The Atlanta Dream become reality Friday in a city that has seen its share of exciting women's basketball come and go over the years but never stay.

Between the U.S. women's gold medal team in the 1996 Olympics, and a fleeting visit from the NCAA Final Four, there was the two-year stint by the Atlanta Glory of the ABL.

AP (ENLARGE)

Atlanta's Katie Feenstra (left, defending Tamika Whitmore with Camille Little) is one of the tallest players in the WNBA.

Dream owner Ron Terwilliger is banking on quite a bit more, and he got his first wish. The Dream will host the Detroit Shock in their first home regular-season game at 7:30 tonight in front of a sell-out crowd. The team has sold 10,039 tickets at Philips Arena for the reconfigured seating for WNBA games.

And as of Thursday, only about 400 tickets remained for Sunday's home game against the Los Angeles Sparks.

That just reinforces the sentiment Dream players have felt since they started pounding the pavement around town six weeks ago.

"Everywhere we go, everyone is so excited about the Dream and having a WNBA team here," said center Katie Feenstra, acquired in the expansion draft from Detroit. "People knew about the Detroit Shock, knew that they were very successful. But coming to Atlanta, a brand new team? I didn't think many people would know about it. Everybody knows about it."

She has visited Boys and Girls Clubs, Girl Scout troops and high school assemblies. When that wasn't enough, she could just walk out the front door of the apartment complex where she lives with most of her teammates. At 6-foot-8, Feenstra is one of the two tallest players in the league.

"Everywhere I go, people ask if I play basketball," she said.

Sometimes they've asked if she plays for Georgia Tech or Georgia State, she said. Or sometimes, like a few days ago when she walked into a FedEx store, people have told her they're going to the Dream home opener.

And for the few who hadn't heard of the Dream?

"I can tell them about the team and where we play, get the word out," she said. "But most people know."

While the community is getting to know the team, players are getting to know each other.

This roster of 13 was put together with seven players from the expansion draft, two from this year's college draft, three by trades, and one through free agency.

The Dream added a player as recently as this week. Erika Desouza, a 6-5 post player, joined the team from her native Brazil.

They've been practicing together for only a month. It showed in an 0-2 preseason and a 100-67 season-opening loss Saturday at Connecticut. But that couldn't dampen spirits around the practice gym Thursday.

"We have all the things necessary to comprise a good basketball team," said forward Jennifer Lacy, who played last year for the WNBA champion Phoenix Mercury. "I think it's just a matter of time really for us, putting things together."

The Dream are hoping to feed off some of the enthusiasm built up by the Hawks' playoff series against the Celtics. They went straight to the source. Lacy said several Hawks bought season tickets, including Marvin Williams, who played at North Carolina like Dream players Ivory Latta and Camille Little.

"The city has really rallied behind us, and I think it's amazing," Lacy said.