Rose-Colored Buckets - An Introduction

May 16, 2025

"Here's to ~~alcohol~~ basketball, the rose colored glasses of life"

- F. Scott Fitzgerald, maybe.

Rose-colored glasses or rose-tinted glasses may refer to:
-Optimism, the tendency to see things in a positive light
-Rosy retrospection, the tendency to view past events in a positive (often unrealistic) light

-Wikipedia, definitely

If you are reading this, you must have an interest in basketball, sports, Portland, and/or women succeeding, or you must have an annoying friend or family member that has all of those interests combined. Regardless of the why, you are welcomed.

This is a space designed to cultivate and celebrate those interests: to learn more about the sport of basketball, to know more about the world of sports in the U.S. and abroad, to commune with local peers, to enjoy the success of women athletes at the highest level of their sport, and, most importantly, to learn baseline information that lets you exist in conversations with the WNBA freaks1 in your life.

My name is Bobby, I’m a writer/sports coach/generalist living in Portland, OR. I’ve been here for 10.5 years, moving from northern Illinois, where I was raised as a privileged – and then deeply disappointed – Bulls fan, among many other sports. When I moved to Portland, I intentionally disconnected from being a “fan” of any singular team, opting for a democratic and wide-spread generalist approach that has proven wonderfully exciting, and thankfully avoided depressing depths of watching my potentially-bad local teams play night-in and night-out.

The creation of a WNBA team here in Portland is the best opportunity I’ve ever had to re-engage in local fandom, and I am elated to jump back on somebody’s wagon. I have been coaching in – and writing about – sports for 10 years, and I’m excited to combine those experiences here.

What Rose-Colored Buckets aims to be:

A hub of simple information for Portland/any WNBA fans
A teaching platform for the basketball curious
A cultural correction of positive fandom
An optimistic view of your local team
A starting point
- For basketball knowledge
- For fandom
- For community
A “water-cooler” conversation space for hot takes, cold takes, social information, and more
A service to a supportive fan community

What RCB will not be:

An insider with connections to the league
A former executive/coach/player
A financial expert
Daily/game-to-game strategic analysis (maybe someday)
A place to attack, admonish, harass, or otherwise negatively chirp at players, writers, fans, or any community members

There is much more to talk about, even in this season-before-the-season. We will learn about the league, its players, its newest expansion team, and about the state of fandom in the W.

Just like the Portland WNBA team, I can’t tell you much about all of the specifics of what this space will be. All I can say is that I’m excited to have an opportunity to learn and share, and that we should all dive off the high board into our fandom for this league, and this future team.

Coming soon:

WNBA League Pass/2025 Viewing Guide
Why Substack?
What is a Ball Knower? (Mission, Vision, Values)
Valkyries Test Case
Explained: The Screen
Media Landscape (Where to Listen and Watch for WNBA Content)
Ownership and Front-Office Check-In
much more!

There is plenty more to be said, and there is much more work to do (make a logo, decide if the name Rose-Colored Buckets is actually good, get more people involved, create more social media/other accounts, create a Discord/GroupMe/Snapchat[???], etc.). I simply couldn’t hold in my excitement for this season, and so I launched this today, opening day of the most important season ever in the W (another topic we can chat about later).

If you have any interest in joining our learning and fandom curation, please subscribe. It is free now, every post will be free for at least this year, if not forever. I’ll talk more about using the Substack app, which let’s you talk with people in the “Chat” function, but otherwise: please hit me up with your thoughts on the league, its players, its games, and please hit me up with resources that would make your fandom easier, better, more rewarding, and more local. I am here to serve.

I’m glad you are here.