Megan Rapinoe emphasized that the Caitlin Clark Effect was built on a foundation of WNBA veteran players past and present.
The retired USWNT star explained that Clark, the Fever’s No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, is not solely responsible for the growth of women’s basketball.
“It was incredible to make it to the Final Four. I felt like it deserved this game, and I think that fans of women’s sports really deserve it. A big part of that is because Kaitlyn I think it’s because I’m standing on his shoulders. [retired Seattle legend and Rapinoe’s fiancée] with Sue Bird [Phoenix Mercury guard] with Diana Taurasi [retired four-time champion] with maya moore [reigning champion Gamecocks head coach] with Dawn Staleys [Basketball Hall of Famer] Lisa Leslie — Everyone” Rapinoe She spoke at the Business of Women’s Sports Summit in New York on Tuesday.
“The WNBA has been around for 28 years, but it’s not really appreciated.” [as] It’s a traditional women’s sports league that we all really base all of our other leagues on and base a lot of our structure on. ”
Rapinoe went on to say that Clark’s fame and record-breaking season — the Iowa State guard became the NCAA’s Division I all-time leading scorer for men and women in March — dominated other storylines. He explained.
“But it goes way beyond Caitlin. [There’s] “It’s an epic storyline about Dawn Staley and her game,” she said. “It doesn’t look like she’s slowing down. Incredibly undefeated [South Carolina] The only reason it wasn’t talked about during the season was because Caitlin was completely freaking out. ”
The 38-year-old soccer icon described herself as a “real fangirl” following his retirement and said she couldn’t wait to see Clarke play at a professional level.
“You have to capture the moment, and how she captures it,” Rapinoe said of Clark, 22. “I can’t wait. I’ll go see them when they play in Seattle, and I’ll be back here when they play in New York. I’m as big a fan as anyone else.”
Rapinoe also praised the WNBA’s efforts to grow the league.
“Especially in the last five or six years, really since the bubble, I think the W Team has done some work to solidify what women’s basketball looks like. It’s very Black women, it’s very gay women, it’s very inclusive. It’s about being an open space,” she said.
Rapinoe added that the excitement surrounding the women’s game reminded her of the fight for equal pay with the USWNT. The result is a historic equal pay settlement with U.S. Soccer in 2022, meaning women’s teams will be paid the same wages as men’s teams.
“I thought a lot about the national team, because it’s such a strong foundation. Our team could stand on it, I could stand on it, several generations, It’s a decades-old foundation, even the fight for equal pay,” she said. . “This allows us to really capture the moment instead of just capturing a moment in time.”
Clark played a key role in the dominance of this year’s women’s tournament and in drawing packed crowds throughout Iowa State’s season. That added $82.5 million to the state’s economy, one report said. Report from the Common Sense Institute.
Schools that hosted the Clarks and Hawkeyes saw attendance increase by more than 150% on average, according to the Associated Press.
The women’s national championship game, broadcast on ABC and ESPN, drew 18.7 million viewers, more than any other basketball game (men’s, women’s, college or professional) since 2019, ESPN announced.
Clark and the Hawkeyes’ run ended there, losing 87-75 to an undefeated South Carolina team led by Staley.
This broadcast reached an astonishing 24 million viewers.
The Caitlin Clark Effect was reflected in the 2024 WNBA Draft, which became the most-watched event in history with 2.45 million viewers.
The WNBA begins training camp on April 28th and the season begins on May 14th.
