Purple and yellow confetti fell down onto the court as soon as the buzzer sounded. There wasn’t an empty seat in the entire building, and the crowd was electrifying. One team rushed the court in an overwhelmingly triumphant craze before heading into the locker room to pop open a room full of champagne bottles.
No, I’m not talking about the Lakers after they won the 2009 NBA Finals.
I’m talking about this past Friday night, when the Phoenix Mercury defeated the Indiana Fever 94-86 to win a best of five series and capture the 2009 WNBA Championship.
I am embarrassed to admit that I had forgotten that Game 5 of the series was on Friday night, but I was thoroughly impressed when my 49 year old father remembered and flicked the channel from the Red Sox playoff game we were watching (now THAT is saying something). We watched as the home team held onto their lead and celebrated their second championship in the past three years.
Watching the scene as the game ended, I was truly surprised. There were 17,313 people at the U.S. Airway Center in Phoenix, Arizona watching the game. The place was just as loud as any basketball game I can remember going to; the cheering was thunderous. As a female basketball player, I was truly impressed and flattered by what an event the game was. To see a women’s basketball game get such attention used to be a dream, and to see it become a reality was a special experience.
The moment made me think about all the differences I see in men’s and women’s sports. A men’s basketball game seems to be completely different from a women’s game. But what this game proved was that the essentials don’t change. The Phoenix Mercury were just as elated on Friday as the Los Angeles Lakers when they won the NBA Finals. The Fever were just as disappointed as the Orlando Magic. The emotions- from the eagerness before the game to the intensity during it and the pure joy (or grief) after it are all the same. These feelings don’t change. As athletes, these are the feelings we play for. The reasons we give so much of ourselves to our respective sports. We love the nerves. We love the tension. We love the competition. Male or female, we love it. It’s what keeps us going.
On Friday night, Corey Gaines’ Mercury felt every bit of elation and victory that Phil Jackson’s Lakers felt back in June. As a female athlete, I’ve understood this universal feeling since I started playing competitive sports. But watching 17,000 others grasp the idea was nothing short of impressive. The 2009 WNBA Finals, aired on ESPN 2, saw a 73 percent increase in viewership and a 33 percent increase in ratings since last year’s finals. Diana Taurasi (Finals MVP winner) has become a household name over the past decade. Female athletes are getting the credit they deserve, and for myself and I’m sure all women playing sports, that is truly inspiring.
Female athletes have come a long way over the years, as has the WNBA. Friday night’s game was an indicator that this is just the beginning for both.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
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