Ep. 11: Celebrating the Houston Comets -- with Cynthia Cooper and Van Chancellor

The Houston Comets soared to four straight WNBA titles from 1997-2000. Led by the “Big 3” of Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes, and Tina Thompson, the team captured the hearts of Houston sports fans and established a dynasty.

Join two-time league MVP Cynthia Cooper, three-time WNBA Coach of the Year Van Chancellor, and Houston Chronicle writer William Stickney Jr. as they remember the Houston Comets’ euphoric title runs and the beginnings of the WNBA. Hear Cooper's inspiring championship stories and about Coach Chancellor’s winning offensive play that highlighted Cooper’s tremendous athletic ability and guided the team to four league championships. Cooper and Chancellor also share deeply about Kim Perrot, the Comets starting point guard who tragically lost her battle with cancer in the middle of her brilliant WNBA career.

The WNBA fulfilled a dream for many athletes like Cooper who longed to play basketball professionally in front of their family and friends in the United States. Previously, American women needed to play in far away lands to play professional basketball after college. The legacy of the Houston Comets remains bright even after the team folded in 2008. Several current WNBA stars grew up in Houston and set their pro basketball dreams upon the Comets, inspired by the dynamic play of the Big 3, Kim Perrot, Janeth Arcain, and the other stars in the Comets galaxy.

This episode of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame Podcast is presented by the TownePlace Suites, Waco Northeast. The podcast is hosted and produced by Jackson Michael, author of The Game before the Money: Voices of the Men Who Built this NFL and writer/director of We Were the Oilers: The Luv Ya Blue Era!