INDIANAPOLIS — It was reality, but it was also something that was a dream: what Title IX advocates, what parents mentoring their daughters, and, indeed, the entire country had been waiting for, happened here in the heart of America, within five blocks of each other, over 18 hours, from Saturday night to Sunday afternoon.
At 8:40 p.m. local time on Saturday, the greatest female swimmer of all time, Katie Ledecky, touched the wall in the 400-meter freestyle at the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials before a rapt crowd of 20,689 at the Indianapolis Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium to win and secure a spot on her fourth Olympic team. It was the greatest stage a swimmer could ever experience, and Ledecky thoroughly deserved it.
Fast forward to Sunday: At 2:05 p.m., the clock struck zero and a sellout crowd of 17,274 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse rose to their feet and cheered as Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever defeated Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky, 91-83, in Clark’s best game of the still relatively nascent WNBA season.
Sometimes a sellout isn’t really a sellout, but this was not the case. Every seat was full, even at the top of the arena, and the crowd roared with excitement when Clark made his third 3-pointer with 3:06 left to put Indiana up by seven, 84-77.
I hadn’t seen or heard anything like it since 18 hours earlier, when Ledecky had received a thunderous ovation at Clark’s stadium, about a 12-minute walk from the stadium.
As a sports nation, we are often on a first-name basis with our favorite athletes: Tiger, LeBron, Kobe, Michael, etc. Every once in a while, a woman slips into the mix, and one who immediately springs to mind is Serena.
Well, if you ever suspected there was more, doubt it no longer. Katie. Caitlyn. Angel.
Clarke looked very comfortable playing all but three minutes of the game, finishing with a game-high 23 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Iowa was also comfortable, but her longtime rival Reese continued to impress with 13 rebounds and 11 points down the stretch. The two have been connected since their college days and likely throughout their pro careers, both of which are in the WNBA.
On Sunday, a moment that will forever bond this rivalry brought them together. And if it didn’t, that’s a good thing. With 2:53 left in the third period of a tight game, Reese hit Clark in the head as he was driving to the basket. The foul was ruled a flagrant 1, and Clark was steady at the free throw line and made both free throws to extend the Fever lead to three points.
When asked what he was thinking after Reese’s flagrant foul, Clark said, “All I was thinking was I had to make those two free throws. That’s part of basketball. That’s how it is.”
Reese, meanwhile, had some harsh words for the officiating: “It was a basketball play. You can’t control the officiating. Obviously the officiating had a big impact on the game today. I’m always going for the ball. I’m going to play this video 20 times before Monday.”
Maybe 20 before dinner, and probably 200 by Monday. But that’s okay. In fact, that’s a good thing.
This is now a women’s sport and something everyone can enjoy. It’s long overdue and now it’s here — in the heart of Indianapolis.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Clark said when I asked her and her teammates about the turn of events in town. “I’m someone who grew up loving women’s sports, whether it was soccer, basketball, whatever. I was always into it. I always wanted to cheer.
“So I think people can see that women’s sports is indeed great and fun to watch, if they’re given the opportunity. Their popularity is only going to increase. I think people are finally starting to realize how great women’s sports can be. When they’re given the opportunity to play on national television and in big stadiums where you can buy tickets, I think people who come once are not going to get bored and will keep coming back.”
Teammate Aaliyah Boston, who led the game on Sunday with 19 points and 14 rebounds, added the perfect finishing touch.
“It’s great that young girls now have so many athletes to look up to and say, ‘I want to be like her.'”
All of this happened just one week before June 23rd, which is significant because it marks the 52nd anniversary of Title IX. Could there have been a better birthday present than this?
