Nearly two years ago to the day on Friday, the WNBA announced that it would be expanding into Canada with a team in Toronto. A lot has happened since then – a name reveal, front office hires, jersey drops, and finally, in the final stretch before the season started, players.
All of it leading to this moment, the team’s very first game on Friday, May 8, kicking off the WNBA’s 30th season.
The anticipation hit its highest point this week, as multiple players and even Tempo head coach Sandy Brondello said during practice that they were itching to get that first game under their belt.
It’s one thing to practice as a team, but to be battle-tested against other WNBA teams is the best way to grow a brand-new roster. While the Tempo don’t have an inherited core of players at their disposal like most teams around the league, they were able to build chemistry quickly over the preseason through the shared experience of representing a new franchise.
More than just the beginning of the team’s first regular season, the Tempo’s home opener was a celebration of the growth of the WNBA, of Canadian basketball culture, and of a city that has been more than ready for the opportunity to host the world’s best women’s basketball league.
It ended a period of time in which young kids in Toronto and across Canada did not have a professional women’s basketball team to call their own. The gravity of the moment was not lost on the team, including the players who hadn’t even set foot in Canada before reporting to training camp.
“It’s big, and it’s important to show [young fans] that and let them believe that they can do that too,” Tempo guard Julie Allemand told the media at shoot around on Friday morning. “Just trust yourself, and you will be there one day. It’s amazing, and that’s why I am really grateful for that moment and to be here.”
The atmosphere inside the arena as tip-off approached matched a city that has been waiting for this moment for decades. From loud crowd pops during player introductions to the near-hysterical reaction when Canadian soccer legend Christine Sinclair made an appearance on the monitor above the court, the fans were locked in. Everywhere you looked throughout the arena there were young girls, clutching jerseys in hopes of getting an autograph, witnessing professional women’s basketball in Canada for the first time.
No one understands the gravity of the moment more than Kia Nurse, who was signed to the Tempo as a free agent. The Canadian Olympian noted earlier in training camp that coming to play for Toronto felt “like the right decision in my gut.” At Thursday’s practice, Brondello noted that the team would lean on Kia’s emotions to make sure they understood what this game meant to the fans in attendance and watching at home, and that she would be “leading the way” for them.
Before tip-off, Nurse addressed the sellout crowd of over 8,200 fans, telling them to “make this the hardest arena to come play in all season long.” While it was only the first game, the fans seemed to take that to heart.
The crowd stayed energetic the entire way through, despite the Tempo losing 68-65 to the Washington Mystics. Toronto was able to bring the game within a single possession multiple times in the final minutes, including a clutch three-point shot from Marina Mabrey that had the crowd on their feet. A few late-game mistakes and fouls did not go the Tempo’s way, and the young and tall Mystics got the best of the team.
“I don’t get any of those shots for the fans to go crazy if my teammates don’t find me, so I appreciate that,” Mabrey said after she scored 27 points in her debut with Toronto. “The fans were carrying us energy-wise – we’re a new team and trying to figure it out, and having them have our back helps us feel like we are getting something going.”
Despite the energy from the crowd and the excitement of the history of the game, Brondello called the game itself “ugly.” The team only had 10 assists on the game, turned the ball over 16 times to give the Mystics opportunities, and only shot 74 per cent from the free-throw line in a physical game.
There’s a lot the team will work to clean up offensively and defensively as they prepare for their next home game against the Seattle Storm on Wednesday. With the big, history-making home opener behind them, the Tempo can now lock into the flow of the season without the cloud of anticipation hanging over them.
