The Fire Have Rekindled a Long

Key Points:

• Sylvia Crawley, a former Portland Fire player, preserved her basketball career mainly through scrapbooks, as the original WNBA franchise disbanded in 2002, leaving little archival footage or recognition of the team’s history.
• The revival of the Portland Fire as a new WNBA expansion team in 2026 has resurfaced the original franchise’s history and archives, providing a renewed sense of legacy and recognition for former players like Crawley.
• The new Fire franchise faces the unique challenge of building its identity while honoring the past, as the WNBA sees multiple expansions and relocations that reconnect to defunct or relocated teams from the league’s early years.
• Former players of the original Fire and other early women’s basketball leagues often struggled with continuity and recognition due to league instability, but the new Portland team aims to celebrate that history while creating a fresh start.
• The revived Fire team and its leadership embrace the opportunity to blend nostalgia with new beginnings, engaging fans old and new by honoring past players and milestones while building a distinct and contemporary fan culture.