#14 Indiana hosts #3 Iowa Feb. 22 in a game that’s already sold out. IU’s media department reported that half of Assembly Hall’s 17K seating went to Indianans who want to see what the WNBA Indiana Fever are getting with #1 draft pick Caitlin Clark.
Which strikes me as odd. IU is telling us that 8000 people are scouting Caitlin Clark before they buy Fever tickets?
The Fever are a last-place team with the lowest attendance in the league, around 4000 per game. Say half those 8000 people buy season tickets, doubling Fever attendance to 8000 — they’re still behind the league champion Aces, who average 9200.
I don’t give that a snowball’s chance. If you’re considering Fever tickets, you already know what Caitlin Clark does at the college level. If they don’t know, there’s nothing #22 can do in one game to persuade the uninitated to come out for the Fever, especially since it’s possible Clark will stay in Iowa for another year.
The best case is that Clark stays at Iowa for another year, then announces she won’t play in the WNBA in 2025 unless it’s for the new expansion team in San Francisco.
Seriously, that’s what’s best for everybody, and it makes perfect sense. Who was San Francisco’s best player in the late ’70s? #22 Jack Clark. Who was San Francisco’s best player in the late ’80s? #22 Will Clark. Who shall be WNBA San Francisco’s best player in the late ’20s? #22 Caitlin Clark.