The Storm Blitz is a fun little event where the team gets out and really interacts with the public in a way that few professional sports teams ever do. The players start in groups from 2 or 3 locations downtown and make their way to Westlake Park for a rally and introduction to the fans. Along the way, the players get to be part ambassador and part salesperson, giving out passes to games, schedules, player bio sheets to the unsuspecting masses of Seattle.

Last year, I followed the group that went through Pike Place Market - hilarity ensued. This year, I followed one of the groups who walked around one of the shopping areas - not as much fun. It wasn't because the players weren't into it, they were. It was the passersby that brought things down a little bit. As soon as one of the players would put out her hand holding a piece of paper, the person walking past would get that glazed "I don't want to sign anything" look and try to not make eye contact. Of course, this wasn't the case every time and quality player / public interaction did occur.

Three group I followed (I hope they don't think I'm some sort of freak - I don't think the returning players do, but Adia was giving me the eye a little bit, not to mention the undercover cop who was shadowing them - he looked at me like I was Al Queda or something) included Simone Edwards, Adia Barnes, Danielle McCulley, Kate Paye and Jamie Redd. Simone was her normal self and was unbowed by the lack of response by some people. Adia was unrelenting in her sales efforts - I commented to her that maybe she has a new career opportunity and she said no way. Jamie was also working the crowd pretty well and kept finding knots of little kids to give stuff to.

The separate groups of players eventually made their way to Westlake Park (for you non-Seattleites out there - basically a paved over chunk of real estate in front of a mid to upscale mall. It's what passes for an open square in Seattle) for a rally and player introductions. The mood is pretty laid back. The players mingle around with the fans or take a seat on some steps that serve as a platform for the speakers later on and fans can casually come up for autographs or photos. Like I said, this is pretty rare in professional sports - I don't remember ever being able to walk up to Gary Payton and ask him how things are going or how his offseason was.

After a brief intro from David Locke, Coach Dunn introduced all the players. Some nuggets: Takeisha Lewis could dunk in high school. Felicia was described as not leaving Coach Dunn a choice about keeping her on the roster (double figures in scoring in each of the preseason games). Coach tried to sing "Rocky Top" with Semeka, but thankfully they didn't do it. Kate Paye was sitting between Semeka and Michelle, two UT alums, and Coach described Kate, a Stanford alumna, as a model of academics and integrity (implying something about UT?). When she got to Michelle, she asked if anyone other than the three of them (her, Meke and 3M) knew the words to Rocky Top. Sue shook her head and rolled her eyes. Takeisha (Louisiana Tech) said she hates Rocky Top. Coach Dunn introduced Sonja as someone she would have as a daughter if she could. The others were introduced as well, but without any additional info - although Adia was intro'd as the starting small forward.

Then Seattle Mayor Greg Nickles came up and proclaimed the day as Seattle Storm Day (sorry, but blah, blah, blah). He said that Sue was the most exciting new arrival in Seattle since the Frappacino (yes, Howard Schultz - owner of the Sonics & Storm, and oh yeah, the CEO of Starbucks - was standing a few feet away).

After the festivities, dancing ensued and the rally slowly broke up. A few more autographs and the players all crammed into the Storm vans - back to practice.