FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver sparked outrage on social media after criticizing the Indiana Fever nickname during the WNBA’s opening week.
The Fever played their third game of the season against the New York Liberty on Saturday night. Silver posted a post about the team on his X.
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Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever during a game against the New York Liberty at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 16, 2024 in Indianapolis. (David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images)
“As the WNBA gains more attention, it’s time to face an unpleasant reality: Isn’t it a little weird to name a sports team (or any real thing) the Fever?” Silver wrote.
One fan made a good point.
“Brother, there are three baseball teams named after socks,” the person replied.
Sports journalist Lindsey Gibbs added, “The NBA’s biggest teams are named after lakes.”
Sports journalist Matt Ellentuck playfully wrote that he agreed with Mr. Silver’s opinion.
“They should be called pacers,” he added.
Nate Silver speaks at the midterm election panel “On The Fault Lines: Decision 2018” held in New York City on October 25, 2018. (Krista Kennel/Patrick McMullan, via Getty Images)
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Silver’s comments come more than a week after NBA reporter Ethan Strauss floated the idea of changing the WNBA’s name to better align with NBA teams.
“The only thing they should have done, which they didn’t do in the first place, was just use the same team name,” he said on the Bill Simmons Podcast. “Like, why do we need people to learn about the Fever? Why not just have ‘W Pacers’? I think that would resonate and make it much easier to cross.”
“I’ll be ‘Lady Gamecock,’ just like I was in college,” Simmons replied.
A sign outside Gainbridge Fieldhouse before the New York Liberty vs. Indiana Fever game on May 16, 2024 in Indianapolis. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
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At the heart of Strauss’ discussion was the idea that because the WNBA essentially operates as a “subsidiary of the NBA,” the league needs to find a way to differentiate itself from the men’s league.
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