{"id":637155,"date":"2026-05-11T19:52:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T19:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/637155\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T19:52:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T19:52:16","slug":"scenes-from-the-2026-new-york-liberty-season-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/637155\/","title":{"rendered":"Scenes From the 2026 New York Liberty Season Opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Connecticut <\/p>\n

\n Photo: Catalina Fragoso\/NBAE via Getty Images\n <\/p>\n

Brooklyn\u2019s version of Disney World doesn\u2019t have any rides exactly, but the way Barclays Center vibrates every time the New York Liberty<\/a> 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\u2019re in the nosebleeds. And of course, there\u2019s the slim, coveted chance that you could lock eyes with a human being you\u2019ll never know inside a soft anthropomorphic costume \u2014 more iconic in Brooklyn than any fictional princess. And finally, after a long and cold winter, it\u2019s back.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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\u2019s addicting enough that a little taste is all you really need to want to come back again and again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to one game three years ago and I went \u2018That\u2019s it, this is my personality now,\u2019\u201d one season-ticket holder told me before tip-off. \u201cThe second I came to that first game, I knew I had to come back,\u201d another fan named Marisa said. \u201cI fell in love.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Fans before tip-off. Brooke LaMantia.\n <\/p>\n

\n Fans before tip-off. Brooke LaMantia.\n <\/p>\n

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<\/a> Chris DeMarco to make a mark. Most of the starting five have returned \u2014 stars like Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu\u00a0\u2014 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\u2019s older sister who played with Ionescu at Oregon, the bench wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d been to Barclays before for a Nets game, and this was nothing like that,\u201d says Bilen, whose first game was tonight. She described the atmosphere as electric. \u201cI got up and swung my towel around\u201d \u2014 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\u00a0\u2014 \u201cand I\u2019ve never done anything like that before.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019t want to stop and talk \u2014 she was there early for the new Rebel Edition jerseys, and while apologetic, she didn\u2019t 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. \u201cThis is vintage,\u201d she said in a thick New York accent. \u201cI\u2019ve been coming to these games for 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s three-decade-long history, it was only right for Maddie to join Ellie on the court.<\/p>\n

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\n Ellie at halftimethe mayor!Brooke LaMantia.\n <\/p>\n

\n Ellie at halftimethe mayor!Brooke LaMantia.\n <\/p>\n

Maddie wasn\u2019t 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\u2019t make it on the jumbotron, but after using my iPhone camera\u2019s 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 \u201cthe queen of NY<\/a> meeting the mayor<\/a>.\u201d Even comedian Matt Rogers, who made it on the jumbotron himself, was geeked over seeing the mayor. \u201cZohran was here, which I was starstruck by,\u201d he said. \u201cAs of today, I am one of Liberty\u2019s biggest fans. This is my first game, and I\u2019ll be back. I thought Ellie stunted on everybody, and that\u2019s the highest praise I can possibly give.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s performance included a montage of iconic Whitney moments<\/a>, songs like \u201cI Wanna Dance With Somebody\u201d and \u201cHow Will I Know,\u201d and four different outfits. It\u2019s no wonder every veteran Liberty fan tells newbies the same thing: Stay in your seat at halftime.<\/p>\n

Though there\u2019s never actually a good time to take your eyes off the court. There\u2019s the game itself, which on Friday featured a nonstop run for the Liberty and an insane ankle-breaker moment from Betnijah Laney-Hamilton<\/a>; there\u2019s Ellie once again stomping into the fourth quarter, a routine that this year featured the scuba dance<\/a> and a very niche reference to a viral moment from Katseye\u2019s choreographer Grant Gilmore<\/a>; 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<\/a> has been a member of the group for 21 seasons and says \u201cthe only thing that hits the court is perfection.\u201d She brought her kids to an audition in 2005 to be a Lil\u2019 Torch, the group of young dancers, and when they said for adults to stay back, she saw the opportunity and took it. \u201cLong story short, I made it, and they didn\u2019t, but they\u2019re happy about it,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Brooke LaMantia\n <\/p>\n

Each Liberty game I\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n

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. \u201cLiberty are making gay men love sports,\u201d a guy named Sam told me. It\u2019s his third year with season tickets, and he assured me you can find him here with friends after every home game. Sometimes if they\u2019re lucky, a player will walk by and wave. They invited me to sit (\u201cBe our friend\u201d they said) and while I was tempted, I had to head to Ginger\u2019s, a lesbian bar in Park Slope, which was hosting one of the official after-parties for the game. An older lesbian who won\u2019t give me her name nods at me like she\u2019s wishing me luck.<\/p>\n

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\n Ariel Russell’s birthday pin and stuffed Maddie from childhood. Brooke LaMantia.\n <\/p>\n

\n Ariel Russell’s birthday pin and stuffed Maddie from childhood. Brooke LaMantia.\n <\/p>\n

At Ginger\u2019s, the backyard was packed with familiar faces, either from dating apps or the game, I can\u2019t tell which, and countless WNBGAY hats<\/a>. 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<\/a> with. Ana\u2019s in it for the lesbians, and Ashley is the real basketball buff. So how does she feel about the season? \u201cThe 2026 championship is ours to take.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n