On Friday night, the WNBA's New York Liberty gave the sold-out crowd at Barclays Center in Brooklyn plenty to cheer for, even when the team wasn't on the court.
The Liberty opened its 30th season with a commanding 106-75 win over the Connecticut Sun. And the team's beloved mascot, Ellie the Elephant, paid tribute to Whitney Houston during a halftime show that included a medley of song, dance and and other hijinx that the elephant has gone viral for.
The halftime performance lasted minutes, but Ellie "eating up" yet another tribute was months in the making. USA TODAY spoke exclusively with Ellie's creative team and costume designer to find out what it takes to bring the mascot to the masses and why she's resonated with such a large audience.
In 2019, Brooklyn Nets majority owners Clara Wu Tsai and her husband Joe Tsai purchased the WNBA's Liberty from the Madison Square Garden Company. According to Liberty Chief Brand Officer Shana Stephenson, the team began brainstorming on a new mascot that same year.
Those plans were delayed in 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic. But the idea of an elephant, inspired in part by an 1800s P.T. Barnum stunt in which he used elephants to illustrate the strength of the Brooklyn Bridge, endured. There were other symbolic meanings to the mascot as well: "Ellie" sounds like Ellis Island, right next to the Statue of Liberty. And elephant herds are female-led societies that represent strength and intelligence.
