Had a conversation with a friend of mine last night who swears that 2015 will be the last year of the Atlanta Dream. He bases this on the pre-season Dream/Liberty game he attended on Sunday which was sparsely attended at best from the photos I've seen, and from the Dream's attendance woes. He figures that with the hiring of Coach Cooper and the signing of Swin Cash that the Dream should certainly make it past 2014 but 2015 will be another story.
I think that since I've known him that he's made that prediction for a number of years now. Granted, things have looked dire for the Powder Blues before and the Dream is on its third set of owners. (Incidentally, the current ownership group has been in control the longest of the three.) I don't really know what to think. He states that for Brock and Loeffler, the Dream is nothing more than an expensive vanity toy "and the rich get rid of their toys when they get tired of them". He puts down their acumen, stating that they are really nothing more than two overgrown fans that don't have a clue as to how to put together a WNBA franchise or how to determine whether or not their moves are successes or failures.
But if you think about it, an argument can be made that the Dream is one of the most successful franchises in Atlanta. Oh, I'm not talking about the three Eastern Conference Championships that the WNBA team has won. You have to go back to 1999 for a World Series appearance by the Braves, 1998 for a Super Bowl appearance for the Falcons, back to Saint Louis for any sort of men's basketball success, and the two hockey franchises in Atlanta came and went without notice.
Rather, the Dream's success comes from the fact that Atlanta is fucking buried in the local media - as far as the average Atlanta sports fan is concerned, the Dream might as well not exist at all. The philosophy of the local print media has been benign neglect, or perhaps, malign neglect. The AJC is only interested in the Dream's collective faux pas, like the Elmo Game in 2009 or the McCoughtry/Meadors fallout a few years ago. Actual accomplishments on the court are pretty much ignored.
When the Braves and Hawks fail to draw, the media asks, "Why don't Atlantans support their teams? Don't you love Atlanta? Don't you want us to pull together and RISE UP? Aren't you ashamed of the embarrassment?" When the Dream fails to draw, it is considered a just and proper thing, almost self-evident, and why didn't you guys leave town earlier?
Let's look at the Thrashers. They were in this town for 12 years, and they had at least twice the support (that's an understatement) by the local press, from corporate sponsors, from television and from sources near and far. The Dream is now going into its seventh season without any of that. Brock and Loeffler would have done things illegal and embarrassing to get that kind of support, on the order of Indecent Proposal.
And yet, the Dream soldiers on. Even if my friend is right and the 2016 Dream becomes the California Dream or just goes on perpetual hiatus like the Houston Comets, I will consider the Dream to be one of the most successful franchises in Atlanta history. The rule for WNBA fans is not to think about the future, getting to tomorrow is victory enough.
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