Dub Nation, Women’s Division

With the Warriors preparing for a crucial Game 5 against the Rockets, Elizabeth Fishel says the Women’s Division of Dub Nation is passionate about the team they’ve come to love.

For most of my life, I didn’t give a hoot about basketball. I had better things to do with my time than yell at the TV over a ref’s bad call.

But when our two sons followed in my husband’s footsteps to become players and fans, I slowly warmed up to the sport.

At first, I barely knew the difference between a time-out and a box-out. But watching them play in one drafty high-school gym after another, I found the game’s joy and heartbreak.

When our sons returned from college, I’d still turn away when they talked about the Warriors’ “building years” (translation: they sucked).

But then a funny thing happened. The Warriors signed Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, and they began to look hot. Oh, and they also began winning a lot of games. Steph’s balletic moves, his jaw-dropping half court shots, his contagious joy — and did I mention those green eyes? — made the game so much fun to watch it was impossible to turn away.

I started noticing that other middle-aged women, formerly basketball agnostics, were also being converted. Waves of women friends were now passionately into the games, and we were watching together, even shouting at the ref’s calls. It started with the ecstasy of our first championship, then the agony of our loss to the Cavaliers, and then, redemption, when we won the next two.

Recently, over lunch, one of my best woman friends asked, “Did you see that post-game interview with KD? I fear he’s going to leave us for the Knicks.” Suddenly, nothing seemed more important than taking Kevin Durant’s temperature and agonizing over the team’s future. It was more important than our emotional lives, our kids, our work and relationships. Like my husband, my sons and the rest of Dub Nation, we were all in, and there was no turning back.

With a Perspective, I’m Elizabeth Fishel.

Elizabeth Fishel writes books and articles about family life, and yells at her TV, in Oakland.