/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/45897960/466347660.0.jpg)
The Wizards hosted Polish Heritage Night on Saturday, where Marcin Gortat scored 13 points in a 113-97 win over the Sacramento Kings. But there were also other notable events surrounding that day.
Polish dignitaries and soldiers were in attendance
Among people expected at Wizards Polish heritage night: ambassador of Poland to US & Polish actress Izabella Miko, who was in Coyote Ugly.
— Jorge Castillo (@jorgeccastillo) March 13, 2015
Standing ovation for #Polish soldiers - veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan at Polish Heritage Night pic.twitter.com/2XUEdui5RH
— Embassy of Poland US (@PolishEmbassyUS) March 15, 2015
On a night like this, I fully expected that Ryszard Shneff, the Polish Ambassador to the United States would be there. But seeing Polish soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan was a pleasant surprise. The soldiers certainly deserved their standing ovation.
Actress Izabella Miko was there
Okay, you probably knew that Miko was going to be there from the Kings GameThread. But she also did a live interview with Comcast SportsNet's Chris Miller.
At the #WashingtonWizards game doing live interviews for the #PolishHertiageNight at #NBA supporting @MGortat pic.twitter.com/YAHgAA6JZV
— Izabella Miko (@IzabellaMiko) March 15, 2015
.@IzabellaMiko is proud to be Polish and a Marcin Gortat fan https://t.co/qw99Ko5X8h
— Bullets Forever (@BulletsForever) March 15, 2015
I'll admit that the Vine I put out wasn't the best clip of her interview with Miller. But overall, she was proud to be Polish and to support Gortat, who is more popular there than he is here in D.C.
And by the way, if you don't know what role Miko played in the movie Coyote Ugly, she played Cammie, one of the Coyotes who catches the main character's (Piper Perabo played the lead character) eye. Here's a video clip (Rated PG-13ish so you know).
Cheerleaders Gdynia performed before, during, AND after the game!
This is a popular cheerleading group which actually performed at a couple Phoenix Suns games in the past. On Saturday, Cheerleaders Gdynia performed before the game (embed is above from Monumental Network or click here) and during timeouts:
Fantastyczne uczucie! Dziękujemy bardzo za trzymane kciuki! Let's go @WashWizards pic.twitter.com/gIvjJKJudK
— Cheerleaders Gdynia (@CheersGdynia) March 14, 2015
They also took a picture with the Wizard Girls backstage,
"@WizardGirlsNBA: Excited to have Cheerleaders Gdynia here the way from Poland for #PolishHeritageNight #WizKings pic.twitter.com/qH7lLeQE6r"
— Cheerleaders Gdynia (@CheersGdynia) March 14, 2015
AND they even had an encore performance for Polish fans who got to meet Gortat after the big win!
Another great performance of @CheersGdynia exclusively for #Polish fans participating in mtg w/ @MGortat pic.twitter.com/13fmaJcCyB
— Embassy of Poland US (@PolishEmbassyUS) March 15, 2015
To learn more about Cheerleaders Gdynia, check out this feature from Truth About It's Bartosz Bielecki. This feature also includes an interview with Aleksandra Wójcik, who was an Olympian during the 2004 Athens Games and is a member of Cheerleaders Gdniya.
Gortat had a huge audience for his postgame Q&A with Polish fans
Polish fans roll deep! @MGortat taking time to speak with them after tonight's victory. pic.twitter.com/fpEFoeYJaL
— Dan Nolan (@DanPNolan) March 15, 2015
After the game, Gortat answered questions to a group of several hundred Polish fans. This was his toughest one:
"How did you get to be so tall?": @MGortat confronted with really difficult questions during Q&A session pic.twitter.com/bXXqi13urI
— Embassy of Poland US (@PolishEmbassyUS) March 15, 2015
Gortat signed autographs and took pictures with the fans -- along with Izabelle Miko based on what I saw in this tweet.
@MGortat @IzabellaMiko #PolishHeritageNight pic.twitter.com/MWrtHM4oJD
— tiffany gryszko (@TGryszko) March 15, 2015
Finally, this is the best group photo ever!
#Polish Heritage Night conclusion: check out our family photo with @MGortat #PolskaNocNBA @Washwizzards pic.twitter.com/Woi3BHdAkj
— Embassy of Poland US (@PolishEmbassyUS) March 15, 2015
All-in-all, Polish Heritage Night was a huge success, since fans saw the Wizards win and see Gortat contribute in a positive way as well.