INDIANAPOLIS – Caitlin Clark had not yet been drafted by the Indiana Fever before fans openly called for her to be given an honorary role in the Indianapolis 500.
She has lived in Indianapolis for almost a month and is already one of the city’s biggest stars with a billboard complete with her likeness outside the arena. The girls wore their number 22 shirt and painted their faces with a “C” on each cheek.
“You can’t ask for a better home opener. That’s what gets people excited,” Clark said before Thursday night’s game against the New York Liberty. “It’s fun, when you look around you take it all in and I couldn’t have written a better script.”
A reporter then asked Clark if she could watch a 30-second video made by patients at a local children’s hospital, all wishing Clark luck in his first season.
“That’s sweet, I really appreciate it. Thank you, that was amazing,” she said of the video.
Clark held two long interview sessions — one after a midday shootout, the other about 90 minutes before the game against the Liberty, last year’s WNBA runner-up.
And it wasn’t just ordinary things.
“This is such a new thing,” Fever coach Christy Sides said, looking out at a crowd of about three dozen reporters. “I mean, there have never been so many people in this media room, so we’re all still trying to figure it out for ourselves. We just want to make sure we’re taking care of our players, taking care of Caitlin.”
Clark, who has so far been quite receptive to the onslaught of interviews, joked that she has one request.
“I know, this is crazy, I think we need to reduce this,” she said. “This is my job, like it’s my responsibility, so I think it’s something you just accept and follow every player, whether you’re talking to the media or not. This is something we all have to do and other players around the league are doing as well.”
Her WNBA home debut comes deep into preparations for Indianapolis’ big event, the 108th running of the Indy 500. Anticipation to see the No. 1 overall draft pick was so high that drivers were checking their daily schedules for room to try to see Clark play. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“Of course I know who Caitlin Clark is – everyone does. She’s the most marketed woman in the world right now,” said driver Colton Herta, sponsored by Gainbridge. Clark signed with the company in March as a brand ambassador, and Gainbridge is the presenting sponsor of the May 26 Indy 500.
Although tickets still remained 90 minutes before Thursday night’s game — secondary sales sites have seats that start at $3 but cost more than $1,000 — there were plenty of fans who would like to see Clark.
Calvary Lutheran, an Indianapolis private school that brought 42 high school students to the speedway on Thursday on a field trip, shouted their response in unison when asked if they would rather be at the track for an Indy 500 practice day or for the opener. by Clark.
“FEVER!” they shouted.
Some of the students then ran to the concession stand to rescue classmate Blessing Li, 11, an aspiring basketball player and, according to her classmates, an “obsessed Clark fan.” Some even accused Li of crying when talking about Clark’s inspiration for young athletes.
“Female power!” Li exclaimed about Clark’s impact. “She’s so great.”
One of his colleagues seemed disappointed that his accompanying grandfather had left the track after lunch to prepare for work as a receptionist at Fever games. The student said he wanted to go with his grandfather—not out of disrespect for the Indy 500, but because he has been to the speedway before and has yet to see Clark play in person.
Penske Entertainment, which owns the speedway, IndyCar and the Indy 500, has used Clark in series events before. She was Hy-Vee’s guest at the inaugural 2022 race at Iowa Speedway and returned last year as Grand Marshal.
But getting her involved in the Indy 500 proved to be a more difficult task.
Series officials want nothing more than to include IndyCar’s newest star in the pageantry of the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” but the Fever plays in Los Angeles on “Carb Day” next Friday and then in Las Vegas on night before the race. The only gap in Clark’s WNBA schedule comes this Sunday, when the Indy 500 pole is decided.
Clark’s first home game is being marked by a souvenir ticket that has the technology to save a photo to a QR code for an everlasting keepsake. The Fever hosted a pregame party at Bicentennial Unity Plaza for ticket holders, which included a DJ, face painting, games, and caricature and balloon artists.
Clark had 20 points while setting a record 10 turnovers in a WNBA debut in the Fever’s season-opening loss to the Connecticut Sun. The game had record ratings with an average of 2.1 million viewers on ESPN2, ESPN+ and Disney+ , surpassing ESPN’s previous mark of nearly 1.5 million viewers for a 2004 game between the Phoenix Mercury and Connecticut.
In Clark’s only preseason game in Indianapolis, the Fever set a preseason attendance record with 13,028 spectators. The Fever averaged just over 4,000 fans per game last season.
Clark was excited to see the result against Liberty.
“Anytime you can have a real home opener and have the support we had, our preseason game was tremendous and now we can actually play,” Clark said. “I think it will make noise. We will need to use the environment to our advantage and I think we just need to learn to move forward and prepare to play. Embrace it and enjoy it because it’s special too.”
The vibe around Indianapolis is electric as the NBA’s Pacers remain in the playoffs during preparations for the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in a decade. Many current IndyCar drivers are regulars at Pacers games and Clark attended one of the games against the New York Knicks in a suite with his Fever teammates.
The Pacers are down 3-2 heading into Friday night’s game in Indianapolis.
But even the Pacers took a backseat with Clark’s arrival in Naptown. Indy native Conor Daly, one of IndyCar’s greatest ambassadors, is wearing an Indy-themed helmet at the Indy 500 that includes the Fever logo for the first time.
When the Fever drafted Clark, Daly thought about becoming a season ticket holder.
“The whole city looks very sporty, that’s the best way to put it. The electricity, every time I turn on ESPN, there’s something about the Pacers or Caitlin Clark,” Daly said. “I’m still waiting for a third segment about the Indy 500, but it’s amazing to be here now.
“I noticed if you want Fever season tickets, they’ve gone up a lot,” he continued. “I did my research for about three weeks trying to get them. And every couple of days they would message me and say ‘Now it’s this (higher) price.’ But we did our research to become Fever season ticket holders.”
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AP Sports Writer Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this report.
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WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
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AP Motorsports:
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