Something special happens in Caitlin Clark’s visit to State Farm Arena

Credit: Jason Getz / [email protected]

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, center, signs autographs for fans before the Fever game against the Atlanta Dream at State Farm Arena, Friday, June 21, 2024, in Atlanta. (Jason Getz / AJC)

The reason that 8-year-old Molly James plays basketball was live and in the flesh Friday night at State Farm Arena.

That would be Caitlin Clark, the 3-point-bombing wonder who rose to incandescent stardom at Iowa and now summons her wondrous basketball gifts for the benefit of the Indiana Fever.

“Caitlin’s why Molly likes basketball,” said her father Brian, an engineer from Cobb County. “She started playing because she liked watching Caitlin.”

Adorned in a Clark jersey, Molly was there with her parents (also wearing Clark jerseys) and grandfather to watch Clark and the Fever play the Dream.

“My little sister didn’t come,” said Molly, who didn’t seem particularly disappointed about it.

There were hundreds of young girls like Molly at State Farm, decked out in Clark jerseys from the Fever and the Iowa Hawkeyes. Another was Jamison Allee, 10, attending the game with her cousin Lillian Mushegan, 11, and her mother Abbey. Jamison and Lillian both wore Clark’s black and gold Hawkeyes jersey to their first WNBA game. They arrived at 5 p.m., more than an hour before the doors opened, hoping to get their jerseys signed.

Credit: Jason Getz / [email protected]

Young fans of Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark cheer on the Indiana Fever during the Fever game against the Atlanta Dream at State Farm Arena, Friday, June 21, 2024, in Atlanta. Indiana won 91-79. (Jason Getz / AJC)

They were among the privileged to watch Clark score 16 points (including four 3-pointers) to go with seven assists, four rebounds and seven turnovers as the Fever outclassed the Dream 91-79.

“It’s been really cool,” Jamison said. “Inspiring.”

One night after soccer deity Lionel Messi performed before 70,000-plus at Mercedes-Benz Stadium with Argentina in a Copa America match, Clark took her turn next door. It was a special night, as the largest crowd in Dream history (17,575) came out to witness the mold-breaking Clark.

The Dream did have supporters in the building. Early in the game, fans cheered in anticipation as Clark led a Fever fast break, but the cheers grew even louder when her shot at the basket was blocked. But make no doubt – Clark was the reason why the Dream moved the Fever game from its home arena in College Park (capacity: 3,500) to State Farm and how it was able to sell it out.

Before the game started, I stood near an entrance for about five minutes, tallying fans who walked by wearing T-shirts or jerseys for particular players. Of the 23 I saw, a fitting 22 had Clark’s No. 22, either from Iowa or Indiana. (Congratulations, Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker – you’ve got a loyal fan in Atlanta.)

Clark received the loudest cheers and rewarded fans with her trademark long-distance 3-pointers and needle-threading passes. She even signed autographs before the game, including one for Molly James, who waited near the Fever tunnel as Clark came off the court after warming up.

“She was really nice to you, wasn’t she?” Brian James asked his daughter.

Credit: Jason Getz / [email protected]

Eight-year-old Molly James, of Acworth, Ga., holds her handmade sign she made for Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark before the Fever game against the Atlanta Dream at State Farm Arena, Friday, June 21, 2024, in Atlanta. (Jason Getz / AJC)

For two hours Friday night, there was no squabbling about whether Clark should be on the U.S. Olympic team or what sociological reasons have factored into her stardom. Just appreciation for a singular talent.

It was hardly only pigtailed girls coming to pay homage to the great Clark. Friday, it was clear that citizenship in Caitlin Clark nation crosses boundaries of age, gender and race. Through her transcendent play at Iowa, and thanks to widening television distribution, Clark has amassed a following – both in size and demographic diversity – almost certainly greater than any female basketball player ever and perhaps more than any American female athlete in any sport.

A survey of the State Farm Arena stands offered validation. There were young boys and girls, men and women, people of all pigments, in Clark gear. Something happened at State Farm Arena Friday night that maybe has never happened before in Atlanta – a lone female athlete drawing a wide swath of fans, many of whom had never previously followed her sport, who were willing to spend hundreds of dollars and in some cases travel hours to watch her perform.

Charlie Campbell came from Winder to introduce his niece Talia Smith (and her dolls Emily and Emma) to the player he called “The White Mamba,” a nod to Kobe Bryant (”the Black Mamba.”).

Karim Emara, a filmmaker, was in town from Boston visiting a friend. An NBA fan, he has never previously followed women’s basketball. But watching Clark highlights on YouTube, he was fascinated and wanted to see her play in person. Friday was the first women’s basketball game he had ever attended.

“She’s great,” he said.

Credit: Jason Getz / [email protected]

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts after making a shot against the Atlanta Dream during the first half at State Farm Arena, Friday, June 21, 2024, in Atlanta. (Jason Getz / AJC)

Marvin Collins, a 61-year-old Lowe’s manager from Lakeland, Florida, first learned of Clark from a Hawkeyes basketball fan who was a guest at the Airbnb property that he and his wife manage. From that introduction, they started following and became fans.

“She’s an unbelievable talent,” Collins said.

Prior to Clark, Collins and his wife watched women’s college basketball sporadically but not the WNBA.

“But when we saw that she was coming to Atlanta and we have relatives that live up here, we were like, ‘Hell, we’ve got to go to a game,’” Collins said.

Credit: Jason Getz / [email protected]

Fans of Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark react after she made a three-point basket during the second half against the Atlanta Dream at State Farm Arena, Friday, June 21, 2024, in Atlanta. Indiana won 91-79. (Jason Getz / AJC)

Friday, Collins was wearing a Clark Fever jersey. It’s the first WNBA jersey that Collins, who is a Green Bay Packers fan, has ever owned. It is not the norm, a Black man from Florida wearing the jersey of a white female basketball player from Iowa. But it wasn’t out of place Friday.

“My wife’s like, ‘You’ve got this imaginary crush on her,’” Collins said.

The Clark devotion is real. Brooklyn Bennett of Calhoun has no connection to Iowa – she is from Kentucky. But, after becoming a fan of Clark and the Hawkeyes, she made trips to Indiana University and the Big Ten basketball tournament to watch her and Iowa play. A nurse, Brooklyn and her husband Austin sat just a few rows back from the court to see Clark up close, spending what Austin allowed was “a pretty good bit.”

Friday night, for the Bennetts and thousands of others, Clark made it worth it.

Credit: Jason Getz / [email protected]

Young fans of Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark cheer on the Indiana Fever during the Fever game against the Atlanta Dream at State Farm Arena, Friday, June 21, 2024, in Atlanta. Indiana won 91-79. (Jason Getz / AJC)