{"id":611092,"date":"2026-04-28T11:02:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T11:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/611092\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T11:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T11:02:08","slug":"connecticut-sun-fans-make-the-most-of-final-season-in-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/611092\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecticut Sun fans make the most of final season in state"},"content":{"rendered":"

UNCASVILLE \u2014 Kevin Gates stood in line with 13-year-old daughter Nat for more than half an hour on Sunday afternoon waiting for the chance to add Brittney Griner<\/a>\u2018s autograph to the ever-growing collection on the back of their custom Connecticut Sun<\/a> jerseys.<\/p>\n

Kevin has worked at Mohegan Sun as a table games supervisor for nearly two decades, but he never closely followed the WNBA until Nat became a die-hard women\u2019s basketball fan \u2014 first of UConn<\/a>, then the pros. The pair invested in season tickets for the first time last season, and Sun games quickly became their father-daughter bonding time. Their matching Connecticut jerseys, customized with their last name, are decorated on the back by nearly two dozen signatures from players, coaches and even Sun mascot Blaze.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing her get excited \u2014 for every parent, it\u2019s exciting to be able to share in the passions that your children enjoy,\u201d Kevin said. \u201cWe like going to the UConn Huskies games, but it\u2019s usually during the school season, so we\u2019re very limited on how many games that we can go to. During the summer, it\u2019s a wonderful opportunity for kids being out of school to be able to go to all these games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kevin and Nat were among nearly 1,500 season-ticket holders who showed up to the arena Sunday to watch Connecticut host its annual open practice and meet-and-greet to kick off the 2026 season. Lines to see the fan favorites \u2014 Griner, second-year guard Saniya Rivers<\/a>, former UConn star Aaliyah Edwards<\/a> \u2014 wrapped around the length of the court for nearly an hour. Several fans brought vintage jerseys from players\u2019 college days for autographs, and many in Griner\u2019s line held copies of her memoir \u201cComing Home,\u201d about the 10 months she spent wrongfully detained in Russian prison<\/a> in 2021. Edwards said several fans brought her gifts, from signed posters to a collectible keychain in her likeness, and a young girl came to her table with purple extensions braided into her hair to mimic the famous purple and yellow braids Edwards wears on the court.<\/p>\n

Many of the Sun fans are faces Edwards used to see frequently in Storrs while playing Huskies from 2020-24, and there\u2019s a unique connection in watching the same people cheer her on through every stage of her basketball career.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives me a purpose to play,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just for me, it\u2019s not just for our team or the girls on the court playing. It\u2019s bigger than that and bigger than yourself. Just to heart that and get those affirmations, it means the world to me, because people really care.\u201d<\/p>\n

The autograph lines for Saniya, BG and Aaliyah are pretty crazy! pic.twitter.com\/6rnMoUksih<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Emily Adams (@eaadams6) April 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

While the excitement from the season-ticket holders was palpable Sunday, there was also an atmosphere of bittersweet nostalgia in the knowledge that this upcoming season is their last chance to have these kinds of experiences. On March 30, Mohegan Tribe ownership announced that it had reached an agreement to sell the Sun<\/a> to Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta for a reported $300 million \u2014 the largest sale in WNBA history. Fertitta will relocate the franchise to Houston ahead of the 2027 season.<\/p>\n

Amid the WNBA\u2019s exponential growth over the last three years, it became clear the team could not remain at Mohegan Sun long-term. Drawing elite free agents to Uncasville has always been challenging, but it\u2019s now nearly impossible as franchises in major media markets continue to invest more heavily and consistently in player amenities and resources. Almost every other team in the league either shares a practice facility with its NBA counterpart or has its own multimillion-dollar dedicated facility, while the Sun still train at the Mohegan Tribe\u2019s community center gym when the arena court is unavailable.<\/p>\n

Most fans understand that the need for more professional-caliber resources wasn\u2019t going to be met under Mohegan Tribe ownership, but there is deep frustration over the Sun\u2019s relocation out of New England. The tribe originally agreed to sell for $325 million to former Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, who would have moved the team to Boston<\/a>. A prospective ownership group led by former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry matched the $325 million offer<\/a> with hopes of relocating the team less than 50 miles north to Hartford.<\/p>\n

But the WNBA ultimately refused to approve a relocation to either city, offering only the flimsy explanation that neither group made a bid to own a new franchise during the league\u2019s latest round of expansion last year. The Sun were still in the New England market at the time expansion bids were submitted, so neither Hartford or Boston had any reason to seek a franchise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the basketball capital of the world, and we need a professional team,\u201d said Angel Earle, who has been a Sun season-ticket holder since 2020. \u201cHartford tried to get it. Boston tried to get it, but we went back to Texas where there already was a team. Come on, now \u2026 I really believe the league should have kept them in Connecticut and let Texas do whatever they needed to do. There\u2019s going to be a lot of people that are very upset and frustrated about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Incredibly disappointing\u2019: State leaders react as Connecticut Sun move to Houston becomes official<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Earle is also a longtime UConn fan and season-ticket holder, and she\u2019s become iconic in the women\u2019s basketball community for the handmade crochet outfits she sports<\/a> in her courtside seats on game days. Former Connecticut players often know her by name when they return to compete at Mohegan Sun. At Sunday\u2019s event, Earle wore a bright orange t-shirt that read, \u201cI\u2019m an extra loud, extremely proud Connecticut Sun fan 24\/7.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very, very sad,\u201d Earle said. \u201cBut you know what, I\u2019m going to enjoy this season to the fullest, because I know it is the last. Just give all the energy I can give to the girls. I\u2019m a fan whether we win, lose or draw. I\u2019m never, ever going to veer from it, but I\u2019m going to be sad to see the girls so so far away \u2026 It\u2019s just like, no, why are you taking our girls away?\u201d<\/p>\n

Having UConn helps alleviate some of the sting of the the Sun\u2019s departure, but losing access to a professional team is still devastating. Earle, 61, said she\u2019ll always keep up with the UConn alumni and former Sun players she\u2019s connected with over the years, but it will likely only be through the TV. She said she probably won\u2019t attend another WNBA game until she retires, because the trip to see the next-closest team, the New York Liberty, is too inconvenient for her to make from Connecticut. Kevin and Nat said they don\u2019t know where their team allegiance will fall without the Sun \u2014 though Nat was adamant that it won\u2019t be with the Liberty.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both really love this team, and it\u2019s gonna be really hard to see what we love go, especially so far,\u201d Nat said. \u201cIf it was in Boston, it wouldn\u2019t have been as heartbreaking for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that this is the last time we\u2019re going to have the opportunity to come here, and we\u2019re just going to enjoy it and take advantage of as many opportunities as we can to make sure that we\u2019re here for every game,\u201d Kevin added. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to have any regrets when it\u2019s over.\u201d<\/p>\n

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