Some Things Are Bigger Than Sports – Nashville Has Submitted A Bid For A WNBA Team, And The Name Would Honor Pat Summitt

ESPN.com – NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The chairman of the NHL’s Nashville Predators and his wife want to bring the WNBA to Music City and have teamed up with a star-filled investor group including Candace Parker, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and entertainers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

The group led by Bill Haslam, a former Tennessee governor, submitted its bid to the WNBA on Thursday for a franchise that would start playing in 2028. The team also would be named the Tennessee Summitt in honor of the late Pat Summitt. Haslam said they see how women’s professional sports is emerging worldwide with a “void”

Parker said in a statement “Tennessee is the DNA of everything women’s basketball stands for.” The three-time WNBA champ followed up with a lengthy Instagram post on what it means to her working to bring a WNBA team to Tennessee and honor Summitt’s legacy in a place she called special and considers home.

Anyone who knows Pat Summitt knows she was the gold standard in women’s college basketball, and college basketball in general for that matter. Just an absolute legend in the game. 8 time National Champ, 18 Final Fours, 16 SEC titles, Basketball Hall of Fame 2000 and a gold medalist. Legend in every way, shape and form. 

Influential in so many ways to women across sports, coaches across sports, and the state of Tennessee. The fact that Peyton Manning, Candace Parker, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are spearheading this is also very cool. Manning will forever be a Tennessee legend, and very easily could have made this about himself or just half assed the process of throwing money in, but the fact that he instead chose to honor Pat and have a meaningful name for the state is awesome. Parker knows first hand how great Pat was to her, so that goes without saying. 

This is why sports is awesome. Coaches can impact your life in ways beyond the field and the court, and players never forget that. Coaches are there to take care of young athletes and look after them, and teach them in a positive manner. If they do it right, when the time comes long after the ball stops bouncing, the players then take care of the coach.And that’s exactly what they are doing here in Nashville. 

Final note –  The name Summitt kind of rocks for a sports team. Most sports team names suck, this one is very good if you ask me. 

Final final note: saw this on Sportscenter in college and always found it to be awesome. Had the song stuck in my head so much and sung it so much, my roommate threatened to switch rooms. 

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