OT: Caitlin Clark

[Canedude08]

She's a unique media draw, there's multiple reasons why. If it were solely about playing ability, Paige Bueckers would be able to get similar numbers on her own, but she doesn't and never will. Sometimes, a perfect storm comes along and Clark is it. The question is whether those fans will follow her to the WNBA and honestly, I don't think they will. Women's college basketball has the potential to become THE women's team sport.

 

[Hoyacane1620]

She's a unique media draw, there's multiple reasons why. If it were solely about playing ability, Paige Bueckers would be able to get similar numbers on her own, but she doesn't and never will. Sometimes, a perfect storm comes along and Clark is it. The question is whether those fans will follow her to the WNBA and honestly, I don't think they will. Women's college basketball has the potential to become THE women's team sport.

Indiana's ticket sales have already exploded. They've moved at least one of the scheduled games to a bigger venue.

 

[Zombie-Cane]

She's a unique media draw, there's multiple reasons why. If it were solely about playing ability, Paige Bueckers would be able to get similar numbers on her own, but she doesn't and never will. Sometimes, a perfect storm comes along and Clark is it. The question is whether those fans will follow her to the WNBA and honestly, I don't think they will. Women's college basketball has the potential to become THE women's team sport.

The WNBA still exists?!?! Wow!!!

 

[gordonsolie]

She's a unique media draw, there's multiple reasons why. If it were solely about playing ability, Paige Bueckers would be able to get similar numbers on her own, but she doesn't and never will. Sometimes, a perfect storm comes along and Clark is it. The question is whether those fans will follow her to the WNBA and honestly, I don't think they will. Women's college basketball has the potential to become THE women's team sport.

Caitlin Clark To Retire From Spotlight And Enter WNBA​

Apr 8, 2024
BabylonBee.com

CLEVELAND, OH — Following a heartbreaking loss that capped what had been a storybook run in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, Iowa standout Caitlin Clark announced her plan to retire from the spotlight and fade into obscurity with the WNBA.

With her popularity at an all-time high and fans across the country hailing her as being among the greatest players of all time, Clark said she had spent enough time in the public eye and was looking forward to moving on to the next chapter of her life in the quiet anonymity of a WNBA career.

"It's time for me to drop out of sight," Clark said at a press conference following Iowa's loss to South Carolina. "I've truly enjoyed my time playing competitive basketball and being out there in front of arenas filled with fans, but it's time to turn the page and move on to the peace and quiet of playing in the WNBA."

Though her fans were grateful for all the amazing memories Clark had given them, they were saddened by the thought that the start of her WNBA career meant they would never see her again. "It's tough to see her just disappear," one fan said. "We've really enjoyed watching her play, but she's earned the right to choose her next path. Apparently, it's something called a ‘WNBA' or something, whatever that is."

At publishing time, the WNBA had assured Clark that she could live the rest of her professional life undisturbed and unbothered by any media or fans.

 

[Canedude08]

Caitlin Clark To Retire From Spotlight And Enter WNBA​

Apr 8, 2024
BabylonBee.com

CLEVELAND, OH — Following a heartbreaking loss that capped what had been a storybook run in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, Iowa standout Caitlin Clark announced her plan to retire from the spotlight and fade into obscurity with the WNBA.

With her popularity at an all-time high and fans across the country hailing her as being among the greatest players of all time, Clark said she had spent enough time in the public eye and was looking forward to moving on to the next chapter of her life in the quiet anonymity of a WNBA career.

"It's time for me to drop out of sight," Clark said at a press conference following Iowa's loss to South Carolina. "I've truly enjoyed my time playing competitive basketball and being out there in front of arenas filled with fans, but it's time to turn the page and move on to the peace and quiet of playing in the WNBA."

Though her fans were grateful for all the amazing memories Clark had given them, they were saddened by the thought that the start of her WNBA career meant they would never see her again. "It's tough to see her just disappear," one fan said. "We've really enjoyed watching her play, but she's earned the right to choose her next path. Apparently, it's something called a ‘WNBA' or something, whatever that is."

At publishing time, the WNBA had assured Clark that she could live the rest of her professional life undisturbed and unbothered by any media or fans.

Mr. Solie, you are too much sometimes! The sad part is that if people actually bothered to pay attention to the WNBA, they would learn that the basketball played there is much closer to the basketball most of us grew up with, compared to the modern NBA, where it's a bunch of people randomly jacking up threes, and avoiding defense for 95% of the game. The difference in styles between teams makes for some compelling television. The issue is that the physical limitations of women will always keep a lot of casual fans away. I'm a basketball junkie, so I enjoy it, but I can see why someone who isn't all about basketball wouldn't want to watch it.

 

[Zombie-Cane]

Mr. Solie, you are too much sometimes! The sad part is that if people actually bothered to pay attention to the WNBA, they would learn that the basketball played there is much closer to the basketball most of us grew up with, compared to the modern NBA, where it's a bunch of people randomly jacking up threes, and avoiding defense for 95% of the game. The difference in styles between teams makes for some compelling television. The issue is that the physical limitations of women will always keep a lot of casual fans away. I'm a basketball junkie, so I enjoy it, but I can see why someone who isn't all about basketball wouldn't want to watch it.

I cannot even watch the NBA, like you said, 3's from all over, no one plays D, and traveling now is not called until 4-5 steps have been taken. It is pathetic.

 

[Canedude08]

I cannot even watch the NBA, like you said, 3's from all over, no one plays D, and traveling now is not called until 4-5 steps have been taken. It is pathetic.

The issue is that no one has the guts to play a different style, or find new inefficiencies to exploit. It's almost like everyone took what analytics said and ran with it, no one bothered to ask "What if we did something different?" It reminds me of what Dee Snyder said about Hair Metal "Eventually, the record industry started signing every single band in LA with a cute bassist and crazy hair and it became pablum. You couldn't tell the difference between bands and as a result, fans stopped caring"

The NBA has become boring, because every team looks identical to each other. I grew up in the 90s, we had a variety of teams and styles to choose from. You had the physicality of the Knicks, the chaos of the Run TMC Warriors, the quiet efficiency of the Bulls, and the pure excitement of the Shaq/Penny Magic. Today, it all looks the same, and that makes it tougher for people to identify with a team. In an era where there was a team for every personality type, people had passion because the teams reflected their preferences.

I'm a native Dallasite, so I'm a Mavs guy. If you were to take the Mavs, and have them swap uniforms with the Nuggets, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference, especially if Jokic and Luka aren't playing. They do **** near the same exact crap, the same exact way. That goes for all of the teams, with few exceptions.

 

[BoxingRobes]

Male professional athletics are just further along in the development continuum/spectrum...baseball started to pop in the 1920s, pro football the late 60s, pro basketball the 80s (global by the 90s).

Caitlyn Clark and this batch of women's basketball players (your Clark, JuJu, chick from Tennessee whose name escapes me, Paige Bueckers, Cam Brink (smokeshow), Cardoso, Amoore, Morrow, Reese, et al)...studs to some degree. The level of player in today's game is just better than those of the past...at this point maybe Lisa Leslie is just George Mikan and Caitlin Clark really is Pistol Pete (came along 25 years later). idk. Will be fun to watch. Or maybe Caitlin Clark is Larry Bird and we're really in for a fun decade of women's hoops. Or maybe she stinks and its just an anomaly of interest for the Americans.

 

[Hoyacane1620]