Kiki Rice of the Toronto Tempo steps to the basket against Zia Cooke of the Seattle Storm at Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto on Wednesday.Michael Chisholm/Getty Images
Sitting courtside in an orange WNBA-branded hoodie with her shoes inches away from the Tempo Bordeaux-coloured hardwood court at Coca-Cola Coliseum, Carlee Rogers remembered a statement she made outside Scotiabank Arena in May, 2023.
The statement came after the WNBA’s first-ever game in Canada.
During an on-camera TV interview, Rogers said she looked forward to snagging season tickets for a prospective Canada-based franchise once they became available.
As season-ticket purchasing for the Toronto Tempo’s inaugural campaign opened, Rogers raced to fulfill her self-set prophecy. Now she’s the proud owner of a pair of courtside north row B seats, which cost her roughly $12,000 for the two.
“I love the game of basketball; I’ve played it since I was a child,” Rogers said. “So having our own team in Canada was something I was super excited about.”
Carlee Rogers’s commemorative ticket acknowledging her status as a Toronto Tempo season-ticket holder. She said that growing up, she would have loved to attend a WNBA game without having to travel to the United States to make it happen.Supplied
Each holder received a framed ticket with their seat location. Rogers’s commemorative stub rests on a shelf at her home next to other WNBA paraphernalia she’s collected over the years. She also plans to pick up other collectibles throughout the season.
Kirsten Ohanian is also the owner of those commemorative tickets. According to the Tempo, Ohanian was “very high up on the list” of first-ever season ticket holders among the inaugural bunch.
“I grew up playing sports. It’s always been a part of my life,” Ohanian said. “I work in the sports industry, so having Toronto have its first WNBA team, I wanted to be part of that in some way.”
But pole position goes to Canadian Lilly Singh. Toronto said the Canadian YouTuber and actress is its “first official fan.”
Standing courtside moments before tip-off on the Tempo’s Wednesday night game against Seattle, Singh said she’s always loved sports but never felt she could see herself in a game.
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“I think when you’re born into a situation where you feel like a minority for whatever reasons – a person of colour, woman – there’s a scarcity mindset where you feel like it’s just me, I have to protect my own,” Singh said. “But I’ve always believed in the power of supporting, I’ve always felt there’s room for everyone to be recognized.”
Singh, who’s the team’s chief hype officer and a part of the Tempo ownership group, said she’s glad that the women of the Tempo – and WNBA as a whole – are getting their well-deserved recognition.
“It’s important for these women to be on this court, but it’s so important for us to be like, ‘No, we can actually support other women,’” Singh said. “It’s not [only] one woman can win, not one person of colour can win, we’re changing the game so that all of us can win together.”
Rogers said it’s great to have someone like Singh spread the WNBA’s visibility to people who may otherwise miss it.
“Oftentimes in the past, you had to make an active effort to find it,” Rogers said.
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The Kingston native said before the Tempo came to Toronto, she’d used her summer vacations to travel to New York or Connecticut to catch WNBA action.
“It was the only way it was somewhat accessible to me,” Rogers said.
Now, she’s looking forward to sunnier destinations, but the temptation to catch a Storm game in Seattle or an Aces match in Las Vegas persists.
Rogers’s dad, who plans to attend games with her regularly, would always join her WNBA excursions. That father-daughter tradition dates back three years, but their basketball ties run far deeper.
“He would always take me to our club games, and every weekend I would have practice, so he would come with me, watch me, bring me to my games,” Rogers said. “We developed a close bond through basketball, so now we get to watch it on the professional stage.”
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Ohanian and her mother have a similar love for basketball. Both Ohanians played basketball and attended each other’s games.
Growing up, the younger Ohanian – if no babysitters were available – would sit on the bench and watch as her mother coached high-school basketball.
“I’m now realizing that basketball is actually a big part of our relationship,” Ohanian said.
At the Tempo’s home opener, Ohanian noticed the two were yelling the same things, like “take the lane,” “drive to the basket,” or “shoot,” given she learned the women’s game from her mother.
“At one point, I looked over [to her], and I got emotional,” Ohanian said. “I was like, ‘Thanks for doing this with me,’ and she’s like, ‘Thanks for doing this with me.’
“It was really special to experience that together and have that shared passion point.”