Article: “For the first time ever, the nation’s most famous college athlete just might be a woman”

[Mountain Man Hawk]

This is a fun article. From a self-described men’s basketball snob that didn’t care for women’s basketball and felt like the women’s game just wasn’t fun to watch, the level of talent was just too low, etc. (I’m sure a lot of people can relate, I know I can).

But now there is someone that is just FUN to watch. I’m obviously super biased because she plays for Iowa but I agree with everything in the article. It’s the first time I’ve seen a women’s player that somewhat routinely has those “Wow - did you see that?!?” plays that we are accustomed to seeing in the men’s game but had been lacking in the women’s game.

For the first time ever, the nation’s most famous college athlete just might be a woman | Jones

Caitlin Clark has changed my mind about women's basketball. She has proven me wrong. And she’s made me a fan. I never would’ve thought it possible back around the turn of the century.

www.pennlive.com

 

[UpstreamHawkeye]

Hmm, he even thinks Clark is good on defense. That's more than a lot of us Iowa fans.

 

[BioHawk]

I think her defense gets overshadowed by her offensive skills so people say it is worse than it actually is.

 

[BioHawk]

That was a good article. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Packer54]

Thanks MMH!

Hmm, he even thinks Clark is good on defense. That's more than a lot of us Iowa fans.

Her defense has not been too bad at all. What she won't do is pick up a silly foul on a break away or wide open shot. She is smart...she knows she needs to be on the court but she is playing pretty good defense.

 

[creslin_hawk]

I think her defense gets overshadowed by her offensive skills so people say it is worse than it actually is.

I think if she had a coach that focused on defense, and didnt have to expend as much offensive energy, her defense would improve dramatically. As it is, energy conservation plus cant afford foul trouble really limits her defense.

 

[creslin_hawk]

Did anyone else notice the glowing reviews coming out of Rutgers? The press and even the Rutgers Rant podcast seemed to get caught up in the Caitlin Clark show, rather than the typical rivalry type stuff. On the podcast they basically said it was a Taylor swift type crowd. They talked about the victory lap, the mob of fans, and the when one of them got in his car to go home an hour after the game there were about 100 people surrounding the Iowa bus hoping to see Caitlin.

 

[HawkMachine]

didn’t care for women’s basketball and felt like the women’s game just wasn’t fun to watch, the level of talent was just too low, etc. (I’m sure a lot of people can relate, I know I can).

I don't think I've ever watched a women's game until CC.

There's probably a million other people, men and women that would say the same.

You could probably rank her up there with what Tiger did to golf.

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

I don't think I've ever watched a women's game until CC.

There's probably a million other people, men and women that would say the same.

You could probably rank her up there with what Tiger did to golf.

Agreed, who knows if it will last but she has created a lot of new fans. It’s just obviously starting at a very low base because women’s basketball just wasn’t that popular. For instance they had record viewership for the national championship game last year, but it was still less than half what the men had and still far below other major sporting events like the Masters, or even the least watched NFL game of the season, etc.

And as much as I enjoy watching her now, I probably wouldn’t watch regularly in the WNBA. But if I watch any WNBA games at all, that will be one more than I’ve ever watched up to this point 😜

 

[HawkMachine]

And as much as I enjoy watching her now, I probably wouldn’t watch regularly in the WNBA. But if I watch any WNBA games at all, that will be one more than I’ve ever watched up to this point 😜

I'll guess that viewers drop like flies. I'd bet a good amount of money on it.

Most won't follow her to the WNBA and most will stop watching college games.

It's too bad but it's the truth.

 

[goodbyebobby]

I don't think I've ever watched a women's game until CC.

There's probably a million other people, men and women that would say the same.

You could probably rank her up there with what Tiger did to golf.

Lol, let's not go THAT far.

She's an Iowan, great, and fun to watch but no.

 

[hawkeye54545]

I'll guess that viewers drop like flies. I'd bet a good amount of money on it.

Most won't follow her to the WNBA and most will stop watching college games.

It's too bad but it's the truth.

