If you’re still not convinced Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark is not the face of the WNBA, Sophie Cunningham has a message to you and she ain’t holding back.
During the inaugural edition of Show Me Something, the new podcast hosted by the Indiana Fever forward and Bravo star West Wilson, Cunningham delivered the skeptics ridiculing Clark’s impact on women’s basketball a blowtorch. The Missouri native delivered a passionate defense of her teammate that went viral and left much to be imagined.
“When people try to argue that she’s not the face of our league or if our league would be where we’re at without her, you’re dumb as fk,” Cunningham declared. “You’re literally dumb as fk.”
Speak truth to power, Sophie.
But underlying the sensational sound bite is a harsh truth: Cunningham isn’t simply profanity-laced ravings into the ether. She’s exactly right.
Caitlin Clark: The Uncontested Face of the WNBA
Caitlin Clark’s debut in the WNBA hasn’t just affected the Indiana Fever. It’s transformed the league. The 22-year-old guard, whose jaw-dropping shooting range and electric court vision appear to make shots impossible, arrived on the heels of an all-time record-breaking NCAA career at Iowa, where she rewrote all-time Division I scoring history and hypnotized millions in the process.
That energy didn’t carry over to the pro ranks only. It went nuclear. The WNBA is now enjoying its all-time attendance, merchandising, and most importantly, national television ratings high point. And the numbers don’t lie.
Because Nielsen ratings, Indiana Fever nationally-broadcast games averaged 1.8 million viewers per game before June, when Clark hurt her left quad. After her injury took her out of the line-up, those numbers fell 53% to a mere 847,000 viewers per game. National broadcasts overall of the WNBA dropped by 55% when she was absent.
Those are not declines. Those are cliff dives. And they’re a direct result of Clark’s presence on the court.
