“The Caitlin Clark Effect” was put to the test in the rookie’s first WNBA playoff game. Despite putting up record-breaking numbers this season, Fever and Clark faced their most daunting challenge yet. Their Game 1 clash against the Connecticut Sun on ABC was up against NFL Sunday. But Clark more than held her own, showcasing her ability to draw in impressive numbers even when competing against the juggernaut that is the NFL.

Sunday is for football, as most sports-watching Americans would say. But if you ask basketball fans who were ardently following the 2024 WNBA Draft Class, Sunday is for W playoffs. Even though Clark and Fever fell to a crushing 93-69 defeat to the Sun, the Rookie of the Year still helped pull in 1.8 million viewers on ABC.

This made it the most-watched WNBA playoff game since 2000 when Houston Comets beat the New York Liberty in Game 2 of the Finals with 2.12 million fans watching. The viewership for the Sun vs Fever was also the highest for a non-Finals game since 1999. This is despite going up against a full slate of NFL action. While this may be Clark’s most impressive ratings feat yet, Sheryl Swoopes, who has found it hard to be impressed by the Fever star, once again stirred the pot.

On her podcast, Queens of the Court,  Swoopes was asked by co-host Jordan Robinson about the postseason schedule falling heavily on Sunday. Swoopes said, “I was excited about the playoffs starting. I was not excited about the rest of it. First of all, it is a Football Sunday. I don’t care how much we’ve grown, and people are watching and tuning in and the eyes. You’re going up against NFL on a Sunday. On a Sunday!”

Yes, there was no way for the WNBA to compete against the NFL and come out on top, yet a viewership close to 2 million is nothing to be brushed off. In fact,

The fact that this number more than doubles the 728,000 average viewership of the 2023 WNBA Finals, should put things into perspective. Moreover, the other WNBA playoff games didn’t have nearly the same viewership.

The  Atlanta Dream vs New York Liberty contest drew 410,000 viewers while 403,000 viewers tuned in for the 5 pm clash between Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx. The highest viewership after the Sun vs Fever game was garnered by the defending champion Las Vegas Aces’ clash against the Seattle Storm, which drew 461,000 viewers.

But Sheryl Swoopes defended her claim, “In my timezone the games started at noon, so it was noon, two, four, and then Vegas was at 9 my time zone… I needed to pull up my iPad, my other TV, it was too much. It was a lot.” Indeed, for followers of multiple sports, it might be difficult to catch everything at the same time. But as Robinson said, she’s not an NFL fan so WNBA was the only sport playing in her house.

Clark has been breaking records on and off the court in the WNBA ever since she joined the league from Iowa this year. Before Clark, no WNBA game had averaged more than 1 million viewers since 2008. But this season 23 games crossed that mark, 20 of them featured Clark. The highest viewership for the WNBA this season remains the 2.3 million on ESPN that watched Fever take on Chicago Sky on June 23.

According to ESPN TV audiences for WNBA regular-season games increased 170% over last year. Ion said viewership jumped 133% annually. While Clark cannot be given the sole credit for this exponential increase, it’s hard to overlook her contribution. This increase in numbers has also benefited the WNBA to a great extent.

In July, the WNBA signed an 11-year media rights deal worth a reported $2.2 billion. The $200 million per year payout more than triples the $60 million under the current contract and will kick into effect from 2026. Meanwhile, Swoopes has often been found on the reserve when it comes to giving Clark her due.

Despite Clark breaking the rookie record for most assists and points and averaging 19.2 points this season, Swoopes didn’t feel she had been dominating. Talking on the Gil’s Arena podcast on September 17, she said, “Those are hell of a numbers. But to me, that’s not dominating.”

Well, Swoopes may not agree but the numbers do. Now the question is, will CC continue to set records for the season with her team or will Indiana have to bid goodbye to the playoffs in the first round? Clark suffering a black eye in the first game certainly doesn’t bode well.

“She got me pretty good in the eye,” says Caitlin Clark, but doesn’t defend poor form

After a brutal 69-93 loss to the Connecticut Sun in the first game of Round 1, the Indiana Fever will be looking to make the most of game 2. It will be a best of 3 series, so if the Fever loses, their postseason will end before it begins. While Clark drew historic numbers for the game, her performance was less than up to par where shooting was concerned, going 4 of 17 and 2 of 13.

It might have just been an off night, or it might have had something to do with the Sun’s Dijonai Carrington accidentally hitting her in the eye while making a play. But the Fever rookie was not willing to let someone else shoulder the responsibility, as she said after the game, “Obviously, she got me pretty good in the eye. I don’t think it affected me. I got good shots, they didn’t go down. It’s a tough time for that to happen.”

Clark was also adamant,“It wasn’t intentional by any means.” Carrington herself had spoken about the incident and said the same, although CC fans are understandably upset. Either way, when the next game rolls around, it might have an equal or even bigger viewership as it won’t be competing against the NFL. The fans wait with bated breath to see if Caitlin Clark will end her fairy tale season with Indiana Fever already or go deeper.