How two Phoenix Mercury fans formed a friendship through basketball

If you’ve ever seen a Phoenix Mercury game at PHX Arena, there always seems to be a glimmer near the Mercury’s bench.

Or glimmers, if you count Kevin Arnett and his friends.

Arnett proudly displays his blinged-out Mercury jerseys made by his own hands and has gifted his closest friends his handiwork. One of those good friends is Arnett’s “ride-or-die”, Veronica Philpot. The four-year season ticket holders for the Mercury not only stand out in their sparkly attire at games, but also for their passionate responses.

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Whether Kahleah Copper is driving to the basket and gets the and one or a late foul called on the Mercury could change the outcome, the two don’t shy away from their fandom.

“They recognize how loud we are and now how sparkly we are,” Philpot said. “I tell everyone if they look for the sparkly ones by the bench, that’s us.”

Arnett, also known as the “Bling King,” spends six to eight hours individually placing each rhinestone on jerseys.

“It’s all about passion and having fun,” Arnett said.

Aside from their outfits, their position by the Mercury’s bench and frequent attendance at season ticket holder events have made them well-known to players.

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When the two met Mercury legend Diana Taurasi at a luncheon for season ticket holders, they didn’t expect Taurasi to be the one who knew them.

“She said, I recognize you two from TV from the Suns games,” Philpot said. “And I was like, You recognize us? It was amazing.”

The interaction left the two in awe, but it wasn’t the only time they’ve been recognized. Copper once pointed out Arnett and Philpot’s bedazzled gear at a game and gave them props for standing out.

“It feels good when you get that acknowledgement from somebody…” Arnett said. “What they do is phenomenal. When they notice the fans are in it as well, I don’t know if there’s a better feeling than that.”

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The two met through a mutual friend, but it’s basketball that brought them together.

Philpot, a pharmacy technician, was born in Texas but moved to Arizona at the age of 2. She was drawn to basketball when her stepfather introduced her to the sport when she was 3, and she has been hooked ever since.

Arnett’s journey to Arizona has more stops. The retired military veteran is from Michigan, but lived in Georgia, Washington D.C. and Iraq while on duty.

He came to Arizona in 2009 to earn his degree at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, but he ended up staying after he fell in love with his now-husband.

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Now living in Arizona, one of his friends got him back into basketball through the Phoenix Suns.

Both Arnett and Philpot went to a few Mercury games over the past decade, but it was the Phoenix Suns’ 2021 NBA Finals run that sparked their interest in the WNBA. However, it took a bit for the two to figure out who could go with them to games.

“I was looking for someone to go with because all of my other friends won’t go,” Arnett said.

Then Philpot happily volunteered and the two now “do everything together.”

“I just needed more basketball and now I can have year-round basketball and it’s incredible and so much fun. We just got hooked,” Philpot said.

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One time in Minneapolis in 2023, Philpot organized a special gift for a young fan of then-Mercury forward Megan Gustafson. Philpot facilitated getting Gustafson to sign the girl’s jersey with the Minnesota-based family at Target Center.

Even after the gesture and the Mercury at the bottom of the WNBA, Philpot still heard a little bit of trash talking from the fans.

“Minnesota wasn’t that great then like they are now. I was like, this is kind of weird, but OK,” Philpot said. “I go on road trips with the Suns, and you’re going to get it anywhere you go, especially if you dress up like we do. You’re going to get reactions. It’s going to happen. It wasn’t too bad. We sat by the Mercury bench so we were close to more of our fans.”

Now that the Mercury are in a better position and have been one of the top teams in the WNBA this season, the two are thrilled. But it did take some time getting used to the roster with Taurasi now retired and Brittney Griner playing for the Atlanta Dream.

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“Coming into this year, I was like, I’m unfamiliar with everyone’s game,” Arnett said. “That was pretty much how it was. You can only see what they did last year, but you could never compare what they can do together. I was having high hopes and I wasn’t expecting too much, but now I’m like, ‘Oh geez, it is amazing.’ This is way better than I expected. It’s more fun. The atmosphere is here. The crowd is here.”

• Hometown: Detroit, Michigan

• Years of fandom: 10 years

• How it started: After the Phoenix Suns were in the 2021 NBA Finals, Arnett needed year-round basketball. Veronica Philpot also wanted more and the two mutual friends connected over going to Mercury games and becoming season ticket holders.

• How it’s going: Arnett and his ‘ride or die’ Philpot have become staples at Mercury home games for their sparkly outfits created by Arnett. Players have started to catch on and have often complimented their looks.

• Most memorable moment as a fan of the Mercury (and why)? Aside from watching the 2021 WNBA Finals run, Arnett remembers watching Brittney Griner in 2019 when Griner and five other players were ejected following a fight. “We were sitting in the front, it was four of us and Brittney stole the ball and dunked. I stood up and started walking and said, What is going on here? And then she got into a fight and got ejected. That was one of my fondest memories of her.”

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How two Phoenix Mercury fans formed a friendship through basketball