The WNBA’s Seattle Storm ran into a little bit of travel trouble on Sunday. The issue? Storms. In the words of Alanis Morissette: isn’t it ironic? Don’t you think?
According to the Associated Press, the Storm prepared to travel on a one-hour flight from New York to Washington on Sunday. However, heavy storms canceled the team’s flight.
Surely, you’d think the team would be able to book another without much trouble, right? Wrong. The 24-person travel party couldn’t be accommodated until a Wednesday flight, which was a day after the schedule game against the Mystics. The Amtrak was also booked, leaving Seattle with limited options.
The team was able to secure a bus, driving from LaGuardia Airport to their scheduled stop in Washington. So, at least the team was able to get something figured out, even if it was a giant pain.
But travel woes are just part of the problem for the Storm on this road trip. Seattle is 0-2 through its first two games of this four-game trek. On Thursday, Seattle fell 93-73 to the Connecticut Sun. Saturday, the Storm suffered an 80-76 loss at the hands of the New York Liberty.
Seattle plays the Mystics on Tuesday then travels (we’re assuming) to Atlanta on Wednesday for the lone back-to-back portion of the schedule. After that, the Storm get eight days off before hosting the Las Vegas Aces on July 20.
Teams in the WNBA typically travel commercially for games. On the second night of back-to-backs, the league has agreed to allow charter flights.
Per the Associated Press, the WNBA has stated that it would cost approximately $2 million per team for charter flights for the entire season.
This season has been a battle for the Storm, and not just because of poor weather conditions. Seattle owns a 4-14 overall record through 18 games, tied for the worst in the WNBA. The Phoenix Mercury are also 4-14.
It’s been a rough stretch for the Storm. Hopefully, travel goes according to plan for the remainder of this road trip and the team gets back to Seattle for some much needed rest.
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