The lights were dimmed and one by one, the Lynx received their WNBA championship rings on Sunday before their game against Phoenix.
WNBA president Laurel Richie and Lynx owner Glen Taylor hugged everyone and the crowd cheered. The rings were in little boxes.
The first to get hers was forward Amber Harris, who has a sprained left ankle and won't play.
Then came out Alexis Hornbuckle in her Mercury uniform – she got traded in the offseason. But this was good fortune. She was back at Target Center and so was Charde Houston, another Lynx player who got traded to Phoenix.
The final two players to get their rings were Lindsay Whalen – "Minnesota's own," the PA announcer said – and Seimone Augustus – "an absolute force … the [WNBA] Finals MVP."
Augustus thanked everyone – the team owners, coaches and, of course, the fans.
After the ring ceremony, a banner in the rafters was unveiled. It was simple but sweet. It had the Lynx logo on top and underneath the words, "2011 WNBA champions." It will hang in Target Center forever, the PA announcer said.
About 100-plus fans, original season ticket holders, got to go on the court for the pregame festivities. They waited 13 years for this day – which is not quite, but almost forever, too.
