CHICAGO — For many, fandom goes beyond a team or city. It’s an opportunity to build a community and find their people, often spilling into real life. And WNBA fans might be organizing exactly what the league needs to grow its audience.
Lorri Gyenes — aka Sky Mayor Redhead Lorri — has been a WNBA fan since the league’s inception and is popular among the Wintrust Arena faithful. She’s a Chicago Sky season ticket holder who has been backing them since Day 1, following the team from what used to be UIC Pavilion to Allstate Arena to its current home in the South Loop. In the beginning, Gyenes and her fellow “Sky Riders” used message boards to connect and plan tailgating activities, but they since have moved on to what’s known as #WNBATwitter.
“On WNBA Twitter, I feel like I made friends,” she told the Chicago Tribune. “I met a guy several years ago. He was from Sweden, and he flew from Sweden to come watch the WNBA and then we met at the game.”