I don't know the answer but curious how other games are doing in viewership that CC isn't a part of.

If there's no bump I'd say that leads credence to your theory.

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

Lol, let's not go THAT far.

She's an Iowan, great, and fun to watch but no.

Obviously women’s basketball is far less popular than golf but maybe each athlete had a similar impact on their sport. For instance maybe Tiger increased golf popularity by 20% and Caitlin increased WBB popularity by 20%.

But yeah, Tiger had massive visibility on a global scale and Caitlin’s State Farm commercials are great but it’s just on a whole different scale.

 

[tigerhawk2015]

Lol, let's not go THAT far.

She's an Iowan, great, and fun to watch but no.

She’s single handedly selling out stadiums in New Jersey against a bad Rutgers team, I’d say that is unprecedented just as a lot of things Tiger did. I don’t think she’ll have the long term impact on her sport as Tiger has but to make it sound as if only Iowans are enamored with her couldn’t be further from the truth.

 

[kceasthawk]

I'll guess that viewers drop like flies. I'd bet a good amount of money on it.

Most won't follow her to the WNBA and most will stop watching college games.

It's too bad but it's the truth.

Consider how many are young girls who are just getting into the game. You might be surprised...

 

[goodbyebobby]

I'll guess that viewers drop like flies. I'd bet a good amount of money on it.

Most won't follow her to the WNBA and most will stop watching college games.

It's too bad but it's the truth.

Exactly.

She isn't going to be selling out arenas on weeknights during their season, in the middle of summer.

Iowa attendance will still be good but not like now.

 

[Mountain Man Hawk]

Consider how many are young girls who are just getting into the game. You might be surprised...

Yeah, the people that post on this board (overwhelmingly middle-aged men I assume) probably aren’t the target audience for the WNBA anyway.

Just like I bet most on this board don’t spend a lot of time listening to Taylor Swift but she somehow still manages to sell records 😂

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

I think her defense gets overshadowed by her offensive skills so people say it is worse than it actually is.

She isn't Jimmer Fredette like people make her out to be.

She absolutely knows how to play that side of the ball. The thing is her value is exponentially greater on the offensive end, so she isn't looking to pick up cheap fouls trying to be lock down on defense.

 

[Fan In Black]

wow!! way to go Iowa women basketball!!! I didn't know they had such a good player.

 

[not_mantiteo]

She isn't Jimmer Fredette like people make her out to be.

She absolutely knows how to play that side of the ball. The thing is her value is exponentially greater on the offensive end, so she isn't looking to pick up cheap fouls trying to be lock down on defense.

I think that’s the nuance that casual critics aren’t paying attention to. Our whole team depends on CC not being in foul trouble to succeed. We all saw what happened in the LSU game…

 

[BubsFinn]

I don't know the answer but curious how other games are doing in viewership that CC isn't a part of.

If there's no bump I'd say that leads credence to your theory.

I looked up ticket prices on SeatGeek for the Rutgers game. Prices were around $140 each. For every other Rutgers women’s game they were under $30.

 

[creslin_hawk]

 

[creslin_hawk]

I like clark, but dont really want to pay $15 per month to watch? I think too many games behind the paywall is going to be one of the problems. I already pay for BTN+, peacock, live tv with sports package...

 

[onionman1]

Lol, let's not go THAT far.

She's an Iowan, great, and fun to watch but no.

Comparatively speaking, she's done just as much for her sport. She's put it on the map in a way that hadn't ever been done before.

 

[kceasthawk]

Lol, let's not go THAT far.

She's an Iowan, great, and fun to watch but no.

Just for conversation name the last athlete, (especially ANY woman ever) who is a topic on pretty much EVERY sports show on every channel almost every night, and the day after almost every night she plays. What she is doing is unprecedented. I think your vastly underselling the impact she is having right now, and it has NOTHING to do with her being at Iowa or in college. She has become a brand unlike almost any seen before with the exception of the single name icons. Michael, Tiger, "the Great One" if you will....

