{"id":58624,"date":"2025-08-04T21:45:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T21:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/58624\/"},"modified":"2025-08-04T21:45:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T21:45:13","slug":"sydney-colson-using-comedy-to-help-bring-indiana-fever-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/58624\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney Colson using comedy to help bring Indiana Fever together"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every non-game Fever event has the same dynamic. During the team\u2019s open practice in front of season ticket holders earlier this year, Colson held the crowd\u2019s attention with a few wise cracks during her turn in a Q&A session. Before the Fever played the Aces in Indy this season, Colson was catching up with former teammate Megan Gustafson<\/a> in the tunnels of Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Gustafson was smiling ear to ear and laughing often while the two moved around the arena. On the day of the WNBA All-Star game<\/a>, Colson chose the most direct path to laughter by performing a stand-up comedy act at Fever Fest.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe always has us rolling, so it\u2019s nothing new for us,\u201d Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White<\/a> said of the performance. \u201cI\u2019m happy that she was able to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In most instances, comedy comes naturally to Colson. When Fever star Aliyah Boston<\/a> was asked during a taping of the Post Moves podcast who her funniest teammate is, she chose Colson immediately. It\u2019s a vital part of the veteran\u2019s personality.<\/p>\n

Colson, by all accounts, nails the timing when it comes to cracks and jokes. Just the other day during the portion of practice available to the media, she made much of her team laugh by telling wing Sophie Cunningham<\/a> to shut up during the half court shooting contest. Cunningham was off to the side, encouraging her teammates to hurry after missing her own half-court shot. Colson was having none of it, and the Fever loved her direct response.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery team needs someone like Syd,\u201d Cunningham said a few weeks before that interaction. \u201cShe\u2019s funny, she\u2019s ruthless. Don\u2019t get me wrong, she\u2019s weird as hell. But we love her.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s those moments that show Colson\u2019s off-court value to any team \u2014 and especially an Indiana Fever one in need of a veteran leader to bring a new-look group together. She cuts in when the vibe is too serious, keeping things light when it needs to be. That\u2019s emotional intelligence, and it helps her be serious when she needs to be, too.<\/p>\n

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White appreciates that perspective. Colson has won multiple championships and stepped up during a crucial Game 4 win in the 2023 WNBA Finals, helping Las Vegas take home the title. There are multiple basketball reasons that attracted Indiana to Colson in free agency. But being a tested vet, combined with a light-hearted nature, is crucial during the ups and downs of a 44-game season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thankful that, in those times when it can get a little stressful or tight or tense, that she knows how to loosen everybody up,\u201d White said. The head coach loves Colson\u2019s little quips, appropriate or not, and views them as important on a day-to-day basis.<\/p>\n

For Colson, being amusing has always been a part of her character. It\u2019s part of how she hopes to help teams off the court, and that style didn\u2019t come from a former teammate or any basketball situation. Instead, Colson shared, her sense of humor came from her dad.<\/p>\n

Now, she is bestowing those gags on WNBA players. And she has been for years. Colson is determined to stay serious when she\u2019s playing and approaches her on-court work with professionalism (unless, of course, something funny happens mid game). But off the floor, Colson knows how her light-hearted approach to life can be a uniting factor for a team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hilarious,\u201d Colson said before a break to laugh during a conversation with The Next. \u201cI laugh at myself. I don\u2019t need people around \u2014 I think I\u2019m funny\u2026 I say [something] because it\u2019s funny to me. Sometimes I don\u2019t get a reaction. But I\u2019m just like, \u2018They don\u2019t get it\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"IndianaIndiana Fever guard Sydney Colson attempts a jump shot during a Fever training camp practice in 2025. (Photo Credit: Indiana Fever | Pacers Sports & Entertainment)<\/p>\n

The jokes can come at any moment. It might be at a practice, it might be walking into the arena. It might be on X after an object gets thrown onto the court<\/a> in a different WNBA game not involving the Indiana Fever \u2014 and Colson\u2019s bio on X reads \u201d this account is very unserious.\u201d That says it all. Her consistently-humerous existence is a boon for her locker room partners.<\/p>\n

Colson is aware of her stature as one of the oldest members of the league. She is one of 13 WNBA players that are 35 or older<\/a> right now, and that makes her grateful to still be around.<\/p>\n

Yet that has also forced Colson to consider how she can have a significant impact on her team. Now, that involves being a veteran and, as she described it, imparting her wisdom on younger players \u2014 particularly the ones she goes to battle with every day.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, that comes during a serious moment on the sidelines or in the locker room. Often, it involves comedy. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to bring levity to situations while still making sure we\u2019re working hard. But, you know, we gotta have fun,\u201d Colson said. \u201c[The Indiana Pacers] (who share an arena and some facilities with the Fever) are having fun because they play hard and they play as a team. And so I want us to have that kind of mindset. Play fast, play hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s crucial that Colson strikes the right balance between joking and being serious. Too many wisecracks will make her come off as flippant. Too few and she\u2019ll be a no-fun veteran \u2014 still a useful piece, but not someone that is as fun to be around.<\/p>\n

Being right in the middle of those two poles makes Colson who she is. And her teammates respond to that style of leadership. \u201cOh, right away,\u201d Colson said of how quickly her teammates latched on to her humorous ways. \u201cI think some people were like, \u2018I didn\u2019t know if you really acted like this or if it was just like something you put on for cameras. But you really act like this\u2019. I\u2019m like, \u2018Yeah, people think that all the time.\u2019 So I can see why some people find me annoying, because they think it\u2019s an act,\u201d Colson continued. \u201cBut it is what it is. They received me well, and I think we\u2019ve got a good group. We have fun together, and so it makes it easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not just lip service from Colson. The team does have fun together, particularly when she\u2019s around. Lexie Hull<\/a> and Cunningham made that clear with an interaction before the Fever\u2019s win on Sunday over the Seattle Storm.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what many public-facing moments involving Colson look like. And it\u2019s part of why she\u2019s so important to the Fever despite having a smaller in-game role.<\/p>\n

Yet Colson\u2019s impact isn\u2019t just limited to off-court improv. She\u2019s been needed often with Caitlin Clark<\/a> missing time this season and has filled in well enough. Through 28 appearances games this season, including a career high six starts, Colson is averaging 2.5 points and 2.1 assists per game. She wanted to come to Indiana in free agency<\/a> in part because she knew a role was coming her way, and so far she\u2019s been additive on the hardwood.<\/p>\n

Contributing has been a goal of Colson\u2019s this year, and she noted that she didn\u2019t play as much on past teams. Court time is meaningful now, and being able to contribute helps her be a more valuable teammate as she tries to pour into younger players during her final years. Some of that is chiming in when she sees something from the bench. Other times, it\u2019s the jokes. Those on and off-court offerings, in tandem, are what make Colson so important to her team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know she wants to be a comedian,\u201d White said. \u201cBut she\u2019d make a hell of a coach.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every non-game Fever event has the same dynamic. During the team\u2019s open practice in front of season ticket…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58625,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[4129,2839,99,9218,434],"class_list":["post-58624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-fever","tag-indiana-fever","tag-sports","tag-sydney-colson","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}