How Portland’s WNBA team won our hearts

The rekindled Portland Fire are wrapping up their inaugural season and, while they didn’t make the playoffs, they did finish fourth in the league for attendance. The team averaged more 14,500 fans per game, which is not all that surprising given how much Portlanders love to show up for women’s sports. Center Megan DiLeo (formerly Megan Gustafson) described the team as “a bunch of overlooked players,” and said she never felt respected as an athlete until she came to the Rose City. Whether the team won or lost, every home game brought good vibes to the Moda Center, which the team nicknamed “The Fire Pit.” 

We break down the joys and challenges of the new team’s first season with two lifelong women’s basketball fans: OPB business reporter, Kyra Buckly and Rev Shines, host of “Today’s Good News” on KMHD.

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