Continuing coverage of the championship and in particular yesterday evening’s parade and celebration.

Rain can’t rain on Seattle Storm’s WNBA title parade – Jayda Evans, Seattle Times

It seemed the Storm flag swaying atop the Space Needle provided a covering for all its fans below as the team hosted its victory parade Friday night. Players and owners piled into the back of Subaru Outbacks, using the trunk door as covering, as a police escort led them from the base of the Needle to KeyArena.

Inside fans stood and awaited their arrival while dancing in their seats.

Brian Agler can attest: Sue Bird is the best of her kind – Jerry Brewer, Seattle Times

This was more than an obligatory offering of credit amid championship bliss, however. Of all the reasons to appreciate the Storm — three-time MVP Lauren Jackson’s versatility, Swin Cash’s tenacity, Tanisha Wright’s defense and on and on — Bird’s intelligence, leadership and skill are most essential to this team. And the mutual trust between coach and floor leader is, quietly, a major factor in this franchise’s transformation from playoff contender to untouchable champion.

Their chemistry is subtle. It’s as sly as Bird covering Agler’s microphone when she talks to him during nationally televised games. It’s as simple as Agler waiting for Bird, with a basketball in hand during pregame warmups, and having a quick exchange before she shoots. In those moments, nearly unnoticeable, the two are looking out for each other, respecting each other and showing they understand each other.

Other organizations could learn a lesson from the Storm – Todd Dybas, seattlepi.com

Fans are treated with a large amount of participatory respect while serious business is still being conducted. The Storm runs a risk doing this. There is enough campiness with fans to turn off a first-time visitor. Yet the organization keeps its hardcore fans happy while pushing to develop other demographics. Don’t think that five-year-old dancing around the court won’t be a marketing target in 10 years when she has money to spend.

Seattle Storm Championship Celebration: Honoring the Legacy of a Great Basketball Team – Q McCall, SwishAppeal.com

For all my appreciation of team basketball and the dynamics and structure of units, what I will ultimately remember most about this season is having the opportunity to not only watch Jackson, but also listen to her constantly downplay the fact that she is the best player in the world. She’s the type of player that you brag about having seen in person.

Basketball will never see another player like her and the risk of embellishing her individual greatness is mitigated by the fact that she routinely does things that make you shake your head even as you watch the ceremonial video with her sitting there. No matter how much she defers to her teammates as the reason this team was so great, it’s hard to imagine that history won’t look upon Jackson as the most prominent, if not defining, feature of this team. Fair or unfair, it’s how legacies work.

Here’s KING 5 on the parade and celebration. Visit King5.com for more raw video.

Here’s KIRO 7’s coverage of the parade as it headed down 1st Ave.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 18th, 2010 at 10:32 pm and is filed under champions, in the media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.