W ith the New York Liberty on the brink of winning their first-ever championship title, all eyes should be on the likes of power forward Breanna Stewart or Sabrina Ionescu. Instead, packed-out crowds at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn have been captivated all season by a five-foot-10 anthropomorphic elephant in the stands. Meet Ellie the Elephant, the New York Liberty’s official mascot.
She’s often seen strutting the arena, swinging her one single braid, and asking a security guard to hold her Telfar purse. She then death drops onto the court and proceeds to do the worm, before deciding to twerk on whichever lucky spectator is sitting courtside. If a referee should dare to give her team a penalty, Ellie will take off her large gold hoop earrings and swing her fists – sometimes going after the ref herself.
The 2024 WNBA finals are finally down to two teams: the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx. On Friday night, the Liberty lost game four to the Lynx at the Target Center in Minnesota, ensuring a game five on Sunday in Brooklyn. Liberty have made the WNBA finals a whopping five times, but the team have never scored a championship title.
In fact, this moment marks a fever pitch for both the Liberty and the WNBA as a whole. This season was the most viewed WNBA season ever, with a 170 per cent increase in viewership compared to the 2023 season. Players such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have dramatically increased the sport’s popularity.
The championship match-up .
