Blue and yellow flowers, purposely colors that match the Golden State Warriors jerseys, are placed in a clear vase wrapped with a blue bow on the table. Kitty Ford reaches back with her left hand to grab a Mother’s Day card given to her by her daughter, Colleen Franklin, and reads aloud.
"Happy Mother’s Day, mom. Thank you for teaching us to love God, each other and Steph Curry."
Ford immediately starts clapping and her smile is nearly as big as her brimmed glasses. Who is the woman known to all as Grandma Kitty? And how did an 86-year-old from Mechanicville, the smallest city in New York, become the world’s sweetest and most endearing Steph Curry superfan?
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She first began being known for her Curry fandom from a recent viral TikTok video, the rare positive power of the Internet. But her love for Curry has been years in the making and it was birthed by qualities that had nothing to do with basketball.
Kitty’s granddaughter, who’s Colleen’s daughter, Maddie Franklin, attends SUNY New Paltz, about a two-hour drive from her grandmother’s house, where she’s a senior star goalie who finished up her final season in grand fashion by making the D-III NCAA tournament. Like any grandma would, Ford made sure to brag that Franklin was honored in Chicago as an All-American scholar.
But this is about Grandma Kitty and her love for Curry, who doesn’t fall too far behind family in the pecking order of the most important people in her life. Maddie has been thinking of ways to showcase Kitty’s fandom for a long time, and finally took a shot in the dark.
"All the grandkids always joke around that Steph Curry is her favorite grandchild,” Maddie told NBC Sports Bay Area in a Zoom interview, with Kitty by her side. “Grandma will pray for us before soccer games or tests, things like that, and she has a little statue of [Curry] that's right up there with us. Every time I come to visit she's always talking about Steph Curry and how much she loves him and the great game he had or how he performed in the Olympics."
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On Jan. 17, Maddie took a video of Kitty showing and explaining her handwritten notebook that tracks all of Curry’s games – who they’re playing against, at what time and on what channel – as well as how he performed, and posted it to TikTok. In the video, Kitty reveals she also has NBA League Pass to watch Warriors games that aren’t on national TV. Within hours, the video began going viral on multiple social media outlets.
How wholesome is this?! Dub Nation really is incredible. (Via mspanks/TT)
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 18, 2025
⭐️ https://t.co/UJvZISU6rp pic.twitter.com/TLd8YMLwQk
After retiring, Kitty found herself scrolling her phone looking for something to watch. She spent her life as a school nurse at a local high school and then was a nurse at St. Louise House, a home for aging, retired nuns in Albany. Work left her with little extra time for hobbies or to watch anything on TV. That’s when she discovered Curry.
Not the basketball player, but the person.
The latest, most up-to-date version of Kitty’s notebook features a picture of Curry on the front cover, celebrating at the Warriors’ 2022 NBA championship parade while holding his Finals MVP. Pages are filled with a handful of Curry pictures and details of his games, as well as day-to-day scribbles like her grocery lists. The combination couldn’t be more perfect. It’s like Steph is mixed into the middle of Kitty’s life.
Knowing when Curry’s games start and who he is playing against is equally important as remembering to buy a carton of eggs and some strawberries.
The inside cover is the real reason she respects Curry so much. There she has a cut-out picture of Curry and his oldest daughter, Riley, celebrating at the podium as the Warriors reached the 2015 NBA Finals nearly 10 years ago.
“My boys are both athletes. I watched so many games throughout the years but I never heard that name, Steph Curry, until that video,” Kitty said. “I mentioned it to the boys and they said, ‘Yeah, he’s a great basketball player.’ I thought to myself, I just love, love that video. I got to find out more about this guy.
“I started looking up things and finding things. Most of all, I just thought, I got to see him play. I started with the games and it just mushroomed from there. I was so impressed with his manner, his character, his kindness and patience with that little girl. That’s how it all started.”
Once Kitty started watching Curry and the Warriors play, she was hit with the same feeling everybody else has experienced seeing him put on a show. Pure joy. Fun to its fullest. An amusement park dressed as a basketball court.
“He’s so entertaining,” she said. “He’s all over the place, running however many miles he runs around. I know sooner or later he’s going to make a basket. And sooner or later, it’s going to be a three.”
Even then, she still goes back to that video that first lured Kitty into her fandom.
“I was so impressed with him as a dad, as a person, and that’s what drew me to him. It just went on from there.”
Maddie’s original TikTok video of Grandma Kitty which currently has more than 1.2 million views opened a creek that turned into a river and flowed to an ocean of attention. Her genuine authenticity caught the eyes and hearts of countless people on the World Wide Web, Curry included.
The wheels were in motion two days after the initial video introduced everyone to Grandma Kitty. Age and gender aren’t a factor in Curry fandom. All become enthralled by the magic he pulls off on a basketball court.
Road games might as well be in Curry’s backyard. The cheers follow him everywhere. They certainly will be heard from Kitty, Maddie and other family members on March 6.
Kitty won’t have to watch the Warriors play the Brooklyn Nets that night on NBA League Pass. She’ll be at Barclays Center with a handful of other family members after being invited to the game by Curry and the Warriors. Either before or after the game, Curry already has carved out time to meet Kitty.
In an age where good news has been placed on the back burner as an afterthought, Kitty’s reaction was the reminder we all need about the connection sports can play in our lives.
Grandma Kitty keeps a notebook to track every game Steph plays in.
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 19, 2025
In March, she’ll get to see Stephen & the Warriors play live 💛 pic.twitter.com/qmNd5cfR2W
Grandma Kitty can’t wait to see Steph Curry and the @warriors play in Brooklyn on March 6! Steph has invited Kitty and her family to meet before or after the game, too
— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) January 19, 2025
Grandma Kitty watched her invitation twice and each reaction is amazing. Story to come for @NBCSWarriors https://t.co/UB16bV8Ywc pic.twitter.com/uXefEISjbT
“I could not believe it,” Kitty said. “I said, ‘Steph Curry’s in my dining room!’ Oh my god, it was a big thrill.”
Retirement opened Kitty’s schedule and allowed her to sit down and concentrate. It also opened a new door, joining a writing group mostly of women in their 80s. None watched basketball like Kitty, but all loved her stories and her latest happenings centered around Curry.
She still hasn’t imagined what she’ll say when meeting Curry in person, but the notebook and her writing class will play a part in the night. Knowing Curry’s 37th birthday is eight days after she gets to watch him play in person, Kitty thinks she’ll write him a letter thanking him for the joy he has brought to her life, and the bliss he brings to the game of basketball.
That’s the real Kitty Ford her granddaughter Maddie wants everybody to know. Being seen as the most lovable Curry superfan is great in its own right. The real Grandma Kitty is the one who dedicated her life to helping others.
“She has the biggest heart out of anyone that I’ve ever met,” Maddie said. “We’re all so lucky to have her in our lives and have her be so active still and so involved in everything. She came to all my soccer games this year, and loves to stay up late to watch Steph Curry. We’re all so lucky to have her and be able to share life with her.”
The secret to being a superfan isn’t about memorabilia. It’s not about jerseys, cards or autographs. It’s not even about keeping track of it all in a notebook.
Our future is in the hands of the youth. All we can do is rally around them for a better tomorrow. First, take a breath to remember life’s greatest lessons from the wisdom of someone who saw more in a superstar 50 years younger than her than millions do whenever they tune in to watch a game.
“Keep everything in perspective,” Kitty said to end our conversation. “Respect him outside of basketball, because there’s so much there. Of course, the talent is nice to have. See him more outside of basketball, realize the person.”
What lies within always wins.