Column | Embrace The Championships

It’s hard to know if something is history when it’s happening right in front of your eyes.

There are moments we look back on and think to ourselves, “Oh sure, that ended up being pretty significant.”

It’s rare to have an event that just happens and instantly becomes history.

What the Minnesota Lynx did on Wednesday night falls under that category.

The Lynx beat the Indiana Fever 69-52 to win Game 5 of the WNBA Finals. The game wasn’t all that pretty in the first half, but Lynx pulled away in the second half to secure the 2015 WNBA Championship. Trophies are history for franchises because some teams have none.

Another reason why this trophy is historical for the Lynx is because it’s their third in the last five seasons.

The Houston Comets won four straight from 1997 to 2000 when the league was formed. The Detroit Shock won three over a six-year span from 2003 to 2008. And the Phoenix Mercury won three in an eight-year span.

The Comets’ four-straight titles probably won’t ever be matched, but you could argue the Lynx had a tougher road considering how competitive the WNBA has been over the last five years.

But we’re not here to compare. We’re here to congratulate.

This team looks stack. And that’s in big part thanks to “The Architect” Roger Griffith along with head coach Cheryl Reeve.

But don’t fool yourself. This team went through plenty of challenges along the way.

First off, getting acquainted to new teammates like Sylvia Fowles and Renee Montgomery isn’t easy, especially when you have less than 34 games to do so – especially when you traded away a piece of your team who was such a constant force for the team since she was drafted in Monica Wright.

And then there were the injuries to All-Stars Lindsay Whalen and Seimone Augustus. It was obvious the two weren’t 100 percent when the playoffs started, but both gutted it out. Augustus came up when the team needed her most, scoring 16 points in a historic Game 5.

Perhaps what was most amazing was the fact that Maya Moore had just five points in Game 5. You know, the Maya Moore who hits game-winning 3-pointers and scores 40 points in her sleep? Yeah, her. She scored just five points.

But her teammates picked her up and that’s what championship teams do.

Tune into the website for plenty of content coming in the next few days, including information on Friday’s parade and celebration schedule.

It’s a good time to be a Lynx fan. Three in five.

How about four in si… Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Let’s enjoy this one.