TORONTO – Historic can be a divisive word.
In my own experience, I’ve frequently heard it referred to as overused or inaccurate. The Toronto Tempo’s beginning as a WNBA franchise is exempt from this debate. It is historic. It’s monumental. Insert your preferred synonym here.
The highest level of professional women’s basketball coming to Canada for the first time is a seismic shift in the country’s hoops landscape. The birth of this franchise will spread roots throughout communities, provide role models for young Canadian girls to aspire to and bring top-tier basketball games to a sizeable market that’s hungry for it. This is the beginning of a landmark endeavour. A cultural touchstone.
Yet those at the centre of it – the women that make up Canada’s first WNBA team – aren’t stuck relishing the gravity of this moment. They’ll have plenty of time to reflect in the future. They’re focused on playing, and winning, basketball games.
“Passionate,” said head coach Sandy Brondello, when asked to describe the emotion at training camp. “And there’s really just a focus … they’re locked in, they’re ready to go.”
The start of something new is often reflected on fondly. Myriad books and documentaries have been released in recent years looking back at the inaugural season of the Toronto Raptors, now over 30 years in the past. That moment for the Tempo is now. They’re discovering the city for the first time and it’s discovering them. They’re breaking new ground, writing the first chapter.
Of course this is a “unique opportunity,” as Brondello put it. Of course they’ll “always be the first.”
“I’ll always be the first head coach of this expansion team; they’ll always be the first players,” she said. “We got the first million-dollar player. You know all those kinds of things make it special, because it is something new.”
But in the moment, as they prepare to test their abilities on the biggest stage in women’s basketball, running through drills and schemes and film and shuttling back and forth from their practice facility to home – Brondello said she works, goes home, goes to bed and does it again – the weight of this historic beginning isn’t exactly front of mind.
That was evident when first-year forward Teonni Key was asked to describe the feelings evoked by the lead up to Toronto’s inaugural season. She spent a moment searching for her words before settling on: “I think, defence.”
Not exactly an emotion. Or is it?
How does it feel to defend? Focus is needed. One must feel confident, courageous, and determined.
As Brondello said, locked in.
While it’s difficult to gauge what to expect from the on-court product in the first year of an expansion franchise, there are undoubtedly plenty of eyes on the Tempo. Their court reveal and home preseason game were packed out. Walk around the Toronto and you’re sure to see fans adorned in Tempo bordeaux and blue. Most of the players have spoken about being recognized with adoration on the streets of the city.
That pressure is a privilege, and one that the Tempo are rising to meet with enthusiasm.
“Everybody’s so excited,” said Nyara Sabally. “The beginning of training camp was really good, energy was really high.”
“The fans have been so welcoming too, and so excited, and that excitement kind of carries to yourself, because you’re like ‘oh OK, this is really exciting, and this is really cool to be a part of history.’” Sabally added.
Even if there’s been plenty of practice, press and preseason to distract from the history they’re making, each member of the team is still acutely aware of their responsibilities. They’ve been handed a blank slate and are tasked with filling it up, and what’s left will be the foundation that defines Tempo basketball.
“I would honestly say it’s an incredible opportunity,” said Kiki Rice on media day. “It’s not very often that you get to be a part of the first team in an organization, the first WNBA team in a country, so I think we’re really excited about that. You can feel the energy in the city. We’ve received a lot of excitement; a lot of people are telling us how excited they are for us to be out there and be on the court.”
It all comes back to the court. That’s where it gets real. That tangible moment when the ball goes up, and we’re no longer talking about the historic moment; history is being made.
For Brondello, one of those moments came when she first laid eyes on the Tempo’s locker room at Coca-Cola Coliseum. An instant when all the ideas, planning, and work to make them real actually crossed over into reality.
A subtle smile emerged on Brondello’s face as she considered that experience and said: “We’re making history here, aren’t we?”
The ball will go up just after 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Coca-Cola Coliseum and set the wheels in motion.
