Today is camp day for the Wolves, which is why the game is starting at noon.
The Lynx do it once a year. Actually, each team does it at least once a year, when they arrange to have groups of children bussed to the game to watch the local team play. Each group wears T-shirts of the same color and sit as a group, so the very large number of fans who will be here today – upwards of 15,000 – will make Target Center look like a display at a paint store.
Anyone who has been to one of these games knows one thing. The crowd will be very excited and very, very loud. And, because they're young and not always savvy about what's going on in the game, the noise is rather unpredictable.
On Tuesday Lynx coach joked about how the coaches prepare for the game by taking aspirin for the inevitable headache and ear plugs to mute the shrieks of the fans. Still, Reeve said, it's one of her favorite games of the season.
To Reeve, the game is a chance for the Lynx players to do what they can to influence future leaders. It gives young girls a chance to see women play a game professionally, knowing that opportunity will one day be theirs. Young boys see the same thing and perhaps, Reeve said, it will impact their world view going forward.
"Boys and girls get to see strong, powerful women competing, playing professional basketball," Reeve said. "So they grow up expecting that. Versus, back when I was a kid, the expectation was really different for women."
That said, if you're coming to the game, bring ear plugs.
Here are a couple other pre-game nuggets:
