Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes inspire a new generation of fans
Picture the scene. It’s a cold winter’s Friday night in the great state of New Jersey. A rabid crowd is waiting in the 30-degree weather outside Jersey Mike’s Arena champing at the bit to be let in. It is a sellout.
Ticket scalpers line the way, searching for unfortunate souls who could not secure their spot in the arena. This is the biggest event you will find around, a true fever-pitch atmosphere.
Who is the superstar all of these folks have gathered to see perform, anxious to just get a glimpse of? Is Springsteen back in town? John Bon Jovi? Perhaps a Sopranos watch-through? No.
The star this time is not from Jersey. Everyone has gathered to see a 6-foot point guard from Des Moines, Iowa, beat their local team.
“I mean, the crowd was incredible,” Clark said to a jam-packed media room following the Hawkeyes’ 103-69 victory over Rutgers. “A lot of little girls, probably the most I’ve seen in a long time. At our place, we always have a lot, but we don’t get to come out to the East Coast much. So this is a fun spot for us to come and play. And yeah, just really special. The cheer I got when I ran off the floor, it was pretty awesome, you know? These are some moments that you’re just never going to forget? So cool for me, for sure.”
It was a special night for the sport of women’s basketball, honoring and celebrating the foundation, present, and future of this great sport. Legendary Hawkeyes and Scarlet Knights coach C. Vivian Stringer was honored prior to the game. Stringer is one of the trailblazers of collegiate women’s basketball, her 1,055 career victories rank as the fifth most in NCAA women’s basketball history.
“I’ve always considered C. Vivian, a friend, a mentor of mine. Used to work at camps when I was at Saint Ambrose,” commented Iowa head women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder following the game. “So, it’s very meaningful for me to be able to be here, to show our respects for her unbelievable contribution to women’s basketball at so many places.”
Clark also echoed those sentiments on Stringer’s importance to growing the game of women’s basketball, a torch that women such as Clark are running with.
The Hawkeyes have been at the forefront of the surging sport, led by their acclaimed point guard. Iowa and LSU basketball set a women’s basketball viewership record in the 2023 NCAA championship contest with 9.9 million. The sport was recently given a big jump in valuation through a recent NCAA media deal with ESPN.
“I definitely think it’s a testament to what Caitlin has brought to the game,” Rutgers head coach Coquese Washington said of the new TV deal after the game. “But, I think it is also reflective of a long-term growth of this game. … We as coaches have been saying this game has monetary value for years, and so that didn’t just pop up after one good Final Four. That’s been here for a while. But, it is about the media. The media, recognizing the value and of women’s sports in general, women’s basketball in particular. There are a lot of women who are a draw.”
You can watch coach Washington’s entire comments here. I’d highly recommend it. She was pretty fantastic on the stand.
Long-term growth of the game, one recent Friday night in Piscataway showed exactly that. Coach Stringer is a woman who inspired so many after her, like Washington, to become players and coaches.
The present generation of women, such as Catilin Clark, are doing just that, inspiring another generation of little girls all over the country to chase their dreams and become the next big stars of their sport.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Jacob on X: @Jacobkeppen
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Hawkeyes Wire operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
