Sue Bird Facts!

 

• Since childhood, Sue has had near total recall. Her father calls her an idiot savant. Geno Auriemma says she sees the game the way a coach does—and that he’s never had another player like that.

• Sue was a two-time All-American at UConn. She was named NCAA Point Guard of the Year three times. Her most embarrassing college memory is her mother dancing in the stands on national television.

• Sue wears number 10 because she and her sister were both October babies.

• Sue won the 2002 ESPY as Female College Athlete of the Year.

• Sue was a member of America's 2002 gold medal-winning Women’s World Championship squad. She is in line to be the starting point guard for Team USA in the 2004 Olympics.

• Sue’s salary as a WNBA player is around $60,000. Endorsement deals could one day earn her 10 to 20 times that amount.

• The toughest thing for Sue to get used to in the WNBA was the travel. At UConn, the women’s team flew chartered everywhere. In the pros, they take commercial flights, which often requires Seattle players to rise before dawn.

• One of Sue’s dreams is to own a pet monkey, like Marcel on the sitcom "Friends."

• Sue is constantly asked if she’s related to Larry Bird.

• A year after Sue’s ACL injury, high school teammate Mary Kacic suffered the same fate on the court for Manhattan College. The first person she called was Sue, who became her long-distance rehab coach.

• Once a week at UConn, Sue and her roommates would have a “family” dinner. Tamika Williams prepared the main course, Swin Cash the vegetable, Asjha Jones the starch and Sue the dessert. Sue says her secret talent is her chocolate chip cookie recipe. 

• During the 2002 NCAA Tournament, former UConn star Ray Allen took the Huskies out for dinner at the Velvet Room in Milwaukee. 

• Sue was one of four Huskies to go in the first six picks of the 2002 WNBA Draft. That has never happened in any draft, in any sport. Cash went to the Detroit Shock with the second pick, Jones was selected by the Mystics with the #4 pick, and Williams was the sixth overall choice, by the Minnesota Lynx.

• During the 2003 season, Sue inadvertently caused a stir when she made a bet with Seattle radio personality Mitch Levy. If her turnover-to-assist ratio ended at higher than 2:1, she agreed to an on-air spanking. If it didn't, Levy said he would buy season tickets for the '04 campaign. But the wager eventually drew criticism, forcing Sue to cancel and issue a public apology.

• Sue's best friend outside of the WNBA is Knicks guard Jamal Crawford. The two met at a charity basketball game in 2003, and discovered they have the same taste in music. They now email regularly.

• During the winter of 2004, Sue played for a professional team in Moscow. The toughest thing on her was the brutally cold weather. Her favorite Russian saying was "Ya ne panimayu," which means, "I don't understand."

• Sue loves to dress in jeans and funny t-shirts. 

Source: JockBio