A healthy fandom has different tempos

Some parts of fandom move fast. But fans also need ways to slow down. Fans need experiences that help them sit with what they love, remember where they were, and notice why something matters. I believe that the strongest fan ecosystems make room for both.

Kim Nunley has built two projects around these different speeds. Her daily newsletter, 30 Second Timeout, helps busy fans quickly catch up on the biggest stories in women’s basketball. The Post-Up Club moves in a different direction. Each month, subscribers receive a letter and a collection of paper extras designed to be read, held onto, and enjoyed away from a screen.

One helps fans keep up. The other gives them the change to linger. I think it’s why mail clubs are booming. There is (and always have been) a need being met: balance the fast with the slow.

As you’ll read in the interview below, both speeds serve the same community at different moments. I talked with Kim about growing up as a women’s basketball fan, building a club through the mail, creating physical artifacts in a digital world, and what someone might understand if they find a The Post-Up Club letter twenty years from now. Enjoy!

Kim: I think I inadvertently started my own one-person fan club back in the 1990s.

I grew up playing sports and spent most of my younger years focused on softball, but I started falling in love with women's basketball during that 1995-1997 stretch. The 1995 UConn championship team was getting national attention, Stanford games were showing up on TV here in the Bay Area, the 1996 Olympic team was everywhere, and then the WNBA launched. It felt like women's basketball was suddenly much easier to find.

I went on to play college basketball myself, but I was also a total fan nerd of the game. I collected cards, programs, and media guides. I wrote letters to players asking for autographs and was always excited when something came back in the mail. I still have many of those things today, including autographs from players and coaches I looked up to as a teenager.  

So, I wasn't part of any official fan clubs. Instead, I kind of created my own. I was always looking for ways to feel more connected to the game, whether that meant going to events, collecting merch, or finding any and every opportunity to be around the sport. One of my favorite memories is working Stanford's summer basketball camps and getting the chance to play with players I'd watched and looked up to.

The Post-Up Club isn't all that different. The only difference is that now I get to build something for other fans.

Kim: First, I should probably say that I love what the internet has done for women's basketball. The fact that I can watch games from across the country, follow players directly, and connect with fans all over is awesome. We wouldn't be seeing the growth we're seeing without that.  

But I do think something gets lost when fandom exists almost entirely on a screen.  

For me, scrolling is usually a passive experience. Information comes at me all day long, and most of it is gone just as quickly. A social post might make me laugh or teach me something, but then I'm onto the next thing a few seconds later.  

Physical objects slow me down. Whether it's an old trading card, a program from a college team, or an autograph I've gotten in person or in the mail, there's a different feeling when you can actually hold something in your hands. It asks a little more of you, and in return I think you remember it differently.  

I’ll forget about most of the posts I see online today by tomorrow. But I still have trading cards, autographs, and programs that I've held onto for decades.

So it's not at all that digital fandom is worse. I just think the physical side of fandom creates a different kind of connection.

Kim: I don't think I started with paper. I started with a feeling I was trying to share.

I've spent a lot of my 9-to-5 career creating newsletters, social media posts, and other forms of digital content. One thing you learn doing that is to think about the person on the receiving end. What do they need? What do they want? How do they want to feel? And finally, how does what I'm creating meet them where they are?

As much as I love the internet, I started noticing something in both myself and others. We're spending so much of our lives on screens, and there seems to be a growing appreciation for experiences that pull us away from them.

And of course, getting something in the mail still feels pretty awesome. Most of what shows up in our mailbox is junk, but when there's a card, a gift, or something you've been looking forward to, it gives you a completely different feeling.

So for me, paper wasn't really the point. The point was creating something that felt more personal, more intentional, and more memorable. Snail mail just happened to be the best way to do that.

Kim: It might sound funny, but the biggest thing I've learned is how to slow down and chill out.

Most of my work life has been spent in digital spaces where there's so much emphasis on speed and efficiency. You're always trying to optimize and publish faster. Creating The Post-Up Club has pushed me in the opposite direction.

At the heart of every monthly issue is a letter, along with paper extras tied to that month's theme. That letter requires me to pay attention. Throughout the month, I'm collecting thoughts, noticing stories, and thinking about what I want to say. I've learned that if I want subscribers to have a more thoughtful experience, I’ve got to be willing to create it at a more thoughtful pace.

As for what takes more time than I expected, it's the care that goes into the whole experience. The writing, the paper extras, folding letters, stamping envelopes, and all the little details add up. But taking that time is part of what makes The Post-Up Club what it is.

