Women’s basketball has evolved drastically over the last few years. The 2024 draft class brought about massive changes and fan following to the sport, especially stars like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. They were phenomenal in college, and ended up being quite a fiery batch of rookies as well! It seems like the WNBA management is going all out to capitalize on this new found popularity in this coming season. How? Well, through the rivals week, of course!

Cathy Engelbert recently announced a ‘rivals week’, and the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky are gonna kick it off in style! The aim of this week’s scheduling is to drive ratings through the roof by reigniting old rivalries, and creating new ones. It is a smart ploy, no doubt, but there might be a small problem…

Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese aren’t exactly rivals. Well, they don’t consider themselves to be at the very least. They’ve had moments of friction, heated interactions during games, but both athletes have made it clear that there’s no ill-will between them. However, after Reese’s gesture during the NCAA championship game, their dynamic spiraled into something else on social media.

Even though both athletes have publicly praised each other’s game and dedication, the media wants sparks to fly between them. From a basketball perspective, a guard and a forward having a rivalry doesn’t really make sense either. Caitlin Clark said it best. “We’re not best friends, by any means, but we’re very respectful of one another. Yes, we have had tremendous battles. But when have I ever guarded her? And when has she guarded me?” And luckily, fans are beginning to catch on!

The NCAA community didn’t react well to this particular rivalry week matchup, and took to social media with their reactions. What exactly did they have to say? Well, let’s find out!

Fans call out Cathy Engelbert for forcing Caitlin Clark vs Angel Reese rivalry

Social media, as expected, went absolutely wild after this WNBA announcement. After this off-season, fans are quite disillusioned with this particular matchup. Some of them have decided that the competition is completely one-sided, while others are just following what the stars themselves have said.

“Yay! Another year of this forced rivalry.” A fan said on X, and they weren’t alone in feeling this way. It was quite a common sentiment among social media users. “Clark/Reese is not a rivalry. One is much better than the other. Not to mention Fever 3-1. Sky stink.” Another fan said, pointing out that the rivalry narrative had gotten old.

The idea of a rivalry between the WNBA’s two most prominent rookies is absolute gold, but the media read into it too much. A simple gesture from Angel Reese during the 2023 NCAA championship game turned into a hero vs villain campaign not dissimilar to Magic Johnson vs Larry Bird way back when.

Fever fans and the NCAA community have their eyes on another campaign, however. A’ja Wilson is currently the undisputed MVP of the league, and with the progression that CC is following, fans want to see them clash as much as possible. “This fake rivalry between CC and AR is getting old. Let’s move on. I see the Aces and Fever as a rivalry.” A user said on X. Some users even shared graphics and memes about the situation. For example, a fan created a graphic pitting A’ja Wilson against Clark, with the caption, “This is what we want Cathy.”

And of course, when fans don’t get what they want, they lament. “No Fever vs. Aces, Caitlin Clark vs. A’ja Wilson for WNBA Rivals Week is a huge missed opportunity.” A fan said, and it makes sense! There’s no doubt that Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark make for an exciting story, but fans want something new.

It will be interesting to see how the rivals week ends up looking like. There are quite a few intriguing matchups on the calendar, none more so than the Fever vs Sky schedule. We can’t wait to see the action unfold!