Moving from the NCAA to the WNBA, Caitlin Clark takes her talents and her “hype” with her to the next level. Even if she was not a university champion again this year, the best scorer in NCAA history is a media and sporting phenomenon.
Obviously, with the WNBA Draft looming on Monday evening, all eyes are on the Indiana Fever. This is the team that has the first choice and barring an improbable turnaround, it is the former Iowa star who will be called first. In fact, the Fever are in the same position as the Spurs last year with Victor Wembanyama.
Clearly, Caitlin Clark will wear the Fever jersey this summer and fans already want tickets to the matches. The franchise has not made specific comments on this craze, but it is real, with pre-sales gone very quickly and prices increasing. It's hard to imagine the Fever finishing with last season's numbers: 4,067 average fans at home, penultimate in the WNBA…
Even the haters want to see Caitlin Clark
This is obviously reminiscent of what the Spurs experienced last year, when they learned that they would have the first choice in the Draft, therefore Victor Wembanyama. Year-round subscriptions were snapped up and the franchise was forced to put more on sale.
This craze does not only concern Fever fans. The proof: the Las Vegas Aces decided to play their match against Indiana in the T-Mobile Arena, rather than in the Michelob ULTRA Arena, in order to have more spectators.
“The demand for this July 2 game against Indiana was particularly high, so we made the decision to move the game to T-Mobile Arena”, summarizes the spokesperson of the franchise, John Maxwell.
Finally, the WNBA has already announced that 36 of the Fever's 40 matches will be broadcast on a national network or in streaming, including eight matches on ABC or ESPN.
