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The Seattle Storm is a professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned by Force 10 Hoops LLC, which is composed of three Seattle businesswomen: Dawn Trudeau, Lisa Brummel, and Ginny Gilder.
The Storm has qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in twelve of its seventeen years in Seattle. The franchise has been home to many high-quality players such as former UConn stars Sue Bird and Swin Cash, 2004 Finals MVP Betty Lennox and Australian power forward Lauren Jackson, a three-time league MVP. In 2004 and 2010, the Storm went to the WNBA Finals; they won each time, beating Connecticut in 2004 and Atlanta in 2010.
The team cultivates a fan-friendly, family environment at home games by having an all-kid dance squad, which leads young fans in a conga line on the court during time-outs, to the music of "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" by the Quad City DJ's. Named for the rainy weather of Seattle, the team uses many weather-related icons: the team mascot is Doppler, a maroon-furred creature with a cup anemometer on its head; the theme song for Storm home games is AC/DC's "Thunderstruck"; and its newsletter is called Stormwatch.
The Storm was the sister team of the Seattle SuperSonics until February 28, 2008, when the latter team was sold to an independent ownership group in Seattle.