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| Some young ladies from the Drew basketball team helped show off the Atlanta franchise's new nickname. |
And today we celebrated in Atlanta. At the East Lake YMCA -- a place built on dreams and on fulfilling them as well -- our newest franchise announced the name of its team.
It's perfect: the ATLANTA DREAM. I got to bear witness to the research and debate that went on to narrow a list of 40 possibilities to a final list of four from which the community and owner Ron Terwilliger ultimately made their choice.
It was important to Ron to include the community and I can see how they are responding to his desire to include them. The gym was festive and while the paper ran the name in the morning edition it was no less exciting to see the girls from the Drew basketball team spell out the name with big wooden letters.
Dream. It was a dream of mine for the Southeast to have a team of its own. It clearly was a dream for the fans who were one of the top WNBA TV viewing audiences.
"Dream" so epitomizes the city -- the leadership, the community -- especially as the home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a hero who inspired both dreamers and their dreams.
Atlanta has and continues to champion equal rights… hence a strong intersect with the WNBA. I'm so proud of our league that champions equal opportunity -- equal opportunity for all -- to gain access and enjoy some of the world's best basketball.
And now I'm dreaming of a sold out opening night in Atlanta on May 23.
