If you watched the movie ‘Friday Night Lights’ without reading the book or knowing the team’s story prior to entering the theater, it was easy to be instantly captivated by the stories of this small-town, Texas high school football team and become heavily invested in its success.
What a great tale, what a great team.
So when the 1988 Permian Panthers came up a yard short of winning the state title game in the movie, a feeling of shock and incompleteness came over the viewer.
“What? This isn’t right. It was not supposed to end like this.”
Only long after the film concluded – sometimes it wasn’t until the second or third viewing – were you able to reflect and realize, “Yeah, the ending stunk, but that was a really great movie.”
The 2024 Minnesota Lynx achieved a rare feat in professional sports. They captured the imaginations of a state, and did it in the purest way possible, via selfless, hard-nosed basketball that centered only on team success.
A bunch of veterans that, as Lynx guard Kayla McBride noted, all came together at the perfect times in their careers to create magic throughout buy-in and purpose. From the first couple days of training camp, those players and coaches knew they’d discovered something special together. And from then, all the way through Game 5 of the WNBA Finals, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve noted the team never changed.
“Not one single player got the disease of ‘Me’ – not one. Those that were maybe in the rotation, fell out of the rotation, some that never got to play, no one ever put themselves first. No one,” Reeve said. “That is incredibly difficult to find in this day and age, so I’m really, really proud.”
Through their efforts – their ball movement and help defense – Minnesota took on the titans, those high-profile, superstar-stuffed teams, and often won.
The Lynx entered the season ranked No. 9 in ESPN’s preseason power rankings. They were listed at 50-to-1 by bookmakers to win the WNBA title.
And they made it all the way to the end.
“Underdog story. No one thought we would be as good as we were,” Lynx guard Bridget Carleton said. “Kind of just a group of veterans that have all had their own paths that came together to be really successful in such a short period of time. I think that’s really special.”
What a great tale, what a great team.
“It’s kind of like the fairytale of basketball. It’s like the sweet story of you’ve got all these people who work really hard, who want to win together, who don’t care about roles or whatever, they’re not interested in the ego side of things. There’s no complaining or anything,” Lynx forward Alanna Smith said. “And then you have success on the back end of it. It’s so rare to have a team with that culture and mindset, and then also have success on top of it. It’s like the fairytale of the basketball world, and it’s such a sweet story.”
But it came with a bitter ending. The end of Game 5 will not soon be forgotten.
The controversial foul called – and upheld upon review – that sent Breanna Stewart to the free-throw line at the end of regulation to force overtime will live in infamy in this part of the country.
As for overtime, well, you know the rest.
Watching it play out Sunday, you couldn’t help but think: “What? This isn’t right. It was not supposed to end like this.”
“To have it end that way, where it just feels super unjust, I just don’t think that’s something I’ll ever be able to get over,” Lynx forward Napheesa Collier said. “It’s different if you feel like you lose a game.
In Minnesota’s eyes, Game 5 – as Reeve put it – was “stolen.”
A fairytale conclusion, it was not.
Still, Collier said it is “easy” to be appreciative of this team, and not just what it did on the floor, but how close the bonds between players were formed off of it. That was the magic.
The Lynx were back in Minnesota on Monday and had to do all of their end-of-season medical obligations. From there, at the end of a long season, you’re free to do as you please. The Lynx chose to go out together for one final dinner.
Of course they did.
“It was very organic,” Lynx guard Kayla McBride said of the team’s chemistry. “I just enjoyed coming to work every day.”
Collier said this was her favorite team she has ever been a part of, noting those relationships formed this season will last a lifetime.
“This team was just really close, and I’m so proud of everything we did this year, and we were so close to getting our goals, so yeah, it’s a really tough ending,” Collier said. “It’s hard, because that last game really tarnishes it, doesn’t it?”
It may feel that way at this moment as the Lynx exit the theater. It probably won’t when this season is fondly recalled in the years to come.
“Yeah, the ending stunk, but that was a really great movie.”
As Smith so eloquently put it: “Despite not having the outcome at the end that we wanted, I think it’s almost inspirational to have a team like that do what we did.”
At the end of Friday Night Lights, the on-screen text to conclude the film reveals a pleasant surprise — the Panthers won the state title the very next season.
And, hey, all five Lynx starters are under contract for the 2025 campaign. The beauty, in the Lynx’s case — the sequel will play out live for all to watch and enjoy.
