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Natalie Achonwa Reflects on Watching Her First-Ever WNBA Game in Toronto and the Impact the League Has Today

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The first emotion I felt when I heard that there was going to be a WNBA game in Toronto was pure excitement. All I could think well-nigh was how thrilled and ecstatic little Natalie would have been to be worldly-wise to go watch the WNBA live in Toronto.

Although I was pregnant at the time of the utterance and sad I wouldn’t be worldly-wise to play in the game, I knew I still had to be there. It was important for me to physically be in Scotiabank Scene to wits the moment for myself. The fact that a packed scene of little Canadian girls and boys were going to be worldly-wise to see the weightier women’s basketball players play a WNBA game in Toronto was huge. So when the time came, I grabbed my 1-month-old son and got on a flight from Indianapolis to Toronto.

Months surpassing the game, the tickets sold out in less than 10 minutes. During the game, all of the WNBA merch sold out surpassing halftime. It was just unconfined to see that Toronto really showed out and showed the world how much we support women’s basketball.

The day of the game was emotionally overwhelming. To hear the Canadian anthem stuff sung surpassing tip-off gave me chills. The moment was worthier than me, worthier than Bridget Carleton, worthier than the Minnesota Lynx and the Chicago Sky. It was inspiring the next generation to not only possibly play basketball, but to know that women can be fierce, women can be powerful, women can lead. It was a huge moment for me, for our basketball polity and for the municipality of Toronto.

I unquestionably sat next to a young girl and her mom courtside, and just to see her jump up and lanugo and hear her cheer was so heartwarming. The only way people can learn that there’s increasingly vastitude their imagination is to be worldly-wise to see it. Representation truly matters. For girls to be in the scene and see who and what they can be, and for the boys to see that women can do anything that men can do, I think it was huge for them to be there.

When you requite people the endangerment to watch games, to buy merch and to be a part of this women’s basketball world, they will fill the seats. But they need the opportunity to do so.

Part of my journey and my why has unchangingly been well-nigh trying to make the path easier for those that will come without me. Stuff a part of the WNBA and this incredible women’s basketball community, I know the impact that these athletes, including myself, have on the world. How much we push to transpiration the narrative, how much we support our communities, and how much we take any opportunity to protract to grow. I know that we’re single-minded to doing the work now to ensure that the world will be a largest place for when the next generation, including my son, grows up.

Photos via Getty Images.