WNBA star Caitlin Clark is a showstopper in Baltimore, even without playing
About 90 minutes before tipoff between the Washington Mystics and her Indiana Fever at Baltimore's CFG Bank Arena, the 2024 No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick emerged from the tunnel meeting a quiet gym. This was the first time she'd been sidelined for a regular-season game in her professional career. Clark wore a Nike windbreaker and matching Air Maxes with a digital camera tied around her wrist.
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She snapped flicks of her teammates warming up and snuck up on coaches to capture this Wednesday in Baltimore. That's how most others in the gym felt, too — even if the luminary sharpshooter never put on a uniform.
It was announced last month that a pair of Mystics-Fever games were being moved from the 4,200-seat CareFirst Arena to CFG Bank Arena, which seats 14,000. Wednesday was the first, with the Mystics winning 83-77 in front of an announced crowd of 11,183. Sept. 7 in the same gym will be the rematch. The reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year was, and will again be, the main draw.
Folks who bought tickets the day they went on sale shelled out hundreds of dollars per seat. By game day, two days after the Fever that announced Clark's quadriceps injury would hold her out for at least two weeks, StubHub offered seats for less than $10.
Even without the game's headliner, there were still Fever fans — and more specifically, Clark fans — braving the misty May weather.
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'I knew she was gonna come on the trip. She's not the type to sit at home,' said Melissa Kramer, a 30-year-old from New Jersey waiting patiently at the front of the line more than two hours before tipoff. 'And she knows that people spend time and money to see her in general, just to be in the environment with her. I knew she was coming and I knew it wouldn't be a problem.'
Clark set down her own camera and made her way off the hardwood and into the stands, flanked by what could've been mistaken for a documentary crew. A gym that looked bleak moments earlier suddenly felt smushed. Fans of all ages rushed to the front row for a peak at one of the faces of the WNBA. Clark grabbed a Sharpie and started stretching her fingers, well aware of what she was about to get herself into.
She signed shirts, jerseys and posters for 12 minutes. She posed for many pictures. One little girl reached her hand through the railing and probably won't be washing that marker off anytime soon. Someone had a copy of Clark posing for the cover of Time Magazine's December 2024 issue. Another fan held up a sign sending Clark 'healing vibes,' acknowledging that it was still the best birthday present of her young life.
A basketball court is 94 feet long. Clark signed autographs well beyond both baselines, her John Hancock filling up the length of the gym for fans draped over the railing behind the benches.
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Mystics vs. Fever in WNBA game at CFG Bank Arena | PHOTOS
Why so generous with her time?
Fever coach Steph White didn't want to speak for her star player, 'but Caitlin was that little girl that watched this league,' she said. 'And when you are that little girl who eventually gets to live out her dreams, you want to empower the next generation of players. You want to give that hope to the next little girl that's in the stands to accomplish their goals and their dreams.'
Mystics veteran Brittney Sykes shared in that sentiment: 'Just being able to bring this game here is so much more than basketball. Now we've been able to show the little girls that are closer to Baltimore that, 'OK, you have a possibility to go to the league.' We would love for them to come all the way to DC, but that's the whole point of us trying to expand.'
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Among those dreamers lucky enough to reach out toward their hero was a quartet of travel basketball teammates whose parents drove them down from Pennsylvania. Ten-year-olds Cece Geesey and Harper White, 9-year-old Daphne Fuhr and 7-year-old Paige Fuhrman met the hooper who is to them, what Taylor Swift is to millennials, or Michael Jordan to basketball fans of the 1990s.
The girls pooled their allowance together for these tickets. One made a sign explaining how allowance is $15, the going rate for cotton candy is $10, and tickets to see No. 22 on the bench are 'Pricey' with a frown.
There were no frowned faces after meeting Clark, even if just for a moment. 'It was the best!' one shouted. 'So cool,' another chimed in. They all spun around to show proof of signature, having followed Clark's rocket-ship ascension the past few years. Even with Clark sidelined, these elementary school pals were lined up before the gym doors opened.
Kramer was too. She's been a fan since watching Clark, then an Iowa freshman, bury a half-court shot against Ohio State. 'I thought, 'I don't know how this can't be real,'' Kramer said. She's seen Clark play six times. She got a picture with her hero in the middle of that lengthy queue.
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There were Mystics fans who made the short drive for this game, too. There might have been more had this not been on weeknight (the rematch is a Sunday afternoon). But the Baltimore gym flooded with Clark supporters, wearing Fever gear. Or Iowa gear. Or both.
None more on the nose than the red Fever T-shirts that read, 'Every game is a home game.'
Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn.
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