Photo: Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images
Brooklyn’s version of Disney World doesn’t have any rides exactly, but the way Barclays Center vibrates every time the New York Liberty take the court feels like riding a roller coaster. There are the main characters you follow on Instagram or watch on sports-bar TVs suddenly closer than you imagine even if you’re in the nosebleeds. And of course, there’s the slim, coveted chance that you could lock eyes with a human being you’ll never know inside a soft anthropomorphic costume — more iconic in Brooklyn than any fictional princess. And finally, after a long and cold winter, it’s back.
The New York Liberty hosted the Connecticut Sun on Friday for the opening night of the 30th season of the WNBA, and the energy of the borough’s most talked-about party was buzzing even harder than usual with anticipation at the possibilities ahead. Like any Disney Adult will swear about going to the Magic Kingdom, it’s addicting enough that a little taste is all you really need to want to come back again and again.
“I went to one game three years ago and I went ‘That’s it, this is my personality now,’” one season-ticket holder told me before tip-off. “The second I came to that first game, I knew I had to come back,” another fan named Marisa said. “I fell in love.”
Fans before tip-off. Brooke LaMantia.
Fans before tip-off. Brooke LaMantia.
It was the first official game for the Liberty since losing their chance at reclaiming the championship title they won in 2024, and the first show for new head coach Chris DeMarco to make a mark. Most of the starting five have returned — stars like Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu — but the roster is missing some notable fan favorites from last season like Natasha Cloud, Nyara Sabally, and Isabelle Harrison. With six players currently on their injury list, including Satou Sabally, Nyara’s older sister who played with Ionescu at Oregon, the bench wasn’t deep, but the nerves that could be present on such an important showing were replaced by an excitement to play ball, especially by the newer faces to the roster who had a chance to make a name for themselves amongst the fervent crowd.
“I’d been to Barclays before for a Nets game, and this was nothing like that,” says Bilen, whose first game was tonight. She described the atmosphere as electric. “I got up and swung my towel around” — she says of the Ellie wave, which happens every game when Ellie the elephant waves her trunk around and we mimic it with our towels or hands — “and I’ve never done anything like that before.”
For the most diehard of fans, the night started early at 6 p.m., when the doors at Barclays Center first opened. The first fan who walked in didn’t want to stop and talk — she was there early for the new Rebel Edition jerseys, and while apologetic, she didn’t miss a step as she speed-walked toward the official merch store inside the stadium. I took it personally, until I walked by the store minutes later and saw the frenzy around the racks of sea-foam-blue hats and retro-logo T-shirts. I asked a woman nearby if the shirt she was wearing was being sold inside, and she scoffed at me. “This is vintage,” she said in a thick New York accent. “I’ve been coming to these games for 30 years.”
The Liberty had stints playing at Madison Square Garden and in Westchester before moving to Barclays in 2020 under new leadership. The relocation to Brooklyn meant a new chapter for the franchise, one that left the former mascot, Maddie, behind and introduced Ellie, a new mascot that nods toward local history, when elephants walked over the Brooklyn Bridge 130 years ago to prove it was strong enough to hold the rest of us. But since tonight was about the WNBA’s three-decade-long history, it was only right for Maddie to join Ellie on the court.
Ellie at halftimethe mayor!Brooke LaMantia.
Ellie at halftimethe mayor!Brooke LaMantia.
Maddie wasn’t the only surprise appearance of the night. During the first quarter of the game, rumors that Mayor Mamdani was in the stadium with his wife, Rama, showed up in my group chats. He didn’t make it on the jumbotron, but after using my iPhone camera’s zoom to find where he was in the lower bowl, I watched him shake hands and pose for selfies between gameplay. When Ellie came over to meet him, fan edits described it as “the queen of NY meeting the mayor.” Even comedian Matt Rogers, who made it on the jumbotron himself, was geeked over seeing the mayor. “Zohran was here, which I was starstruck by,” he said. “As of today, I am one of Liberty’s biggest fans. This is my first game, and I’ll be back. I thought Ellie stunted on everybody, and that’s the highest praise I can possibly give.”
Of course she did, but our girl was anxious to perform a new routine for her first halftime show for the 2026 season. Inside the visitors tunnel, two minutes before the half, I asked if she, notoriously the baddest bitch in the stadium, felt nervous. She surprised me by enthusiastically nodding her head (and her bob) yes. But after a pep talk from her team and a long swipe of a towel under her velvety head, she was ready to cosplay as Whitney Houston for over 17,000 fans who avoid beverage and bathroom runs when the basketball stops to remain in their seats and watch her perform. Tonight, Ellie’s performance included a montage of iconic Whitney moments, songs like “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and “How Will I Know,” and four different outfits. It’s no wonder every veteran Liberty fan tells newbies the same thing: Stay in your seat at halftime.
Though there’s never actually a good time to take your eyes off the court. There’s the game itself, which on Friday featured a nonstop run for the Liberty and an insane ankle-breaker moment from Betnijah Laney-Hamilton; there’s Ellie once again stomping into the fourth quarter, a routine that this year featured the scuba dance and a very niche reference to a viral moment from Katseye’s choreographer Grant Gilmore; and then there are the beloved Timeless Torches. The over-40 dance group takes the stage every home game to a rowdy crowd. Margaret Hamilton has been a member of the group for 21 seasons and says “the only thing that hits the court is perfection.” She brought her kids to an audition in 2005 to be a Lil’ Torch, the group of young dancers, and when they said for adults to stay back, she saw the opportunity and took it. “Long story short, I made it, and they didn’t, but they’re happy about it,” she laughs.
Photo: Brooke LaMantia
Each Liberty game I’ve ever attended has had a frenzy that leaves me goosebumped even in the heat of summer, but tonight felt feral. With the sound of the buzzer at the end of the fourth quarter, the Liberty won their first game of the 2026 season over the Connecticut Sun 106 to 75, and the partying was just getting started.
Outside the stadium, fans flocked to nearby bars to catch the next WNBA game, the Golden State Valkyries versus the Seattle Storm, and Shaka Shaka Tiki, a tiny bar around the corner, filled with its usual after-game crowd. On a stoop a few doors down, a group of fans clinked cans and shared bags of potato chips. “Liberty are making gay men love sports,” a guy named Sam told me. It’s his third year with season tickets, and he assured me you can find him here with friends after every home game. Sometimes if they’re lucky, a player will walk by and wave. They invited me to sit (“Be our friend” they said) and while I was tempted, I had to head to Ginger’s, a lesbian bar in Park Slope, which was hosting one of the official after-parties for the game. An older lesbian who won’t give me her name nods at me like she’s wishing me luck.
Ariel Russell’s birthday pin and stuffed Maddie from childhood. Brooke LaMantia.
Ariel Russell’s birthday pin and stuffed Maddie from childhood. Brooke LaMantia.
At Ginger’s, the backyard was packed with familiar faces, either from dating apps or the game, I can’t tell which, and countless WNBGAY hats. The energy following the win was high, making me forget the aching feeling that comes with standing on your feet for six hours. Groups mingled, discussing the game, speculating who of the new roster might be queer. A fan named Ariel Russell was celebrating her 27th birthday with friends, all wearing matching pins she made for the occasion. I spot Ana, a friend of mine I had never actually met in real life. She was drinking Guinness with her friends, including Ashley, whom she co-hosts the podcast Swish Swish with. Ana’s in it for the lesbians, and Ashley is the real basketball buff. So how does she feel about the season? “The 2026 championship is ours to take.”
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