Uncasville, CT – The hype surrounding Caitlin Clark’s 30-point game against the Washington Mystics was the talk of all sports and then the women’s Olympic team was named, and she was named an alternate instead of being named one of the twelve that had been chosen. Then the debate began about why wasn’t Clark named to the team. Since arriving in the W, Clark has been considered the face of the league over A’ja Wilson, Diana Taurasi, and a few others, which led me to think, that if a player is considered the face of an organization, leader of the team, requirements must be met.
Many feel that because she’s so popular it was an automatic lock for her to be named to the team. After playing only 22 minutes against the Connecticut Sun scoring 10 points and looking like she was a step or two slow on defense, the multiple turnovers in the game would raise the question of whether Clark being snubbed from the team was a blessing in disguise. Keep in mind Clark has been playing basketball since the national championship game with a week off because of the W draft.
Clark and her fever team were being outplayed. The Connecticut Sun showed they were more tough and physical against Clark’s Fever team. Regardless of how many points Wilson Aces team or Taurasi Mercury team is down in a game, they don’t stop competing until there is no time left on the clock. Seeing Clark on the bench and there were no signs of an injury would cause people to wonder if this is what can be expected in the future or if will Clark get her Fever teammates together and get on a hot streak winning some games this season.
If Clark is considered the face of the W as many sports analysts claim she is because of her popularity, what happens when the popularity goes away, and fans want to see a winner? The Fever lost the game by 18 points to the Sun and Clark being the leader should have given her teammates that extra boost to pick up there intensity in the game.