 

[goodbyebobby]

Just for conversation name the last athlete, (especially ANY woman ever) who is a topic on pretty much EVERY sports show on every channel almost every night, and the day after almost every night she plays. What she is doing is unprecedented. I think your vastly underselling the impact she is having right now, and it has NOTHING to do with her being at Iowa or in college. She has become a brand unlike almost any seen before with the exception of the single name icons. Michael, Tiger, "the Great One" if you will....

Once she is a pro this will dissipate.

She will not be selling out arenas in the summer on a random Tuesday night because people DGAF about women's pro hoops and she isn't changing that alone, period.

In 20 years when there are a lot more Caitlins we can readdress

 

[BioHawk]

Once she is a pro this will dissipate.

She will not be selling out arenas in the summer on a random Tuesday night because people DGAF about women's pro hoops and she isn't changing that alone, period.

In 20 years when there are a lot more Caitlins we can readdress

If she does in the NBA on a nightly basis what she is doing right now, she will sell out arenas in the NBA. Especially since its hard to find them on TV. Literally every game she plays in now she does multiple things that are jaw dropping amazing. It's not that she puts up numbers, but she does it with flash! Only the greatest athletes do what she does and do it consistently.

 

[goodbyebobby]

If she does in the NBA on a nightly basis what she is doing right now, she will sell out arenas in the NBA. Especially since its hard to find them on TV. Literally every game she plays in now she does multiple things that are jaw dropping amazing. It's not that she puts up numbers, but she does it with flash! Only the greatest athletes do what she does and do it consistently.

No one watches them now and one player won't change a thing. Sorry.

 

[BioHawk]

No one watches them now and one player won't change a thing. Sorry.

Well Clark doesn't play in the NBA right now. Duh.

And nobody watched the men's NBA until Magic showed up.

 

[stillh8unlv]

Good article, one small quibble - he brought up the men's/women's double header in December and how attendance jumped for the women's game....he said "Carver Hawkeye arena filled up"...that double header was at Wells Fargo

 

[MilleGinja]

No one watches them now and one player won't change a thing. Sorry.

Do you enjoy being a downer?

 

[goodbyebobby]

Well Clark doesn't play in the NBA right now. Duh.

And nobody watched the men's NBA until Magic showed up.

Let me know when she is in the NBA.

 

[goodbyebobby]

Do you enjoy being a downer?

It's unfortunate you consider reality to be a downer

 

[BioHawk]

Let me know when she is in the NBA.

You are oddly aggressive in pushing back against the idea that people might continue to watch her in the NBA. Is everything alright?

 

[Hawksbyamillion]

It’s hard to say what will happen. As someone who has never watched a WNBA game, I look forward to watching Clark at the next level and becoming a fan of whichever team she lands on.

 

[goodbyebobby]

You are oddly aggressive in pushing back against the idea that people might continue to watch her in the NBA. Is everything alright?

Couldn't be better, and she won't ever be in the NBA 😉
People will watch her but you're all fooling yourselves if you think she'll sell out arenas in the middle of summer.

Again, once there are 20 Caitlins their league may grow. Today they're no different than soccer in terms of people giving a crap.

 

[MilleGinja]

It's unfortunate you consider reality to be a downer

It’s not reality if it hasn’t happened. It’s pure speculation

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

Thanks MMH!

Her defense has not been too bad at all. What she won't do is pick up a silly foul on a break away or wide open shot. She is smart...she knows she needs to be on the court but she is playing pretty good defense.

This. There are plays she gives up on which might form some peoples perception but she CAN NOT get in foul trouble for the Hawks. Simply too valuable to be sitting on the bench (obviously)

With that in mind she does just fine on D.

 

[Ree4]

It’s hard to say what will happen. As someone who has never watched a WNBA game, I look forward to watching Clark at the next level and becoming a fan of whichever team she lands on.

I'll be watching as well, as often as I can. My man has no idea what he's talking about, talking out his ass.

 

[Packer54]

..

Well Clark doesn't play in the NBA right now. Duh.

And nobody watched the men's NBA until Magic showed up.

.and Bird