They didn’t make the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean the Portland Fire haven’t had a successful season.
The Fire are 16-24, in ninth place in the standings, with four games remaining. Portland was formally eliminated from the playoffs last Tuesday with a loss to the Dallas Wings.
But the metrics for success, at least in the Fire’s case, were not about wins and losses.
“The two things we said we had to get right, we had to get it right for the fans, and we had to get it right for the players and the athletes,” Fire president Clare Hamill said. “And so, I’m really super happy to say those two things are the things that are just — there’s lots of great things that have happened, but those are the best pieces of it for me.”
Disrupting the status quo
Before their first game, the Fire were ambitious disruptors, hiring Vanja Černivec away from the Valkyries then bringing on coach Alex Sarama, who practices a training method called Constraints-Led Approach, or CLA, which challenges players with creative problem solving rather than repetitive drills.
The team assembled a roster of players that fit Sarama’s vision, headlined by expansion draft acquisition Bridget Carleton, who was known for her versatility while with the Minnesota Lynx. Center Megan DiLeo, who had bounced around the WNBA, finally found a home and became a fan favorite with her corgi, Pancake.
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Sarah Ashlee Barker, picked up in the expansion draft, averaged 3.1 points and 1.9 rebounds with the Sparks last season before she was picked up by the Fire in the expansion draft. Barker averaged 10.7 and 4.5 points for Portland and enjoyed chats of “S-A-B!” from the Moda Center fans before she tore her ACL in July and was out for the season.
“I think that when I first interviewed Vania, I immediately felt this this passion and this vision for what could happen with a team in Portland. It’s almost like I immediately began to believe in her,” Hamill said. “Then as I watched the coaches come together and the system that Alex was putting in place, and then the amazing players that we got in the expansion draft. I’m not that surprised that we are winning like we are, and mostly I’m not that surprised that we’re playing like we are. It’s more than just winning. It’s how we’re playing.”
Recalling the past
The team smartly harkened back to their Portland roots with the Fire nickname, and hyped the connection with a “Fire Reignited” theme for the opener.
That connection with the fan base was key. The Fire average about 14,400 fans per game, fourth in the league.
But it was more than that — the Fire also took advantage of its ownership connection with the Portland Thorns. The two teams had a double-header this season: $50 for a pair of tickets to a Thorns’ match followed by a Fire game. Thorns players frequently turn up at Fire games, and Fire players return the favor.
There was also a players-first mentality. The Fire also moved into its purpose-built $150 million performance center that they share with the Thorns.
“As a fan, I followed the Valkyries last year, but when you create an expansion team, it is special, and I think what Vania has done with her staff, and what we’ve done with the players is special, and I just feel thrilled for Portland and for everybody that yes, we’re winning, but mostly just how we’re playing and who we are. It just feels like an incredible delivery for the first year.” Hamill said.
Looking ahead
The Fire have already started looking ahead to next season. During Sunday’s loss to the Valkyries, Sarama experimented with a zone defense. He could try more new things, especially on defense, in the final four games.
“I feel very good about where we’re at as an offense, and I don’t think it’s really overhauls next year, I think it’s more some subtle tweaks, kind of around the edges. I think defensively, I like the identity. I like how we got actions, you know, pick-and-roll defense is really good,” Sarama said. “It’s really all our one-on-one defense that we need a deep dive on, and we got to find solutions. We’ve got to find solutions to help the group. If we’re not able to continue staying in front, we’ve got to find things we can do because that’s that’s preventing us right now from taking that jump to to get in the playoffs. I think that’s what was the reason for us not making it this year.”
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