What Caitlin Clark leaves behind is so much more than basketball
Caitlin Clark is a once-in-a-lifetime basketball player, but the effect she leaves behind her is so much more than just that.
Iowa City was the home of college basketball’s brightest star. You couldn’t find an empty seat in the house or a kid watching without big dreams.
“This is what’s so fun and so special. This is what we’ve built here and these are the moments you dream of,” Clark said. “It kind of feels like you’re living in a bit of delusion because this is just so awesome.”
After the Hawkeyes’ national championship run, the entire season sold out. Away from Carver-Hawkeye Arena, fans lined up for hours on end to see them play on opposing courts.
But this season didn’t even start in a basketball arena. Back in October, the Hawkeyes capitalized on Caitlin’s stardom to break the attendance record for a women’s college basketball game, filling up Kinnick Stadium with 55,000 people.
No matter where the stage is, before Clark exits a lucky fan gets a signed pair of shoes like 9-year-old Franny McGuire.
“My mom got them for me and I thought that they were good — and then I noticed Caitlin Clark was wearing one like that,” said Franny. “She’s a really good basketball player and I can look up to her and try and play like her.”
Some fans have even used Clark’s greatness as a beacon of hope in the fight against cancer.
“Treatment is hard, but I can get through it,” Penelope Pearson said. “I like to think how strong Caitlin Clark is and how hard she works to be that good at basketball.”
And all these fans saw a show. Clark broke every NCAA scoring record under the sun. Even Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder can’t help but stand in admiration of this young woman that’s changing the game.
“I couldn’t imagine this — there’s no way,” Bluder said. “There’s just no way you can even fathom this as a little kid when I did pre-title nine. It’s unimaginable.”
Making the unimaginable a reality.
Caitlin Clark mania has only just begun, taking women’s basketball to a place it’s never been before. Just imagine what she can do next.
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