Hell hath no fury like a basketball fan scorned…
Fans were outraged on Sunday when at 5 p.m., the nail-biting Game 2 of the WNBA finals between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx was cut off by Wheel of Fortune.
Newsweek have contacted ABC, which was broadcasting the game, for comment as to why this interruption occurred.
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Fans were predictably not happy about the change-up and it seems that programming flipped back to the WNBA just in time for one fan.
“@ABCNetwork turned back to the WNBA just in time because I was ready to start a riot when ‘Wheel of Fortune’ came on with 2 minutes to go,” wrote fan Irie DC on X, formerly Twitter.
Other fans were also up in arms. One wrote, “ABC WTF ARE YALL DOING TAKE WHEEL OF FORTUNE OFF MY SCREEN AND PUT THE WNBA FINALS GAME BACK ON.”
Another commented, “OH I KNOW ABC didn’t cut the game off for Wheel of Fortune. Who hit the wrong button?????”
“WTH ABC?! You cut from the game for Wheel of Fortune?!” and “I can’t believe ABC cut to Wheel of Fortune with 2 minutes left in a tight game 2 of the WNBA finals,” were other social media responses.
Other fans were even more irate, making use of some rather colorful language.
Elsewhere on social media, sparks were also flying.
On Reddit, one user posted, “They would never let an NBA playoff game cut into Wheel of Fortune (let alone) with less than 3 mins remaining in a game.”
Wheel of Fortune-sized interruptions aside, it was a close game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Eventually, the Liberty took the win, beating the Lynx 80-66.
As the Lynx managed an overtime victory in Game 1, this means that the WNBA finals are now an even 1-1.
Breanna Stewart of the Liberty led her team to victory with 21 points, eight rebounds, seven steals, and five assists.
This means that games three and four will now be played in Minneapolis. If there is a fifth and final game, it will be held back at the Barclays Center in New York.
The matter of who will win the WNBA finals is being hotly contested. The Liberty might be the number one seed and the favorites to win, but the Lynx took home the 2024 Commissioner’s Cup Championship.
Both of the teams are also headed up by champions. Stewart and Napheesa Collier of the Liberty and Lynx respectively both helped Team USA take home the gold at the Paris Olympics in August. Collier and Stewart are former teammates from UConn.
