{"id":317904,"date":"2026-08-10T17:44:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T17:44:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/317904\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T17:44:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T17:44:22","slug":"new-york-liberty-legends-fans-celebrate-30-years-of-wnba-history-at-brooklyn-dribble-brooklyn-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/317904\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Liberty legends, fans celebrate 30 years of WNBA history at Brooklyn Dribble \u2022 Brooklyn Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Liberty hosted its 3rd annual \u201cThe Brooklyn Dribble,\u201d on Aug. 8, honoring players, fans and defining moments that have shaped the organization since its inaugural season in 1997.<\/p>\n

Led by by Fogo Azul, a women-led samba reggae drumline marching band and New York Liberty\u2019s legendary players like Teresa Witherspoon, Crystal Robinson, and Carolyn Swords, more than 2,000 fans dribbled basketballs along a mile-long scenic route through Brooklyn Bridge Park, with the East River and the Manhattan skyline serving as a backdrop. The parade culminated at Liberty Fan Fest at Pier 2.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Fogo Azul led the\u00a0 3rd annual Brooklyn Dribble. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"More than 2,000 fans joined in on the celebration. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

Highlights included autograph sessions with Liberty legends; interactive activations, games, prizes, refreshments and basketballs and commemorative t-shirts giveaway; and on-stage performances by the Timeless Torches, Torch Patrol and Lil Torches \u2014 plus the highly-anticipated arrival of everyone\u2019s favorite mascot, Ellie the Elephant.<\/p>\n

Robinson, who played for the team for seven seasons from 1999 through 2005, noted that Brooklyn Dribble reminded her of the WNBA\u2019s early outreach events.\n<\/p>\n

The Liberty is one of three remaining original<\/a> WNBA franchises, and the team won its historic first-ever WNBA Championship victory in 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"New York Liberty legends sign autographs for fans. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Former Liberty players helped celebrate the team\u2019s past and present. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where I think WNBA was built. When I played, this was grassroots marketing. I think that it\u2019s a major part of what we do in the WNBA; I hope this part never goes away,\u201d the WNBA trailblazer said, praising Liberty fans as the best fan base in the WNBA.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The fans] are extremely dedicated. When we played, there were lots of fans that had jersey numbers [and]\u00a0 people\u2019s names tattooed. We\u2019ve always had a great fan base here. This is the best fan base in the WNBA,\u201d Robinson said.Swords signed with the Liberty in 2015 and played for the team for two seasons. She paid homage to the Liberty players that paved the way for new generations of female athletes, inspiring people to become the best versions of themselves and follow their dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely benefited from watching the first players of the league, and because I was a young girl when the league was established, it was really great to have that really tangible example that I could grow up and be a professional basketball player,\u201d Swords said.<\/p>\n

Teresa Witherspoon joined the\u00a0 New York Liberty for the WNBA\u2019s inaugural season in 1997 and was on the team\u2019s roster until 2003. The five-time All\u2010Star and two\u2010time Defensive Player of the Year credited the Liberty\u2019s success to the devoted fan base, who made the Texas native feel like a New Yorker.<\/p>\n

\"\"NY Liberty legend Teresa Witherspoon and Elli the Elephant celebrate the 3rd annual Brooklyn Dribble. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Elli the Elephant and the Liberty dance team show off their dance moves at the NY Liberty\u2019s 3rd annual Brooklyn Dribble. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

\u201cWe came here. We weren\u2019t New Yorkers. We were country girls. Everybody\u2019s like, \u2018Country girls in New York? Sue Wicks is the only New Yorker,\u2019\u201d Witherspoon recalled.\u00a0 \u201cThis is home for us now. We adopted the attitude; we adopted the grit and grind; we adopted what this city is all about: never give up. Never give in. We win, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brooklyn resident Lolita Beckwith has been a season subscriber since 1997 and enjoyed the camaraderie among the Liberty fans while celebrating women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember as a kid, I was teased for being a sports fan. So to see all of this now\u00a0 \u2014 I\u2019m old, so this is like the 70s \u2014 but to see all of this now is incredible. To see all these women\u2019s baseball and softball leagues getting national attention, plus the WNBA, has been fantastic. I love to see it,\u201d Beckwith said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Longtime Liberty fans said it was \u2018incredible\u2019 to see so much support for women\u2019s sports, including the WNBA. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann \"\"Fans of all ages celebrated the team\u2019s history. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann<\/p>\n

Lavonnia Manning, who hails from the \u201cWorld\u2019s Borough,\u201d Queens, attended the fan festivities for the first time. She has been a Liberty fan since she was a kid because the team felt like family.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeresa Witherspoon is my favorite player,\u201d Manning shared. \u201c[The Liberty] bring a lot of excitement to New York itself. I\u2019m expecting to see Ellie because I love Ellie. I want to see her so bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

New Jersey resident Jacaria Moore has been a fan of the WNBA\u2019s most iconic franchises since its founding in 1996. The former athlete told Brooklyn Paper that the team inspired her to play basketball and softball, and she noted the importance of female athletes as role models for a new generation of players.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow the women are carrying themselves-not just playing basketball, but they have other ventures outside of the game, and promoting the love. They play with passion. They play with heart. When you love a sport, you give 100%, and that\u2019s what I love about the New York Liberty,\u201d Moore said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Liberty hosted its 3rd annual \u201cThe Brooklyn Dribble,\u201d on Aug. 8, honoring players, fans and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317905,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4567,103063,98,16561,119922,119923,119924,119925,119926,4619,119927,102287,40464,881,119928,9,24,55,54,8915,12,370,56,319,119929,11452,6223,19362],"class_list":["post-317904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-basketball","tag-basketball-fans","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-bridge-park","tag-brooklyn-dribble","tag-carolyn-swords","tag-crystal-robinson","tag-dribble-parade","tag-elli-the-elephant","tag-events","tag-fan-celebration","tag-fan-fest","tag-fans","tag-history","tag-liberty-fans","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-new-york-liberty","tag-news","tag-newsletter","tag-ny","tag-sports","tag-teresa-witherspoon","tag-wnba","tag-womens-sports","tag-womens-basketball"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317904\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}