The Caitlin Clark Novelty is Not Wearing Off

Has any player made this big an immediate impact on a team sport?

Caitlin Clark is back playing WNBA ball, and looking like a superstar. The audience numbers for these W games are unlike anything that came before. Over 2.2 million tuned in for last weekend’s Fever tilt against the Storm on ABC. For context, NBA viewership on national TV averaged 1.59 million viewers last season. For a comparison within league, Liberty-Aces drew only 874K on CBS last Saturday.

Has any pro player in the major team sports had this much of an individual impact on fan interest? That might sound like hyperbole, but just in terms of viewership percentage difference, it’s hard to find a comparison. We’re a short ways into the Clark saga but also too long a ways for it to be dismissed as a passing fad. It’s looking more and more like America is on board for a whole career arc, so long as it fulfills its potential.