The most enjoyable part has easily been hearing from subscribers. I'm only a couple of issues in, and I've already received really great emails and even a card sent back through the mail. In a women's basketball world that often feels swamped by outrage and hot takes, it's been nice to create a space where people can simply appreciate it together.

Kim: It's a maroon Stanford hoodie that my best friend gave me in 1997.

I was in high school and completely obsessed with Stanford women's basketball. The team was really good, Kate Starbird was my favorite player, and I was watching every game.

To anyone else, it's an old sweatshirt with an unfortunate toothpaste stain. But I've held onto it for nearly 30 years because it reminds me of my early days as a women's basketball fan and a friendship that means a lot to me.

I still have it, and I still wear it to Stanford games.

Maybe that's why I still hang onto so much women's basketball stuff. It's never really about the item itself.

Kim: I think they complement each other because they're designed for completely different moments.

30 Second Timeout is built for busy mornings. It's a quick way to catch up on the most important stories in women's basketball before you start your day. The goal is to help fans stay informed without asking for a huge time commitment.

The Post-Up Club is almost the opposite. It's meant to be something you can sit down with when you have a little more time. Instead of focusing on what's happening today, it gives them a chance to step back and share a more thoughtful perspective on the game.

So while there's definitely overlap, I don't see them as competing products. One helps fans keep up with women's basketball. The other helps them slow down and spend a little more time with it.

To me, they're two different ways of serving the same community.

Truthfully, no.

Women's basketball fans have been underserved for decades, so I think many of them rightfully want to consume as much coverage and connection as they can find. I'm right there with them.

I also think it's important to keep in mind that even with the growth we've seen recently, there's still far less women's basketball coverage available than there is for men's basketball. So I'm always happy to see more social accounts, newsletters, podcasts, social accounts, books and magazines, documentaries, and anything else that helps fans connect.

That said, I do think depth has an important place. It's easy to consume a lot without ever slowing down to think about what you're seeing or learning something new. Depth gives us a chance to do that.

The most enthusiastic fans often want both. They want more coverage, but they also want opportunities to go deeper. That's what I hope The Post-Up Club provides.

This is an interesting one. When I'm writing a Post-Up Club letter, I'm focused on the people receiving it today. I'm trying to meet them where they are and create a feeling of connection.

So I'm not sitting down each month thinking about what someone might think twenty years from now. I'm just trying to write truthfully about what I'm seeing and feeling at that moment.

But now that I think about it, if someone did find one of those letters tucked inside a book twenty years from now, I hope they'd come away with a sense of how much people cared. More than anything, I'd hope the letter still feels genuine.

Stop overthinking and start, haha. My advice would be the same whether you're thinking about starting a mail club, a newsletter, a business, or any other creative project.

In my experience, you learn so much more by doing than by planning. There will always be things you don't know. There will always be the fear that people won't like what you create. The truth is that you're going to make mistakes.

So if it's something you're excited about, give it a shot. Trust yourself to figure things out as you go. You'll adjust, improve, and learn along the way.

And if you're thinking specifically about a mail club, I've found it to be a really awesome way to connect with a community around something you genuinely love. With The Post-Up Club, I’ve connected with people from almost all 50 states.

I'd love to create an intimate, in-person experience that brings fans and players together.

Some of my favorite memories are interactions with players I admired. I still remember getting the chance to go into the locker room after a Sacramento Monarchs game in the late 1990s and having a brief interaction with Ruthie Bolton. More recently, I got to meet Kayla Thornton, Kate Martin, and Veronica Burton at a small Golden State Valkyries event before they really blew up.

So rather than creating something bigger, I think I'd go in the opposite direction. I'd want to create something smaller where fans could spend real time with a WNBA or college player and walk away with a lifetime memory.

As women's basketball grows, those opportunities naturally become harder to come by, which is completely understandable. But if I had an unlimited budget, I'd love to create a space where those connections could happen.

Right now, I'd probably say I'm a huge fan of Olivia Dean.

Of course I love her music, but what I really appreciate is how intentional she is. You can tell a lot of thought goes into everything she does, from the songwriting to the production to how an album is put together as a complete experience.

We're living in a time where there's a lot of pressure to constantly create and put things out into the world as quickly as possible. Olivia Dean feels like someone who's willing to take the time to make something thoughtful, and I really admire that.

Kim is a lifelong women's basketball fan, former college player and coach, and creator of The Post-Up Club. Every month, Kim personally creates, writes, assembles, and mails each issue from Northern California with the hope of helping you engage with women's basketball in a slower, more intentional way. You can join here.