I am so heartbroken over the departure of Sacramento's WNBA Franchise, the Sacramento Monarchs. I was stunned, and I mean jaw-dropped stunned, when I read that the Maloofs were no longer going to operate the franchise. There hadn't been any suggestions the Monarchs were having trouble gaining a fanbase or being relevant to the community. Apparently, the Maloofs wanted to focus more on the Kings. (So, I'm quietly rooting against them for the rest of the year).
The Monarchs recently had their dispersal draft in which the team was officially broken up, and that really hit home and made me realize that the Monarchs are done, have been completely dissolved. (Dispersal draft=rest of league drafts players from the folded team). I was so sad as I read the article. Nicole Powell taken Number #1 by the New York Liberty....etc., etc.,..
My family and I went to the very first Sacramento Monarchs game in 1
997 at Arco Arena. They got clobbered by the New York Liberty, if I remember correctly, but it was exciting to see them play, especially with me being a young girl who was very athletic. Through watching the Monarchs and the league as a whole, I could see, for myself, the possibility of pursuing athletics professionally or at a high level. Over the years, my grandfather and I have gone to several Monarchs games and would keep up with the team over the summer.
997 at Arco Arena. They got clobbered by the New York Liberty, if I remember correctly, but it was exciting to see them play, especially with me being a young girl who was very athletic. Through watching the Monarchs and the league as a whole, I could see, for myself, the possibility of pursuing athletics professionally or at a high level. Over the years, my grandfather and I have gone to several Monarchs games and would keep up with the team over the summer. The Monarchs won the WNBA championship in 2005, which was a huge deal to me. Though I think some in the Sacramento media tried to downplay their achievement because it was accomplished by a women's team, I think any time a championship is won at any level of athletic competition by any group of players, that achievement should be treated with respect regardless of gender or the popularity of that particular sport. The work is just as hard, the committment is just as great.
The Monarchs were one of the Original Eight WNBA teams when the league began in 1997. They have produced some memorable players over its thirteen-year run. We have the great icon Ruthie Bolton, former WNBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Yolanda Griffith, the league's all time assist leader Ticha Penicheiro, not to mention other remarkable players such as Kara Lawson, Nicole Powell, Rebekkah Brunson and many others.
I'm really going to miss the Monarchs come May. If the Houston Comets can fold, which was arguably the greatest WNBA team in league history at the time of its folding before the 2009 season, then I guess any team can fold. This just sort of makes me nervous for the state of the WNBA as a league that can survive another decade. If solidified teams can fold, teams that have won championships (Houston, Sacramento, Detroit) and that have support from the community, then just how stable is the WNBA? I know it all boils down to money, marketability, and focus...but I mean, it's just happening to frequently.It seems like the WNBA relocates teams often. Continuously moving teams from city to city is not, to me, not a completely good sign for a league still settling itself in the professional sports world. Their lack of geographical consistency, I think, hurts them. You have to have identifiable teams: Team A in this particular city who wear these particular colors who have these particular names...You can't just keep relocating franchises and expect to maintain face as a professional sport.
Anyway, I went to a game in 2008, and, during a break, Ruthie Bolton made an appearance right in front of me. You know I had to bust out the cam! And if you don't know who Ruthie Bolton is and how important she is to women's basketball, or just the sport of basketball, period, then I just don't want to say to you right now.
Check her out showing off her Olympic Gold medals towards the end of the video. I wish I had gotten a better close up of them. It was like wooooow seeing them in person.
Anyway, bye Monarchs...it's been great. Thanks for those wonderful memories.
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"The Oasis of My Nation" is Simone Youngblood's debut collection of ten poems, released in September 2008.
The work meditates on words, their unapparent immediacies and the relationship of both to god. Fundamentally, it might be called an "experimental" book of prayer and thanksgiving.
The poems were mostly written from the point at which Simone recalls (mis)acquiring language to 2008.
Based on responses Simone has received from patient people who have read "The Oasis of My Nation," I urge you to close your eyes and put on your reading glasses before embarking.
Simone is a poet born and raised in Northern California. She recently received her Masters in English/Creative Writing.
The book is $4 in person / $6 shipped / $6.50 purchased/shipped through Paypal
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Bless you all.
