[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16976]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRATULATING THE SEATTLE STORM FOR WINNING THE 2010 WNBA NATIONAL 
                           CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 28, 2010

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 
Seattle Storm for winning the 2010 WNBA National Championship Title, 
their second national championship in six years. After a record-
breaking season, the Storm swept the Atlanta Dream in three close games 
during the WNBA finals, winning on Thursday night in Atlanta, 87-to-84. 
Their victory is not only a tribute to the hard work of the players but 
also the determination and gumption of our team's female owners, who 
bought the team in 2008, refusing to make the move to Oklahoma City 
with the Sonics. I applaud our players, owners, and fans for allowing 
our team to grow and thrive in Seattle.
  While none of the athletes on the Storm were born when Patsy Mink 
wrote and worked to pass Title IX, in 1972, all have reaped the 
benefits of her efforts. Title IX gave women and girls greater 
opportunities to participate in high school and collegiate sports, 
which the talented and dedicated women of the WNBA have parlayed into 
professional careers.
  I am so very proud of our team and their accomplishments. As we all 
learned in grade school, it's not just if you win, but how you win. Too 
many of our professional athletes have forgotten this lesson, but not 
the women of the Storm. As ESPN's Mechelle Voepel put it: ``The Storm 
weren't a team that was dominant in the sense that it throttled all its 
opponents. To the contrary, the Storm made rallying an art form this 
summer. But the Storm were a team that always seemed to figure out how 
to get the job done whenever it really mattered.'' Congratulations.

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