I Love Watching Caitlin Clark ‘s Incredible Impact On Women’s Basketball
( Helps to soften the grudge I still hold over how disrespectfully my women’s basketball team was treated decades ago)
Unless you have been hiding under a rock this year, or have no interest in sports, you have most likely heard of Iowa womens’ basketball sensation Caitlin Clark. This year Clark has regularly sold out arenas, been followed by fans spending thousands of dollars to travel to see her play all over the country, and driven record broadcast viewership. She is cleary the biggest story in sports right now.
The average ticket price hovered around $500 for the home game she recently played in which she became the all time leading scorer in major college basketball, breaking Pete Maravich’s scoring record.
There have been other talented women college basketball players over the years, however Caitlin has captivated fans with her “insane” three point shooting range and her high basketball IQ, and court awareness.
When she is not shooting well ( which is not very often), she dazzles crowds with her pinpoint no look passess to teammates. She is by no means a prima donna and often credits her coaches, parents, and teammates with her success.
She recently declared she will enter the WNBA draft and will be the #1 draft choice of the Indiana Fever. Ticket prices have skyrocketed there since her announcement as have the ticket prices at the opposing arenas the Fever will play this year.
Her success has been a joy to watch and has softened the grudge I still hold over how the women’s basketball team was treated when I played over 40 years ago for a private school in Wisconsin.
The men’s team had achieved success over the years and were treated like kings, flying first class wherever they went, and had first pick over practice times at the gym our team shared with them. They also were treated to expensive lavish meals after their games.
Our practices were often held early in the morning so the men’s team could practice after classes. I recall there were days I walked into early morning classes smelling of sweat because I did not have time to shower.
Our head coach had to drive our team to all out of state games in a large van that could barely accomodate the fifteen or so members of our team, and many of our away game day meals were spent at fast food restaurants.
We played all of our home games right before the men’s team and had a handful of people in the stands. Our crowds would have been slightly larger if the university had not demanded that anyone who attended our games, also have a ticket to the men’s game, which were hard tickets to get.
My family and friends did not give a damn about watching the men play, but just wanted to see me play ( or sit on the bench for that matter my first year).
I recall one day 20 or so of my college dorm friends wanted to come see me play but could not get into the game since they did not have student passes to the men’s game. Their support would have given our team a boost.
The icing on the cake occurred at the end of the year sports banquet the mens and womens basketball team held together when the men were served steak and we were served a chicken dish. Like they didn’t have an extra $500 or so lying around to serve us the same meal?
By the end of my sophomore year, I was a starter on the team, but I decided to transfer to a different university where I didn’t play basketball and could be a regular college student and focus on my classes. I also had lost my love for the game.
Granted we were not bringing revenue in for the university but shame on them for not trying harder to make the women’s team feel more respected.
The next iteration of the “Caitlin Clark effect” will likely emerge over the coming days, weeks, and months, and I look forward to watching how she continues to be a role model for little girls and boys who want to be like her, and helps to gain more respect for women’s basketball.
I am also hopeful that all this extra revenue she is bringing in will be spent on women’s sports so they can enjoy the same privileges as the men’s teams.
