NWSL Championship media day was, for one team, a fairly routine event. The North Carolina Courage attended their media appearance professionally, sitting in their seats and answering questions, much like any normal team would. The other team played a game of pickup basketball. A few nights before the most crucial game of their season, in what other teams would probably experience as a tense moment, the Thorns were joking around, having fun and generally enjoying their time together.
It’s not that they were being unprofessional: media day is a pretty boring event, with most of the players spending 45 minutes sitting around while the big name players are made to recite the same media-friendly truisms about how anything can happen in a final and both teams are great and it’ll be a good occasion.