RIDING THE WAVE THAT IS CAITLIN CLARK

My family’s experience – and gratitude – for an all-time great.

On a cold evening in January, we piled out of the car after a two-hour drive and started walking toward Carver Hawkeye Arena. My 10-year-old son had a quick pace and was rushing to get in line at the door – he was excited.

He was about to watch Caitlin Clark.

My mom, sister, son, and I were all wearing our new Hawkeye gear. We’re lifelong Hawkeye fans (except for my sister who married into a Cyclone family and the rest was history), but I had bundled the tickets and apparel as a Christmas gift to make it all feel special. Despite being an entire hour early for the game, we were far from first in line. I guess you could say that most Iowans shared our enthusiasm to watch this charismatic and talented team.

While my sister and I don’t always root for the same collegiate teams today – we did when we were kids. And it wasn’t for Iowa.

You see, in the early 2000s you were lucky to catch a few televised women’s basketball games each season. Selected airings typically showcased heavyweights like UCONN, Tennessee, Duke, or Notre Dame. Because of this, young girls like us began cheering for players like Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, Swin Cash, Kara Lawson, Alana Beard, Ruth Riley or Alicia Ratay. It’s the same reason why my Wisconsin-born dad roots for the Green Bay Packers. It was accessible and visible. Sure, we’d occasionally see the Iowa Hawkeyes during a televised NCAA tournament game, but by that point they were facing off against the teams and players we’d grown to know and love. You know how that storyline ends.

We had talked about leaving the game early to get ahead of the sold-out traffic, but as the fourth quarter began to unfold, we realized we were in it for the long haul. The Hawkeyes were under-performing, and it was becoming a nail biter. As the final seconds ticked off the clock against Michigan State, I pulled out my phone just in case I’d be able to record some Caitlin Clark magic.

And oh, did I.

To me, the eruption of cheers and celebration was symbolic of the fact that women’s basketball was having its moment. A moment that, while deserved for decades, was finally realized thanks to Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Women’s Basketball team.

With a boost from streaming services, conference networks, social media, and NIL – Clark’s logo 3’s and undeniable scoring efficiencies demanded the country’s attention. The crescendo of falling NCAA records was loud and unignorable. What a time to be a fan. Cue the band!

And, of course, don’t forget to cue the haters.

As we’ve seen play out time and time again – the trolls and naysayers find their voices in the comment section of every social media post. From accusations of being a ball hog to intense critiques of her on-court behavior and trash talking – it never ended. But here’s the thing, we expect to see it there. Social media comment sections are where hate and criticism thrive.

But then, it spilled into the mainstream. Talk about whether someone can be a GOAT without a championship ring quickly evolved into whether a person can be a GOAT without multiple championship rings. Current and former WNBA stars and coaches weighed in on the legitimacy of Clark’s newly held records given the fact that the game isn’t exactly the way it was 30, 40 or 50 years ago.

“Pete Maravich didn’t have a 3-point line. It took her more games than Kelsey Plum. She didn’t have to shoot a men’s basketball.”

Some of the comments were simply untrue.

“We don’t have anyone who shoots 40 times a game on our team. Well, she’s a 24-year-old 6th-year senior.”

I’ve determined that people have an unrelenting desire to categorize everyone and everything. As a society and more specifically, as sports fans, we want to label and organize athletes into a hierarchical list of best to worst. It’s a fool’s errand to compare players from different generations and quite frankly, it’s a waste of time. Why can’t we just call it what it is?

Greatness.

Sold out arenas. Shattered television ratings. National buy-in and appreciation for women’s sports. Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Women’s Basketball team was a rising tide that raised all boats. Not only was my family arranging schedules to make sure we didn’t miss a Hawkeye game, this year we also watched and appreciated South Carolina, LSU, Stanford, Iowa State, Ohio State, Maryland and Indiana. If they were on – then we were watching. The parity of today’s game – which was non-existent in the days of Bird, Taurasi and Lawson – was visible to the nation thanks to the remarkable and electric performances by Caitlin Clark.

Simply put, we could not look away.

Then, right on cue, the shots kept coming. During the airing of the national championship game on April 7, Diana Taurasi said something about looking “superhuman playing against 18-year-olds.” This was confusing given that Diana Taurasi also played against 18-year-olds during her own college career.

I guess to me, it doesn’t matter if the world views Caitlin Clark as a GOAT. What her and her team gave our family and state over the past four years is way more valuable than any superficial label. Quite frankly, it was a dream.

The next day at school, my son told all his friends about the Michigan State game. He also thanked his math teacher, Mr. Krull, who had let us purchase his season tickets for the night. Believe it or not, talk of Caitlin Clark, Kate Martin, Gabby Marshall, and crew is commonplace with my son and his friends. Proof that Clark and her team transcended the game and in doing so, elevated the product that is women’s basketball.

“How was school?” I asked.

“Fine,” my son replied. I assume this is a common answer most mothers get from their sons. “I told everybody I was at the game and got to see the buzzer-beater. They said I’m lucky.”

My son’s friends are right. He is lucky that he was able to witness the phenomenon of Caitlin Clark.

We all are.