AP Photo/Darron CummingsTamika Catchings finished the season by averaging 10 points per game in the playoffs.How time flies … It's only been two weeks since the whirlwind 48 hours when I was named MVP. Through the hustle and bustle of all of that, just two weeks later I'm limping around on crutches nursing a sore knee and a torn plantar fascia. Wow! How quick things turn!
I don't want to spend time talking too much about that, so let's consider the "woe is me" out the door and focus on a positive note, our fans! This summer has been extraordinary because of the support we have gotten from each one of you. It's simply amazing when you can look out and identify those fans who have been with us from the beginning and the newcomers who have come with so much fire for the Fever.
You have helped inspire each one of us to give just a little bit more through each possession and each game! The sixth man award goes to y'all for the attitude, dedication, motivation, sore throats, hurt shoulders and support you have shown us every single home game and even during some road games. Simply amazing!
As I sit here thinking about this past season and the New York and Atlanta playoff series, I'm not as disappointed as I was last year. My frustration is still strong even six days after the fact, and I'm still in my own world wondering how things happened so fast. While I want to go to Conseco Fieldhouse, this feeling keeps me away. It's not like when I play overseas: When you lose, you have exit interviews (sometimes) and everyone is on the first flight out to where they are really from. I live here in Indianapolis, so I feel lost without my teammates by my side and without seeing them every day at practice.
Through the ups and downs, one thing I truly understand is how adversity builds character. This team definitely has that. It's funny because no one understands what a team goes through on a daily basis on and off the court unless you are there every single day and we have had more than our hands full at times. But we stayed strong and made it to the conference finals. While defeats stink, life goes on and everyone moves on to the next phase of their life.
My shift for now is rest and rehab for the next six weeks. Some of my teammates will be off to their overseas teams, and others will be around working on their "life after ball" opportunities. I didn't even get to say goodbye to everyone, but I know they know how much I love 'em and how much fun I had getting to know the new players and rekindling the love with the returnees.
I thank God for the opportunity to do what I do and while I'm faced with yet another injury, I'm thankful that I will be able to rehab and be back on the court soon. Right now, there are much more pressing issues and I will team up with my old Tennessee teammate Kara Lawson as she and her hubby will run for Pat Summitt and the Alzheimer's Association (http://www.alznyc.org/karalawson/). I hope each one of you will make a difference and help in this cause as well!
Last, but not least, I have to put a shout-out to my little (big) sis, Sylvia Fowles, for being named the 2011 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year! I am so proud of her and all that she was able to do this year, and know that she will continue to excel and be one of the greatest centers in the WNBA! Congrats to her and all of the players who made the First and Second All-Defensive teams. Defense is definitely "where it's at"! Good luck to the Minnesota Lynx and the Atlanta Dream as they fight for their first WNBA title! Should be fun!
