<\/p>\n
Katie Powers, left, and Sully McGinnis pose for a photo during the WNBA’s All-Star weekend in Phoenix a couple of years ago.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Sully McGinnis and Katie Powers<\/p>\n
Powers and McGinnis have followed the WNBA closely for well over 15 years. The excitement of the game is something that draws them in year after year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s got all the things you want,\u201d McGinnis says. \u201cIt’s got drama, it’s got storylines, it’s got dopamine and there’s some aggression. It’s like \u2018Game of Thrones\u2019 during the season. It’s these titans going up against each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple moved to Tucson from Seattle, where they passionately cheered on the Seattle Storm during the Sue Bird era. Once they moved to Tucson, they added the Phoenix Mercury to their women\u2019s basketball fandom.<\/p>\n
Now, they watch every single game, bought season tickets and became members of the X-Factor, the official fan base for the Mercury.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re hoping to bring some of the electric X-Factor energy back to Tucson, they said.<\/p>\n
At Monday\u2019s watch party, attendees can participate in a shootaround in The Coalition Space\u2019s courtyard just before tipoff, and once the game gets going, there will be games and giveaways (and plenty of league gossip).<\/p>\n
There will be concessions for sale, with proceeds going to The Coalition Space. Monetary donations are also accepted to help the space host more events and keep them free for the community.<\/p>\n
Powers and McGinnis also plan to put up a board where attendees can write down questions about the game, players or the sport itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeginners or longtime fans, it’s really an opportunity for people to ask questions, get to know the game, get to know the players,\u201d Powers said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fans cheer from the stands as the Phoenix Mercury play the Chicago Sky at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on July 7, 2026.<\/p>\n
USA Today Network<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you’ve been sitting at home watching these games by yourself, come out; if you’ve got 10 friends that you’ve been hosting your own watch parties in your own living room, come out,\u201d McGinnis added. \u201cThis is a space where everybody is welcome, every age is welcome. If you need a friend, if you need a buddy, if you just want to come out and hang out and watch the game, this is the spot, this is the place to come.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Katie Powers, left, and Sully McGinnis pose for a photo during the WNBA’s All-Star weekend in Phoenix a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":928787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[49],"tags":[5643,62,17741,67,132,68,232,16966],"class_list":["post-928786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-arizona","tag-sports","tag-tucson","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-wnba","tag-women"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116903887975176006","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=928786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/928787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=928786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=928786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=928786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}