Caitlin Clark Is Popular, Not Polarizing!
Caitlin Clark isn’t polarizing, she’s popular. You could believe online trolls and carnival barkers or you could live in reality. The former is filling up comment sections for engagement, while the latter is filled up stadiums.
The reason it is easy to get lost in the noise is because of the magnitude of Clark’s fame. So when a clear flagrant but fairly routine basketball foul from Angel Reese gets boosted by opportunists, all the sudden it is all one might see…especially if you are in front of a screen, whether that be X or CNN. But that is because of the attention Clark generates, which unfortunately gets spun by some into hate.
However, any tangible metric would point to the Indiana Fever star being beloved across the board. 18 million people watched the women’s national championship game, giving it four million more viewers than the men had. The WNBA Draft had higher ratings than the last six combined. Sellouts in the W are up 156% and the Fever have accounted for 1/3 of total attendance, with several games being moved into larger arenas to accommodate demand. Television ratings have almost tripled as well. What about any of this data would point to fans considering Clark anything else other than a basketball attraction?
Six networks have set records for their most-watched WNBA games ever this season.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) June 18, 2024
Every single one has featured Caitlin Clark.
CBS: Sky-Fever, 2.25M
ESPN2: Fever-Sun, 2.1M
ABC: Fever-Liberty, 1.7M
ESPN: Sun-Fever, 1.56M
Ion: Fever-Mystics, 1.02M
NBA TV: Fever-Liberty, 430K… pic.twitter.com/pudvXT3tc7
CC’s dynamic play garnered attention at Iowa well before she was used to further any culture wars. And common sense would indicate she has support across the spectrum regardless of race, gender, sexuality or any of the other factors so many seem desperate to cite as the reason for the coverage around her.
Caitlin Clark buries the step back trey 🏹 pic.twitter.com/ExbaPC4jyF
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) June 16, 2024
Because if one were in the crowd to watch one of her games, the conversation is a lot different than the one seen online. The internet is not real life. And the reality is that Clark is a generational talent on the court, who is incredibly popular as a result.
She is much more Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods when it comes to bringing attention to the sport than she is anything others are doing their best to make you believe.
Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his burgeoning YouTube show. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak on SI!