Contibuted By Lindsey Young

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Kate Agnew has done quite a bit of traveling and called multiple cities “home” for periods of time, but Minnesota will always be where her heart is … and the Minnesota Lynx will always be her team.

“I follow every game on Twitter,” said Agnew, who currently lives in Los Angeles. “If I could get them on TV, I most definitely would. In an ideal situation I would go down to the Buffalo Wild Wings in Glendale for every game, but unfortunately that isn’t a reality with a ladies’ sporting event yet.”

Although the WNBA isn’t as publicized as many other sports, the Lynx succeed in making new fans each and every day. For Agnew, her opportunity came in 2011 when a friend who worked for the team gave Agnew and her fiancé tickets to a game. From that point on, she was hooked. Since Agnew lived and worked in Minneapolis, she started attending games regularly.

The team’s success on the court certainly appealed to Agnew, but it was so much more than that. The Lynx are often recognized for being an inspiring, well-liked group of players, and Agnew acknowledged just that.

“Who doesn’t love to get behind such a fantastic team?” She said. “Once I saw how the players came on the court to celebrate with [kids] after a win, I was sold.”

When Agnew is in Minnesota, she attends at least five games during the regular season and as many postseason games as she can get to. This season, however, she’s keeping up with the team as well as she can while out of state.

Agnew moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts in May to attend graduate school at MIT, and she’s spending her summer months across the country in California. There, Agnew is working for DreamWorks Animation as part of the Franchise and Brand Development team.  DreamWorks recently acquired the rights to the Captain Underpants series and is creating a movie on the character; Agnew is in charge of putting together a franchise strategy for the film.

“I aspire to go into entertainment in a physical production type role,” Agnew said.

While on the West Coast chasing her dream, Agnew decided to seize an opportunity and attended the June 16 Lynx vs. Sparks game at Staples Center. Agnew enjoyed watching a game that proved close at several points, and fortunately the Lynx pulled away and nabbed the 67-52 win.

“Going to a Lynx game in LA was a little surreal for me,” Agnew said. “There were fewer fans in the audience, but still a pretty strong gathering of Lynx supporters. There wasn’t the same energy [as in Minnesota], but I was pumped to see our team win!”

Agnew loves supporting her team, and she especially enjoys watching specific players, including fan favorites Lindsay Whalen and Maya Moore. Agnew’s cousin worked as an assistant coach for the U of Minnesota’s women’s basketball team, so her connection to Whalen started back in her college days. With Moore, although Agnew obviously appreciates her on-court performance and stats, she finds it even more significant that Moore acts as a positive role model to society and specifically to young girls.

And while the veterans hold a special place in Agnew’s heart, she also expressed excitement for the addition of Reshanda Gray to the roster this season.

“I have to support someone moving from beautiful LA to cold Minnesota,” Agnew joked. “But more seriously, I feel a connection to Reshanda because we both experienced not-so-great childhoods. It’s such an inspiration to see what people can do with dedication and passion.”

These are qualities Agnew is working to implement in her own life, as well.

Despite various obstacles, Agnew has continued to pursue her goals and meet each one en route to her current position. Her heart and passion for inspiring young women is evident to everyone who meets her, and she plans to continue integrating that into her work.

“My dream job is to work on superhero movies that feature women as the main characters,” Agnew said. “Captain Underpants has the superhero component; now I just need to work towards live-action and female franchises!”

To many young fans, the Minnesota Lynx players are—in a sense—heroes. That’s part of what drew Agnew to the team four years ago, and it will continue to bring her back to games year after year. No matter where her dreams and career take her, Kate Agnew is a Fan of the Pack for life.