Fudd Around and Find Out

Episode: Fudd Around with a Legend: Sue Bird
Date: October 24, 2025
Host: Azzi Fudd with co-host Ashanti Plummer
Special Guest: Sue Bird

Episode Overview

This week, Azzi Fudd is joined by her co-host and close friend Ashanti Plummer for a candid, engaging episode with basketball legend and UConn/Seattle Storm icon Sue Bird. The conversation moves fluidly from Azzi’s current UConn experiences to Bird’s storied career, leadership advice, Sue’s transition from college to pro, and the fun and fashion of the women’s game. The episode is a generational bridge—mixing warm mentorship, vulnerability, and laughter—with moments both heartfelt and highly entertaining.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. UConn Game Recap & Family/Fan Experience

• Azzi and Ashanti start by recapping Azzi’s opening game, sharing humorous and heartwarming anecdotes about family, fans, and the excitement of starting a new season.
  • Azzi reflects on the “weirdness” and thrill of a non-scrimmage opener:

    “It was a little different. But definitely fun, definitely a good learning experience for all of us.” (02:45)

  • Ashanti gives Azzi’s family and UConn fans a glowing review:

    “Your fan base is amazing…your parents, super dope. I was blown away by their hospitality.” (03:29)

  • A running joke emerges about what constitutes “normal” attire among UConn supporters and Ashanti’s custom outfits.

Notable Quote:

“They are. And then just wait til you go to a real game, a gamble game. And when my grandparents are here, when papa's there, everything gets raised a couple notches.” – Azzi Fudd (04:41)

2. Media Day, Ring Ceremony, and Team Milestones

• Azzi describes her upcoming busy week, including Big East Media Day (with freshman star Sarah Strong), healthy eating goals, and the much-anticipated championship ring ceremony and dinner, with donors and panels featuring Azzi, Sarah, Paige, and Coach Geno Auriemma.
• The conversation takes a light-hearted turn about fashion, makeup, and the excitement of seeing (and designing) the championship rings.
• Ashanti promises to support from afar and FaceTime to “be blinded” by the rings.

3. Welcoming Sue Bird—Full Circle Moment

• When Sue Bird joins (12:56), Azzi reflects on connecting at an earlier women’s sports summit, and Sue turns the tables by asking Azzi how podcasting is going.
• Azzi admits she is “getting more comfortable with each episode” and learning with each step.
• Sue shares the similarities and differences between preparing for basketball and media:

  “…the thing I like about media, especially when it’s live… you get the nervous energy again. So I like that part of it.” (13:38)

Memorable Moment:

“You never know what’s going to come out of Dee’s mouth. Neither do I. That’s the fun of it.” – Sue Bird on broadcasting with Diana Taurasi (14:40)

4. Coach Auriemma vs. Sue’s Pod: The Inside Scoop

• Azzi asks Sue about Coach Geno joining her (Azzi’s) pod before Sue's.
  • Sue explains Coach hasn’t been invited—her Bird’s Eye View pod sticks to WNBA players for now.
  • On her pod with Megan Rapinoe, their “dream guest” is UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey (“CD”), who keeps turning them down:

    “Once CD comes on, then maybe we’ll throw the invite out to [Coach].” (16:32)

5. NIL, Loyalty & “Would She Have Stayed?”

• Discussion about whether NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) would have changed Sue’s college path and whether she or Diana Taurasi would have left UConn early:

  “I’m a big believer: when your team is good, all the money’s coming. All the accolades are coming. Everything’s coming when your team is good.” – Sue Bird (17:16)

  • Adds that she “basically kept DP Dough afloat” in college (17:58)

6. Why UConn? The Recruitment Story

• Sue recounts her recruiting visits—Stanford, Vanderbilt (to be a two-guard!), and UConn, which “played hard to get” and whose culture has remained unchanged for decades:

  “They've literally been the same. It's really incredible that they haven't gotten... bored or complacent in doing, you know, and in being great and doing what works.” (19:52)

• Azzi and Sue marvel at UConn's consistency and no-nonsense, “take us or leave us” honesty.

7. Favorite “CD” (Chris Dailey) Memories

• Sue shares her “least favorite” CD memory is the infamous pantyhose era (a rule forcing players to wear pantyhose when dressing up).

  “We all had, like, clear nail polish on deck because there was no way these things weren't running… That's like the hack if they run.” – Sue Bird (22:51)

• Her favorite CD-approved memory is CD’s legendary scavenger hunts—like a disposable camera challenge throughout Pittsburgh during the NCAA tournament (23:40)

8. Transitioning from UConn to WNBA—Hardest Lessons Learned

• Sue opens up about losing more as a pro, and the jarring adjustment that brings—

  “The one that was really hard was the losing. The losing was tough.” (25:29)

  • She advises Azzi to fully enjoy her last college season and take in every moment, echoing how important her UConn days were:

  “I would say, when I look back on college, it’s some of the best years of my life. So much fun. …There’s really nothing like it.” (27:50)

  • “Once you become a pro, you don’t really crave the college years because you’re a kid—you’re now, like, an adult and there’s something really exciting about that.” (27:50)

9. Women’s Basketball Before & After the WNBA

• Sue details how her class was among the first to choose a college knowing the WNBA existed (debuted junior year of her high school). Prior to that, “the Olympics was the dream.”
• She describes how UConn alums like Nykesha Sales would return to campus and challenge them in practices, cementing the legendary UConn sisterhood.

