The WNBA is coming to Washington. The D.C. area will be one of two expansion cities for the women’s league and hopefully will benefit from the same huge amount of public support and interest that has greeted other cities’ franchises. Similarly, the new team will offer inspiration to area youth.

Washington-area fans helped bring the new team by buying almost double the number of season tickets necessary for a city to be considered for an expansion. Hopefully this interest will not be just a temporary phase. The team has the potential to attract a new group of sports fans. A larger audience would show that women’s basketball is not just a passing fad, but is here to stay.

Those who will benefit most from the expansion will be the area’s youth. They now will have a new group of possible role models. Instead of just aiming to imitate male professional players, children will be able to try to reproduce their favorite moves of WNBA players.