Last weekend's Saturday Night Live opened with a parody of sports broadcasts.Kenan Thompson, who plays Charles Barkley, was asked what he thought about the men's NCAA the night before. [National Collegiate Athletic Association] semifinal.
“Can I have a real relationship with you?” Thompson said. “I didn't see it.”
Pundit Kenny Smith (Devon Walker): “I'm on both sides. You know, it's hard to get excited when there are better games going on.”
Host Ernie Johnson (James Austin Johnson): “You mean the NBA?”
Smith: “No, it's a women's tournament.”
The studio audience cheers and cheers.
Like much of America, SNL has generally taken potshots at the level of women's basketball, but its current upward trend has made men the punchline. It's also telling that the women's college tournament has become so mainstream that a sketch appears at the beginning of each TV episode. A lot of that is thanks to Caitlin Clark.
“The older Uber driver was talking about the women's tournament finals yesterday,” says Christina Williams, an expert on women's basketball. “It's happening and she's leading the sports news hour. She attracts not only sports enthusiasts but casual fans as well.”
The noise around the 6-foot point guard has become impossible to ignore, and so are her numbers. She broke Pete Maravich's 54-year-old college basketball career scoring record, which had long been considered unattainable. She made the most 3-pointers ever in a single season. When her Iowa Hawkeyes faced the South Carolina Gamecocks in the NCAA March Madness finals on Sunday, they drew a record-breaking 18.7 million television viewers, far more than last year's NBA Finals or Baseball World Series. More than any other individual night.
Commercial deals followed, with insurance companies State Farm, Gatorade, Buick, and an Iowa supermarket chain partnering with her to launch Caitlin's Crunch Time, a limited-edition breakfast cereal. But her college career wasn't a fairy tale ending, with Iowa losing to the undefeated Gamecocks in the final game before next week's WNBA draft.
But that won't dampen enthusiasm for Mr. Clark. She will be the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever, and season ticket sales are already surging in anticipation of her arrival. Most people want to see her shoot, or rather see her shoot from a distance. “Oh my god,” ESPN commentator Ryan Ruocco said during Sunday's finale. “From the future!”
Like Stephen Curry, who revolutionized the men's game and forced the entire sport to prioritize 3-point shooting, Clark's deep shooting accuracy expanded possibilities. The “Logo Three'' photograph of the emblem adorning the center circle taken from close range has become a trademark.
“The three in the logo was created for our media infrastructure,” says women's basketball journalist Jackie Powell. “It's great for TikTok and Instagram reels. She also throws these ginger-type passes and rockets, and it's very appealing to people as well.”
Williams added: “It's how she plays the game, the pace at which she plays, and how she can move the Iowa offense. A lot of WNBA offenses rely on her to direct with her playmaking skills. You don't really see her move the way she can. Overall, what sets her apart is her competitiveness and work ethic.”
But working hard and filming well isn't enough to unleash Clark's imagination to its fullest. She's also reshaping her expectations for female athletes. She was penalized for saying “fuck” to herself after missing a shot in January 2023, when male players frequently used very salty language with no punishment. was. Enterprising designers soon launched T-shirts, baseball caps, and pillowcases bearing the phrase in the Iowa colors.
At last year's NCAA Championships, opponent Angel Reese teased Clark with the same “I can't see you” hand gesture popularized by wrestler John Cena, and two matches earlier Clark Further controversy arose due to its use. Mr Rees, who is black, was criticized to the point where “classless” trended on the social network formerly known as Twitter.
Clark defended Reese, saying, “I don't think Angel should be criticized at all. Men have always trash-talked, and you should be able to tap into that feeling too. That's why all the girls keep playing. It’s a method.”
She's not alone, but definitely important to her sport. Reese has enough name recognition that Vogue declared him a draft pick last week, and Sabrina Ionescu narrowly beat Curry in a 3-point battle at All-Star Weekend in February.
As such, Clark is expected to transform the WNBA, even though other stars are emerging. The most optimistic hope is that she will have a revitalizing effect on the sports world comparable to Michael Jordan, but the league may have to wait until she is as dominant as she was at the college level. do not have. “Her game is going to translate very well. It might look a little different at first,” Powell says. “It may take several years for her to achieve university-level results.''
Adapting to a tighter defense will be a particular challenge. “She'll have a lot less space, and she'll have a lot less time to back up.” [to shoot]. She will take some shots, but not too many as bigger and faster players will switch on to protect her. ”
Experts expect her to have a long and successful professional career, but expectations that she will carry the entire league on her back may prove to be futile. “If those of us who cover this sport continue to view her as a monolith of the league, she will perpetuate some of the same things that have happened to previous WNBA players,” Powell said. says.
“If you look at the WNBA, it's about 80 percent people of color and black women. So to say this one white player is coming in to save the league is a dangerous thing.”
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