Seattle celebrates Storm’s WNBA championship

The journey for the Storm really began in late spring of 1999, when Seattle was selected by the WNBA as an expansion-team city.

It culminated on Friday at Westlake Center in downtown Seattle, as the team held a rally to celebrate its WNBA championship which it won Tuesday after defeating the Connecticut Sun at KeyArena in the deciding Game 3 of the Finals.

“Here we are celebrating another championship for a Seattle sports team,” Gov. Gary Locke told a crowd of several thousand gathered beneath a balcony overlooking Westlake Center.

“I was here 25 years ago and we had a similar reception for the Seattle Sonics. Finally, it was the women who brought us a championship.”

Locke went on to proclaim Oct. 15 through Oct. 22 as Seattle Storm week for the state, and he encouraged “everyone in the state to celebrate the Seattle Storm.”

Though Westlake security estimated the crowd at about 10,000 people, the figure was probably generous. But it was an impressive gathering, as Locke, Seattle mayor Greg Nickels, Sonics and Storm owner Howard Schultz, president and CEO Wally Walker and Storm COO Karen Bryant welcomed the Storm in a celebration rally not seen since the Sonics won the last major professional championship for Seattle in 1979.

“You guys, you know what?” asked Finals Most Valuable Player Betty Lennox, who took the microphone to chants of “Betty.” “This does feel like home.”

After scoring a game-high 27 points in Game 2, Lennox had said that Seattle still didn’t feel like home because the Storm was her fourth WNBA team in five years.

But the supportive crowd changed that.

After Locke, Schultz, Nickels and Bryant spoke, the Storm players and coaching staff, which had driven from the team’s practice facility to Westlake Center in seven convertibles, were introduced by Storm radio announcer David Locke.

Then they were given a chance to speak from the balcony.

“I am absolutely, completely overwhelmed,” said Storm coach Anne Donovan, who became the first woman coach to win a WNBA title. “You all are the absolute best fans in the world.”

Lauren Jackson, the team’s leading scorer and the 2003 league MVP, held the championship trophy during the entire ceremony. The only time she let go was when she spoke, and then she handed it off to starting forward Sheri Sam.

“I’m kind of speechless,” said Jackson, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2001 draft. “This is a huge reward after playing here for four years.”

Three-time All-WNBA first team guard Sue Bird said since the Storm won the title, the question she has been asked most frequently is which title means more – the two NCAA titles she won at the University of Connecticut, the Olympic gold medal she won as a member of the United States team in Athens this summer, or her WNBA title?

Though she has shied away from making comparisons, she changed that stance.

“There are going to be a few people at UConn that won’t be happy about this,” Bird said. “But this is unbelievable. To start something new, and to excite a city.”

It didn’t take long before the word ‘repeat’ came up.

“Are you guys ready for another one?” asked backup forward Adia Barnes, in her third season with Seattle. “We are, too. This is the start of something – and we’re ready for another one next year.”

Notes

Most of the Storm players had their exit interviews Thursday, since seven players left on Friday or are leaving today to join their professional teams overseas. Anne Donovan, Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson will stay in Seattle for a while. … Jackson will have surgery on the bone spurs in her right foot in Seattle next week. … Each Storm player earned a $10,000 bonus for winning the title, while Sun players received $5,000 apiece.