Caitlin Clark

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Amazing graphic to see to get a sense of how popular Clark is. Don't think it's a one year thing, but curious to see what the ratings are next year for women's college basketball.
 
Marillac2 said:
The attention in general. I can't stand her. She's a good player on the court, but the mania extends well beyond that. I just don't get it.
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Yeah some of the nonsense around it is way too much. But I think “good” is a crazy downplay. I’m not a big woman’s basketball fan, but she’s far and away better than any other female player IVE ever seen IMO.
 
Marillac2 said:
The attention in general. I can't stand her. She's a good player on the court, but the mania extends well beyond that. I just don't get it.
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Are you joking?

She is a great player, highly marketable, and a great ambassador of the sport.

I've attached a long screenshot of her accolades. Much like Larry Bird, she has taken a losing Indiana team and made them very good. She has been cheap shotted, flagrantly fouled, and shoved by players and female opponents (I won't call them ladies) snickered and high fived the perpetrator.

She is singlehandedly building a fan base across the country that was formerly largely an LBGTQ demographic.

Star players in the league are extremely jealous of her because of the attention she gets. Mych like Jackie Robinson in this regard, she takes the cheap shots to a large extent without whining. Indiana should put an enforcer on the roster the way hockey teams do, just to protect her.


The thing is, she is going to make everyone more money by the attention she brings to the league.

Oh, yea. She's the all time leading scorer in NCAA D1 history. She's not one dimensionsl as a player. Off the she is a great brand ambassador who resonates with key puchasing demographics.


Crazy to not understand all this. If just a few of her opponents stood up for her, their star would surely rise. Like Bird tho, she doesn't need them to, and handles it all just fine. Her bashers look as stupid as Isaiah Thomas did when he bashed Bird.
 

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dk423 said:
Clark's skillset stands out compared to anyone on the floor. WNBA games get crowded in the paint and are ugly. From a play style perspective, she opens it up like Steph Curry. No one else in the league can do that.
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Wish there were the same nationwide uproar among both fans and media about all the calls Curry doesn't get.
 
Marillac2 said:
Kelsey Plum just set the scoring record a few years and there wasn’t a peep.
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I did not say she was the best player ever. I'm not aware that she is gay because she does have a long term boyfriend. But you may be plugged in to that community more than me.
That Kelsey Plum is relatively unknown underscores the value of Caitlin Clark to the league. How much more attention did Mickey Mantle get in his prime years than Hank Aaron? Willie Mays also. The interest margin wasn't commensurate to the talent gap. Same here.

Before the Knicks lit upnthe nba, the final game was previously televised on saturday afternoon on abc wide world of sports days after the game was played. You cpuld argue the same thing - that the Knicks werent as good as those prior celt teams but they increased nba coverage for everyone.
 
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I am not a fan of her on court behavior. Talks a lot of trash, showboats, makes faces Bobby Hurley never dreamed of. She has great floor vision and hits shots from the logo at center court. Habitually.

She’s been dating Butler assistant coach Connor McCaffery for 2 years. Was at the Butler game here.

Don’t know anything about Kelsey Plum, but she probably wasn’t hitting shots from the logo.

I am all for physical play, but she’s the face of the league. The WNBA powers that be would be out of their minds to not issue an edict to lighten up on the physicality. Opposing players might not like losing to her on the court, but she’ll help them win at the bank.

There are rumors that the WNBA might strike before the 2026 season. They are millions of dollars in the red over the years. The players are pointing to the Unrivaled league as proof of their popularity. That league “almost” broke even, whatever that means. A strike might end the WNBA, they need to realize that Clark’s star power and potential for future gains in fan base (aka $) is the only bargaining chip they have.
 
Beasts of the East said:
It would be nice if that was all there is to it.

I've been a fan of woman's basketball since my daughters could play a little and competed at the high school level and in top AAU programs in the metro area. In AAU we played from New Hampshire to Virginia, to western PA.

I agree that women basically are fundamentally sound within their physical limitations. At the high school level, you teach kids a play, they run that play, even to the point of ignoring a wide open teammate.

When we played inner city kids, the game was much different. For the most part the girls were bigger, faster, stronger. Many, if not most or all, grew up playing in schoolyards against boys, and to be allowed to play had to play a tougher game.

So, yes, the WNBA is a tough, physical league. I agree with all your points EXCEPT that Clark IS by all means a target. Cheap shots, fists, high elbows above the neck, shoves.

Many players have reacted to Clark the way one or two posters here have, namely WTF is she to get all the press, all the attention, all that sponsor money? And there have been celebrations, smirks, and laughter when she is targeted.

For her part, Clark is no shrinking violet. She talks trash, takes the hits, and hasn't cried about it. If the WNBA is smart, they will see to it that she is moved to a major market which can only help the entire league.

Like a lot of legal defenses, you are omitting damning evidence. In court you need only to create reasonable doubt. However, to say she isn't being singled out just doesn't pass the eye test.
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Clark is the real deal, as a player/competitor/athlete. I also think most of the targeting stuff is within the realm of competition and nothing more, although I do agree with lawfan that the league has gone too physical in general and is missing that finesseness that made it a more enjoyable watch ten years ago — not that I can say I watch a ton of games; but there is a discernible difference imo.

I do think it’s a shame that the Clark dialogue has been focused on other stuff and not her as a transcendent talent. It’s a massive whiff for the league, and made her presence in the league a lot less enjoyable than it should’ve been.
 
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