Sunday night my son AJ and I cut away from watching the Mets season end the Jets unravelling to make sure we saw the last quarter…and overtime of the Liberty winning their first-ever WNBA title. It was gratifying to him to see the Liberty win…one of the first sporting events he ever saw live was a Liberty game at MSG…because he really enjoys good basketball and is of a generation that doesn’t think “men’s basketball” vs. “women’s basketball,” he just thinks about great stories, athletes he cares about, and hoops that matters…and the Liberty and the WNBA matter to a generation now following them because they enjoy the athletes, just like they…he…enjoys watching the Knicks (AJ works for NBA Entertainment, but that’s not as relevant as you think it would be…he loves the storylines).
I felt a twinge as I watched Sabrina, and Stewie and crew not just because of the mountain they have climbed, but because they exorcised a ghost that had ridden this franchise since the start, and were able to take advantage of the opportunities from a business standpoint that they were ready to do because of those who had forged the path to get here.
It was great to see Teresa Weatherspoon and others there with tears in their eyes as the Libs took the title, but it was even more impactful to think back in a world where memories and attention spans are minutes at best, more like seconds, to think about how this groundwork had started wayyyy back when the budget deprived Liberty of MSG were trying to find their niche.
And it started with Blaze and her team.
Carol Blazejowski may be a footnote to history of the rise the WNBA is on now, but she and her team (it was ironic to see Amy Scheer, now leading the PWHL business side, on a panel next to Shana Stephenson a few weeks ago at our Columbia Sports Business Conference. Amy toiled for many years trying to get leadership to notice that amazing Liberty story that Shana has the ability to now spread) tried with all their might to build the business and the opportunity the Liberty have today, albeit at a premature time. Group sales, grassroots programs, a fun mascot, reaching diverse communities, great player stories, all where part of Blaze’s daily mantra to help the WNBA grow. Fashion stories? They were there. Amazing, disruptive athlete narratives? How about Becky Hammon? They were all aligned, but the market was just not ready for the expenditure to meet the market.
The Liberty fell on hard times as ownership waned interest, and even Isiah Thomas and Bill Laimbeer’s presence could not keep the Liberty moving in a cash positive and business growth mode. We saw the stories…sales, The Westchester County Center, near collapse…until Clara and Joe Tsai’s investment came along to realize the potential that was created years ago, and came to the top of the torch in October of 2024.
The point is that these things just don’t “happen.” I was lucky enough to have been at the Liberty’s last home game of the regular season and saw many of the hard-working faces who were there during the MSG years…and the infusion of dollars and vision was there to realize a dream seeded long ago. Nothing in sports just happens…what happens is you are in a position, with leadership, with vision, with foresight, with dollars…to succeed when the sun shines. A tickertape parade doesn’t just happen…it comes with planning. A kick ass mascot story come with planning and listening not just with a whim. Great athlete storylines are seeded and pushed before they mature. Fan bases grow because of dedication and promotion not just by opening the doors.
Those were the same thoughts that were in place when the Liberty started, the time, and probably the dollars were not there.
Now they are, and all…from those people there in the first few meetings to those catching the confetti this week, should celebrate together. A great New York sports business story forged decades ago finally caught fire, with everyone’s input from then and now.
How much fun is that.
