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Basketball's Other Bird. |
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Basketball's Other Bird Tracey Middlekauf
Bird has displayed an uncanny dedication to her sport ever since the second grade, when she first followed in her older sister's footsteps and picked up a basketball. In her self-effacing manner, Bird says she can't pinpoint the time she first realized she was meant to play ball. "It was always fun, and I just stayed with it," she says. "I'd get invited to all these different tryouts. Then I got invited to the Amateur Athletic Union, and it just went from there." Bird's laid-back, affable manner masks a competitive fire inside. "I wouldn't take any other guard in the country over Sue," UConn coach Geno Auriemma told The Hartford Courant in April. "That's how good she is-she's got a lot of guts." Bird started making a name for herself a few years ago playing for New York's Christ the King high school. There, she was named first-team Parade All American, the 1998 MVP of the New York State Tournament, and the New York State Player of the Year, as well as receiving many other honors. Bird's promising sports career almost came to an untimely end in her freshman year at UConn, when she suffered a torn ligament in her left knee only a month into the season. Her blown knee kept her on the bench for the rest of the year. But Bird has more than made up for lost time, starting every game
this season in her top-rated team's long march to the championship.
Her efforts also got her named to the All-Tournament team. "I don't play games, and I don't surf the Net," she says. But Bird admits to frequent e-mail use. "The problem is, it's so easy to get online here," Bird says. "I have access in my room, we have it in the locker room, and everybody on my team has it in their rooms. I'll just jump online here, jump on there. I couldn't really tell you how many hours. I'm not addicted, but it's the only way I communicate with some people, so I have to watch it." With a busy practice schedule, Bird is thankful for the ease with which she can do online research. "I don't even have to go to the library," she says. "Like this semester, I had to write a paper, we had a group presentation, and we had to read a number of journal articles. Normally, I'd have to go to the library, find the journal, copy it, and take it back to my room to read. Instead, I just went to UConn's library site, found what I needed, and printed it out." It's also convenient that most of Bird's classes have their own Web sites, which include assignments and notes--especially since she's on the road frequently and may have to miss a class or two. Though by her own admission, she's not exactly a gadget nut--you won't find any self-authored Sue Bird pages on the Web--there is one Web page she loves to visit. "My aunts and uncles set up a home page for my family," she says. "I can post messages and pictures. It's a good way to keep in touch." Bird also stays in touch with family and friends with the help of her Samsung cell phone, which she got primarily, she says, because she got a really good deal on it. In fact, the phone is cheaper to use than the university's phone service. The other gadget Bird owns is a CD burner, although when she can find time to make music mixes--much less listen to them--is anybody's guess. She doesn't covet more gear, though she's intrigued by her sister's PalmPilot, which she's heard is "pretty cool." Low-key Bird comes off as incredibly focused, though we did manage to tease a few online-shopping confessions out of her. It turns out she's trying to buy a car and checks out AutoTrader.com from time to time. She's also bought clothes online from Eastbay and J. Crew, but hastens to add, "I've only done it like twice. I don't go psycho." With self-control like that, Bird could definitely make it to the WNBA. |
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