In early January 2024, in the lobby of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, the attention of visitors was attracted by an imposing elderly woman wearing hot pink sports shorts, a white T-shirt, a headband with the inscription “Candy” (candy in English) and a basketball under her arm. . Granny looked so unusual that several people asked her for a photo together. The woman smiled shyly and, in addition to the photo, signed several autographs.
That day, 84-year-old mother of four, grandmother of 14 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, Shirley Simson, accompanied by two grandchildren, traveled to Henderson, Nevada. The Las Vegas Aces are home to the headquarters of the American professional women’s basketball club, and Simpson was happy to accept the offer to train with the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) team.
Shirley was never keen on sports – she spent almost her entire adult life as a nurse in southern British Columbia, Canada. In retirement, she gardens, plays bridge, makes stone sculptures, and participates in two book clubs. But after knee replacement surgery in 2023, the grandmother decided that she needed to move more – her grandchildren advised her to take up basketball.
Simson’s height in her prime was 167 cm, and now she is even lower, but she does not see this as a problem, just as she did at her advanced age. The groovy old lady has set herself an ambitious goal – to take part in the WNBA All-Star Game. “Life is amazing, but it’s too short, so you should always make the most of it,” I wasn’t surprised that I fell in love with basketball so quickly, because I’ve always been a little crazy,” Shirley is quoted as saying by The Athletic.
Back in 2020, Hunter and Parker founded the basketball accessories brand Court Candy on TikTok, and decided not just to publish videos with Shirley, but to start a whole series with her participation (at least 50 videos) called “Grandma in the WNBA.” Simson voices her footage using Gen Z phrases like, “I’m ready, bro!” or “Great outfit!” “I don’t always understand the meaning of these phrases, but that’s okay. My grandchildren probably wouldn’t understand the jargon of my era. The main thing for us is to spend as much time as possible together,” admits Shirley.
The last time Simson played basketball was back in the 1950s while she was in nursing school. She never had a sense of the ball, but you can’t deny her perseverance – if a couple of months ago Shirley had difficulty mastering simple elements, now she is already hitting the basket from the free throw line. It’s no surprise that videos featuring grandma have gone viral—the debut episode of “Grandmas in the WNBA” has garnered nearly 2 million views on TikTok alone. The next three videos received more than a million views on other social networks. “My grandchildren show me comments on social media, and the most of them are nice, even though I don’t understand anything about them. I’m glad that people showed interest – the main thing for me is to convey and remind that movement is life,” beams the elderly lady.
The videos are fun and motivating, but behind the scenes the real work is in full swing, because Shirley’s training is very intense. She wakes up around 5:30 am and begins preparing for classes. By seven o’clock, she’s out on the court wearing accessories from her grandchildren’s brand, and she’s also wearing double-sock basketball shoes with an extra insole. Her grandchildren teach her how to dribble, and Simson also uses a hoop, skittles and a jump rope. In one video, a basketball player pushes a walker, in another, she lifts dumbbells and does split lunges.
Simson’s diligence was appreciated not only by social media users, but also by the WNBA management. In December 2023, the official account of the Connecticut Sun team commented on one of the videos: “Mom, how are you doing?” A few days later, Shirley was featured in material on TikTok with eye emojis by the league’s official account, and New York Liberty player Brianna Stewart posted a video of her with Shirley on social media.
Simson’s grandchildren hope to take the Grandma in the WNBA project to the next level. At the beginning of 2024, they launched a separate page for her on one of the social networks called Easy Money Granny, playing on the pseudonym of the famous basketball player Kevin Durant Easy Money Sniper. Hunter and Parker have no doubt that Shirley will one day receive an invitation to the WNBA All-Star Game or play a ceremonial role in the draft. “I was at my daughter’s little party the other day. There was a young lawyer there who told me: “Thank you, thanks to you I started training again.” It’s really cool to inspire other people to stay active and healthy,” Shirley’s main motivation revealed to News Nation.
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