From near, far and Brazil, Caitlin Clark again has Carver crowd in palm of her hand

IOWA CITY — It was shocking, all those traitorous, treasonous people in Carver-Hawkeye Arena Sunday.

Navy blue and bright red shirts with Caitlin Clark’s name and No. 22 were as prevalent as the black and gold attire representing the Iowa Hawkeyes. Clark is a year removed from Iowa, and brought thousands of longtime Indiana Fever fans with her to replace her old, loyal, huge Hawkeye cheering section.

Er, not really. Many of the 15,000 in attendance who attended the Fever’s 108-44 win over the Brazilian national team are Iowa fans who have made room in their wardrobes for a piece of Fever garb or five.

“I didn’t know what the percentage of the Fever gear and the Hawkeye gear would be,” Clark said, “but it felt pretty equal.”

At least a few folks wore shirts proclaiming their allegiance to the Indiana franchise starting Feb. 29, 2024. That happens to be the day Clark announced she was declaring for last year’s WNBA draft, and Iowans started making mental plans to become tourists in Indianapolis.

“My wife and I have half-season tickets for the Fever,” said Jason Thomas. He and wife Stephanie Thomas traveled all the way to Iowa City for Sunday’s game from … Swisher.

Nancy Hanson was wearing an especially sparkly Fever shirt that looked homemade. She got it at a craft sale in … Cedar Rapids.

Nancy and her husband Bob Hanson went to Las Vegas last summer on their honeymoon. Guess who they saw play basketball while they were there?

Yes, the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces.

However, there were plenty of people here who did come a great distance to see Clark fill Carver’s baskets with bombs once more.

Fever season-ticket holders from Muncie, Ind., were here. A woman from Atlanta got on a plane for Cedar Rapids Saturday, and will be back at Eastern Iowa Airport Monday for a 5:30 a.m. flight home.

Carol Carlsen of Huntington, N.Y. on Long Island said “This is amazing. So fun.”

Carlsen isn’t an Iowan or Iowa graduate. Nor is she a fan of the reigning WNBA-champion, the New York Liberty.

“I’m a Fever fan,” she said. “I love Caitlin.”

Carlsen does hope to get Liberty tickets this season. But it’s for when the visiting team is … you know.

As for Sunday’s game, it was an exhibition rather than a competition. This wasn’t the best Brazil could offer, since the first player drafted after Clark last year was 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso of South Carolina via Montes Claros. Cardoso, now with the Chicago Sky, had 15 points and 17 rebounds against Iowa in her team’s NCAA championship-game win last year.

It was kind of a shame it wasn’t another WNBA team that supplied Indiana’s opponent, just to show fans at their first ‘W’ game the depth of the league’s talent, as well as its intensity.

Given how many Fever games people here watched on television last season, though, it probably wasn’t an education they lacked.

Carver Caitlin was Carver Caitlin, with her perennial flair for the dramatic in this gym displayed even in a game decided by 64 points. Her 36-foot shot with 26 seconds left in the third quarter pleased everyone in the arena immensely, no one more so than herself.

“Aw, why not?” Clark told ESPN’s Holly Rowe after the game. Precisely.

Clark left the game nine seconds later when new Indiana coach Stephanie White called a timeout to give her the curtain call that perhaps was louder than her pregame introduction, a wall of sound in itself.

After the game, several Brazilian players got autographs from Clark and had her pose for photos with them. They wore green, not bright red or navy blue or black-and-gold, but were fans, too. They had never seen another player with such a passionate following.

“I think it’s hard to put into words,” Clark said. “It’s almost overwhelming to a point. I’m just very, very thankful to come back to a place that continues to support me.”

The sentimentality stops here. Soon, a what should be a very exciting second pro season starts for Clark and her fans. She has a better coach and better teammates than she did as a rookie.

She’ll be better, too, a bit wild to consider. The TV ratings for her games don’t figure to drop this summer.

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