10. Leadership, Finding Your Voice, and Being Yourself

• Azzi asks Sue for advice on stepping into a more vocal leadership role as a senior—something that doesn’t come naturally for her.
  • Sue empathizes:

    “I think I was—I’m kind of like an introvert-extrovert… It takes me a second. I like to dip my toe in the water.” (32:49)

  • Geno Auriemma helped her develop her “leadership persona” over time.
  • Sue’s advice:

    “You have to do it your way…There is nothing worse than when a player like calls a huddle and you know, this isn't right. …It doesn't feel right, and you can sense it.” (34:14) “You just gotta get over that first hump. ...and it's gonna become who you are the more you do it.” (34:49)

11. Navigating Public vs. Private Self

• Sue describes navigating the spotlight—even without social media in college and early WNBA days, there was always attention.
  • She came out “to everyone in her life” at 23, but not publicly until she was 37, highlighting the significance of authenticity and controlling your narrative:

    “Once you put something out into the world, you can't get it back. …But also, living again authentically…is super important to being your full self.” (37:05)

12. Personal Favorites – The Fun Questions

• How many times did you break your nose and which hurt most? — Five times, but “the first one,” because she knew immediately. (40:16)
• Favorite pass? — The iconic “over my head” pass, loved especially for her teammates’ reactions.

  “I think my favorite pass ever is probably the one over my head. …I remember seeing like my teammates reactions and that was probably the best part.” (40:52)

13. Fudd and Games: Drafting the Ultimate UConn Team (44:19)

• Dream UConn Five (by Sue—“Ride or Die” version):
  • Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Tamika Williams, Asia Jones, Diana Taurasi
• All-time Greats:
  • Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Maya Moore, Breanna Stewart, Tina Charles
• Draft Outfits, FUD or Dud:
  • The trio ranks and jokes about Sue’s draft and photo shoot outfits through the years—mixing genuine nostalgia with playful roasts and trend hot-takes.

Memorable Quotes:

“All draft pictures by default are FUDs. … Even when they're bad, they're good.” – Sue Bird (46:12)
“The things—this is what I had to do to get a gold medal. Okay?” – Sue Bird (51:26)

14. Closing & Birthday Surprise

• Ashanti and Azzi wish Sue a happy (belated) birthday with a heartfelt story about their mutual friend Alex Taylor and a custom Hoopyork City shirt featuring Sue herself.

“The advice you gave was, you know, give a real athlete on there, and what better athlete than you?” – Ashanti Plummer (54:32)

Notable Quotes and Moments (with Timestamps)

• Azzi Fudd:

  • “It was a little different. But definitely fun, definitely a good learning experience for all of us.” (02:45)
  • “That’s definitely my main goal, is to enjoy everything about this year...you can't take that for granted.” (27:50)

• Sue Bird:

  • “You have to do it your way…You can learn or maybe steal, but it has to be authentic to you.” (34:14)
  • “I’m a big believer: when your team is good, all the money’s coming, all the accolades are coming. Everything’s coming when your team is good.” (17:16)
  • “All draft pictures by default are FUDs. Even when they're bad, they're good.” (46:12)
  • “You just gotta get over that first hump...it's gonna become who you are the more you do it.” (34:49)

• Ashanti Plummer:

  • “Your fan base is amazing…your parents, super dope. I was blown away by their hospitality.” (03:29)
  • “Oof. Deciding what you keep for yourself and what you give to the world.” (39:31)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Opening UConn Game Recap: 02:13–05:45
• Media Day, Ring Ceremony: 04:56–08:19
• Sue Bird Joins: 12:56
• Media Preparation Insights: 13:32–15:18
• NIL & UConn Loyalty: 15:44–17:55
• Recruitment Stories: 18:30–20:13
• “CD” Memories: 21:53–24:48
• WNBA Transition: 25:29–27:50
• Leadership Advice: 32:49–35:06
• Public vs Private Self: 37:05–39:31
• Personal Faves (Nose, Passes): 40:16–41:04
• Games: “Fudd or Dud” Draft Outfits: 44:19–53:17
• Closing/Birthday Story: 53:20–54:48

Final Thoughts

This episode is both inspirational and practical, serving as a masterclass in basketball wisdom and personal authenticity. It offers rare, candid advice from a living legend to a rising star, all wrapped in the warmth, candor, and humor that define the women’s basketball community.

“Enjoy this last season…you know it’s your last. …You get to have fun. There’s really nothing like it.” – Sue Bird (27:50)