speaks English better than she does, thanks the fans who came to the games with signs in Czech. They made her feel like she was at home.

Lauren Jackson says that it is great to have such passionate fans and that she is looking forward to the future.

Michelle Marciniak gives us a bobblehead story. She says that she was hoping that the players would get a bobblehead of their own the night of the giveaway and was surprised to find three in her locker before the game. Now she’s trying to figure out what to do with 3 bobbleheads. Someone yells out “Ebay.”

After another cheer for the whole team, we are told that the players will be available for autographs and will be in 4 groups stationed around the event.

Each year, we get one of the “Defense” signs that are given out at the games to the people on the ends and get the Storm logo side signed by the whole team, the coaches and the staff. This year, we lucked out and got Howard Schultz and Wally Walker to sign it at the Fan Fest back in May. We only need to get Sheri, Missy, and Karen to have the whole enchilada. While Angie does that, I wander around to get photos.

Everyone seems pretty laid back. Even though some of the players are being faced by long lines, they all take the time to talk to the fans and answer questions. I ask Stacey about her eye injury that kept her on the bench for a good part of the season. She says that it was an infection brought on by contact wear, not by a game-related injury. I ask her if she is going to play internationally again this off-season and she says she’s not sure with her wedding plans and everything. She also says that she is tired and needs a rest.

This is a common theme. Since we haven’t gotten much of a chance to meet with Ally before, I make a point of finding her. She is also not sure where she may play during the off-season, although to her the WNBA is the off-season. She probably won’t play in Europe because their seasons are so long. It was frustrating for her to get hurt during the international playoffs right before she came here and then sit on the bench for so long. I tell her that we are glad that we got to see her play finally and hope that she will be back next year.

I ask Lauren about her shoulder, and in typical Lauren fashion, she kind of pooh-poohs the injury (although it sounds pretty serious). She says that she’s going to have the surgery after she gets home to Australia and that she will be missing the Opals qualifying games and the first “few” weeks of the Capitals season. Sorry Aussies – we didn’t mean to break her.

Angie and I join back up and we talk to Quacy a little bit about her recent Q&A session. We tell her that is was great to hear from her and that it was great for the kids to hear that she is so interested in being a teacher and giving back to her home community. She said that she also had a good time and that while uncomfortable in front of groups, she liked answering the questions.

Near the end of the afternoon, the Storm raffle off some seat upgrades for the last game of the season against the Monarchs. Stacey gets to pick the numbers while Lauren reads them off. While most of the winners turn out to be kids, Angie wins a pair of tickets! When she goes up to get them, Lauren says, “Ah, it’s the woman from www.stormfans.org.” Cool!

Simone comes up and offers herself for raffle, or auction. She says she available if you have a BMW, a house on the lake, or will take her to good restaurants.

The raffle ends at 7 or so. Even though the players are still giving autographs and the food seems to still be flowing, we decide to head home.

Not to sound like a complete pitchman for the Storm, but this event is one of the main reasons we get season tickets. It’s a great way to interact with the players and get to know them a little beyond basketball. They are all truly great individuals. We hope to see them all next year for the 3rd season ticket holder party.