The Caitlin Clark Experience

As we prepare to embark on another WNBA season, the hype is being amped up for the star power of Caitlin Clark. Will a record crowd return to watch her and her Indiana Fever teammates or will there be a sophomore slump in attendance? The entertainment value of watching a home game for her looks to build on last season’s success and should draw even more fans and curiosity seekers to an already crowded stadium. When on the road, she brings excitement like a visiting Michael Jordan could in the days before “load maintenance” when fans would flock to watch him play against their hometown team. In order to reach an accurate hypothesis it is important to experience the actual environment and be part of the real “Caitlin Clark Experience”.  This short first person story will describe the game itself as well as the feel of being in the presence of greatness and the cultural transformation in a basketball crazy state full of Hoosiers embracing Women’s Basketball. 

The most important tool and instrument used to conduct ethnographic research is the researcher themselves. As a text book author I was able to observe and write about big moments like Barry Bonds hitting a home run while being booed for presumed steroid usage, the Queen of England watching a horse race in Kentucky, Danica Patrick nearly winning the Indianapolis 500. I also wrote about all kinds of crazy stuff that is too strange to be fiction but filled a non-fiction book with real life examples. In each of these many cases I consider myself just like Jane Goodall as a scientist in the natural environment looking for phenomenon and interesting ideas. The opportunity to see such an exciting example of an athlete breaking stereotypes and overcoming what I and colleagues described as a very difficult marketing challenge (see this article for background on WNBA) provided a great research target. I combined my joy of being the father of girls, to bring my daughter which also allows me to draw on her experience and see a wider perspective. With no apologies to bias, I am certain that parents and especially fathers need to take pride in their daughters and like Kobe Bryant and many others who wear that badge with honor, I am glad to be a “Girl Dad”. When her older sister Jocelyn joined me at the Kentucky Derby in a baby stroller to see the Queen and ended up being carried over empty beer bottles and the reality of all social classes enjoying the derby, Juliette would have the chance to be part of the study, for better or worse. 

As soon as Juliette was told she could go to a game and see Caitlin Clark play, she was happy. This is no small feat, for so long, women did and do not support other women playing sports. Having someone happy to watch a team play is a very positive thing. When we got physically closer to the game I could see a beehive of girls wearing Caitlin Clark jerseys buzzing into the game, with huge smiles on their faces. This reminded me of going to watch my favorite athletes like Bo Jackson play where people are just thrilled to see them play in person and bask in their reflective glory. No doubt, many were here to see history and entertainment. As my daughter and I moved closer to the stadium we noticed that it was not just girls, many boys and men were arriving to the game not only to watch, but they also were wearing Caitlin Clark jerseys and memorabilia. 

I quickly thought of the many girls and women who wear jerseys with male athletes on them and how common that has been. Michael Jordan jerseys are worn often by females and have remained “cool” as both the shoes and vintage MJ gear continue to find its way into hip hop and fashion. Celebrity female influencers like Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus are often seen clad with the iconic Jordan logo.  No one really thinks twice about a female wearing a jersey that supports a male sports team or athlete, yet here I am thinking twice about this. It shows a great cultural growth in sport for all and many concepts that are critical for communities. Don Mcpherson, NFL player, Feminist and author of “You Throw like a Girl” encouraged me to use my voice for women when I had met him ironically, in Indianapolis, when we were speaking to the NCAA in the same city that now hosts the Caitlin Clark experience. Spending some of my professional career advocating for women in sport and having a son and four daughters as well as a wife who was an NCAA athlete I am all in on Women’s Sports and this was gratifying to see, simply put, little boys looking up to female athletes like they do male athletes. 

As we found our seats, we continued to observe what felt like an NBA game. There were side shows, too many advertisements, loud rap music, over priced hot dogs and everything people love and hate about the NBA, including a crowded facility full of people! The pregame build up was well scripted and the players were announced with the usual fanfare of a professional game. I overheard normal comments and those that have become more recent at professional games such as, “what is the spread on her hitting more than three, three-pointers, I have that for my parlay”. Yes, a man was investing his money and time on betting on this game as were many others. When she hit her first three-pointer later, I remembered this comment and imagined some people were very happy for this reason, while I was thrilled to say that I watch her hit a three with my own eyes. 

The game started with great emotion and noise. After that early three she received a huge applause and continued making solid plays with fans moving towards the edge of the seat every time she got the ball. Heads turned with eyes focused on her more than the ball at times. As the game progressed she cooled off on her shooting however her passes were jaw dropping and mystified many fans. Her fundamentals were congruent with the typical Indiana fans appreciation for such skills, making her a true fan favorite in a state that loves basketball. The only thing preventing perfection were the cold hard elbows flying, and there were plenty of them aiming for the hero of the day. 

As a hockey enthusiast my 13 year old daughter was not a stranger to cheap play and dirty elbows. We were both shocked at how rough the game was and particularly how rough the play around Caitlin was. Every hero needs a villain for a good story to form and with Angel Reese playing in Chicago, Brittney Griner, who had been detained abroad and was back on the Phoenix Mercury fit the bill perfectly. I was amazed at the physical stature and toughness that Brittney showed. Griner and her teammates played a very aggressive style and the referees went along with it. Like a fixed wrestling match it seemed that the refs were going to let our hero be taken down by the cheating and violent villains and it was just the complaining basketball fans like to do as the crowd turned on the refs and booed at the Mercury players. Griner and her teammates did their best impression of a heal, playing good enough for the show, but without legend Diana Taurasi in the lineup and Griner going down with an injury in the second they fell 95-86, to the delight of the home crowd. 

A delighted home crowd and good prospects of winning are precedents to having a good next season. Based on our experience there is no doubt fans and people looking for a good time will attend WNBA games, especially when Caitlin is in town. Without injury or scandal home games will be successful for the Fever and games in other towns who host the Fever will do well with attendance. The marketing challenge for the WNBA is how to leverage the Caitlin Clark Experience into something that is league wide and sustainable after she retires. Promoting additional players, building up the grassroots, adding exciting sideshows along with all the gimmicks of pro sports to continue growing the brand. WNBA and PWHL sport cards are selling out at stores nation wide, another sign of this growth resulting from a specific strategy to build youth fanbases. We are forecasting that sponsors and long term investors will reap benefits of partnerships with the WNBA and their growing fan base, and if these trends continue, Caitlin Clark can be the catalyst to the WNBA in the same manner that Michael Jordan was for the NBA and truly make the WNBA a great experience for fans.