0
0
With the entire United States of America watching, with the pressure at its peak, with the stakes as high as the sky, and the opponent formidable and ferocious, you would think a person playing a basketball game in this situation would feel like it was all just too much to deal with and maybe just not come through, or endure an off night, crumble a little bit or a lot. It would be understandable.
Not last night. Not this player.
Not Caitlin Clark. She’s not a normal person. She’s a thing of wonder. She’s not easy to understand.
She took all that weight on her shoulders and still shined the brightest, electrified our country, and made us all believe a person could thrill and exhilarate everyone when we wanted to see it happen most when it mattered most.
Bombing the ball from way out. Nine three-pointers. 41 points. 12 assists.
Miss America.
For all time.
Number 22 at age 22.
Iowa beat LSU.
On to the Final Four.
Our unique and once-in-a-lifetime joyride with her and this team continues and we’re all so happy to have this great entertainer in our lives, for this fairytale she’s authoring to keep going. We don’t want this story to end. We want Caitlin Clark to keep playing for Iowa and shocking us with her shooting forever. We want time to stop. Because this is good stuff. It lifts our moods.
Last night was that night when all those people who had been hearing about her but hadn’t actually watched her play pulled up a chair and checked out this Caitlin Clark phenom. How could they not? Everybody was talking about this game across the United States. I went to the workout room right before tipoff. The person managing the facility asked me what time the game started, grabbed his remote, and turned it on. “I wanna see this game,” he said.
My daughter sent me a text after another Caitlin bomb tickled the nylon. “We’ve been doing it wrong. I’m watching this Iowa LSU women’s game. Caitlin Clark is incredible. We should have been following the women’s tournament all along.”
A friend of mine told me he sat down with his girlfriend to watch last night’s game; she rarely does. But she was caught up in the Caitlin Craze and had to see her play because she was curious to see what all the buzz was about.
For weeks now people have been saying the women’s March Madness is more compelling than the men’s. Last night showed us all why. Clark was being a superhero, cementing her legendary college hoops career for all time. Iowa playing team basketball, passing and sticking shots. LSU powerfully rebounding and scoring.
No dunks. It was pure basketball, a demonstration of how basketball is supposed to be played focused on shooting skills refined with thousands of hours of practice in the gym, alone often, sweating, mastering muscle memory. These women are excellent basketball players; more entertaining than men.
I can imagine the men going to the Final Four watched last night and were more entertained watching last night’s game than any of the men’s March Madness games they’ve seen. This feels like a tipping point where women’s basketball begins to catch up and surpass men’s in popularity.
Last night we expected to see compelling theatre and we got it. Last night we expected to see two great teams battle and play well and we got it. Last night we expected to see Caitlin Clark show us why she’s the kind of basketball player unseen before and we got it.
This real-life fairy tale continues.
Against UConn in the Final Four.
On Friday.
What will Caitlin do in that game? Will she make 10 threes?
Will she feel the pressure?
I kind of think not.
Author Profile
-
Sammy Sportface, a sports blogger, galvanizes, inspires, and amuses The Baby Boomer Brotherhood. And you can learn about his vision and join this group's Facebook page here:
Sammy Sportface Has a Vision -- Check It Out
Sammy Sportface -- The Baby Boomer Brotherhood Blog -- Facebook Page
Latest entries
BonusJuly 3, 2024New Mr. America To Swim at Paris Olympics
Radio ShowsJuly 2, 2024ChatGPT’s Predictions for Paris Olympic Swimming
BonusJuly 2, 2024So Aussies, You Don’t Like American Swimming?
BonusJuly 1, 2024Calling for Abstinence In Olympic Village