There are all kinds of tangible business aspects to the first WNBA exhibition game ever played in Toronto that are legitimate and important to the future of the league and whatever role the city might eventually play.
But there are other things—feelings, connections, buzz, the ability to be what you see—that are just as important and more personal. And it will resonate with kids in the crowd of about 20,000 anticipated for Saturday’s game between the Minnesota Lynx and Chicago Sky at Scotiabank Arena. They really get a chance Feel the game.
“Obviously with the success of the Raptors, winning a championship in 2019, you can get excited about basketball in general in Canada,” said Lynx forward Bridget Carlton Friday afternoon. “There is, like, a culture about it that people want to be a part of.
“It’s not just about putting a ball in the hoop, that simple. It’s about going to games, getting involved in social media, and being all about basketball. It’s exciting to be a part of that growth, and I think we’re proving that Toronto is a good market for that.”
Saturday’s game, the women’s league’s first foray into Canada in its quarter-century of existence, is seen as a referendum on expansion here. Commissioner Kathy Engelbert is sure to talk about it when she meets with the media on Saturday afternoon, even if tough details aren’t revealed — like how many expansion teams might join the 12-team league and when, and how much it will cost. .
Toronto, with its economic strength, is a financially logical expansion location. Nearly 20,000 tickets were snapped up in less than a day, while a corporate sponsor got involved in the game almost immediately, wanting to be associated with a thriving sport and a league that seemed to have a solid financial foundation.
This is the business side of it, and it will work itself out. The rest – the relationship between players and fans – is a heartbeat.
The six sold-out clinics put on by the league and NBA Canada were vital, and girls’ teams flown in from all over the country to get a live look at players on a meaningful level.
“It’s going to be huge,” Carlton said. “Not only the ticket sales and the people who are excited about it, but the young boys and girls who are looking up to us and getting excited about it is huge.”
The Lynx and Sky aren’t sure what awaits them at the Raptors’ home, but they feel it’s going to be special.
“I knew from Ace (Natalie Ashunua, Lynx’s Guelph teammate)…but I didn’t really know much about her, so I’m really excited to be in the arena (Saturday) to feel the energy,” said Carlton.
Possibly surprised, emotional, and a bit stressed out as the game’s unofficial host, Carlton is definitely a local fan favorite. With Achonwa awaiting the WNBA season and awaiting the birth of her first child, Carleton is getting a good chunk of the attention. Since she would be the first Canadian to play a WNBA game on Canadian soil, it makes sense. and historical.
“Growing up, I never even dreamed of playing in the WNBA,” she said. “I knew it—I knew there was a league, I knew it was my best league—but I never thought it would be possible for me. It just wasn’t accessible. I went to a Detroit Shock game as a kid, but other than that I didn’t have access.” To her I didn’t know how it was.
“If I knew—if I were to go to a game in Canada, just to be able to see people who looked like me, that I could fill their shoes one day—I would have those dreams myself.”
Like all these kids on Saturday.
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