Earlier this year, when Caitlin Clark returned to Carver Hawkeye Arena for a preseason game against the Brazilian National Team, she didn’t disappoint. She tallied 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists in just 19 minutes of gameplay. But the highlight wasn’t her scoring. It was her logo three that she launched from the 36-foot mark with 26.1 seconds remaining in the third quarter. She hit the shot, smiled, and pointed at the scorer’s table as she ran back up the court. But why did she do so?
“No story, just my guy Ryan Ruocco,” Clark shared back then when asked about the story behind her pointing to the table. “He’s the man. I like him. I’m sure he had a good ‘you bet’ call. Yeah.” Every word she said was spot on. Much like Clark delivering in the clutch, Ruocco was in peak form himself, punctuating her long-range three with his trademark call – “You bet!”
Ruocco’s built a close relationship with CC while covering her games since college. But more than that, he’s got another reason to be present inside those arenas. “It’s like going to a concert and the anticipation when she pulls up from 30 feet, the reaction of the crowd, the attention from home, the emotional investment from fans and a broad stroke of fans is unlike anything I’ve experienced in the sports that I cover. So covering her games is just a completely unique experience in the best way,” he expressed during the September 17th episode of the Women’s Sports Weekly Podcast.
And yes, he’s 100% right here, as the electric environment inside arenas is quite similar to Taylor Swift concerts. Fans start showing up an hour or more before the games. They’ve got their faces painted, they’re carrying unique signs, and some of them wear No. 22 jerseys. Some old, some young, infants, boys, girls, men, women— people from every age group—are there. Officially, they were there for Iowa then, or the Indiana Fever now, but in truth, it’s Caitlin Clark who draws them.
As Lisa Bluder, her former head coach, has seen it countless times. When the team bus arrives and fans spot Caitlin Clark, their faces light up in awe. “It’s like the ‘Home Alone’ face,” she said while referring to actor Macaulay Culkin’s iconic pose. “Like, ‘Oh, my gosh, it’s Caitlin Clark!’ It’s fun to see, it really is.” After all, the beginning of CC’s ever-growing fan list started right from there.
And that was clear when the former Iowa Hawkeyes star performed against Virginia Tech on November 9 during the 2024 season in Charlotte, when she was still in college. The game drew 15,196 spectators to Spectrum Stadium—the largest ever crowd for a women’s game in the state. Just three days later, she made another short trip to Northern Iowa, where she broke Iowa’s career scoring record before the first sellout crowd for a women’s game at McLeod Center.
So, what we see today in the W is just an extension of her impact. Her production as a scorer, her shots beyond the arc, and her playmaking skills are the perfect way to serve her fans. For her, it’s a priority to ensure they are treated well, as they make it to arenas from long distances and are willing to empty their wallets just to watch her. And the loyalty? It’s at its peak. Even when she was limited to 13 games during the 2025 regular season due to four different muscle injuries, they made it to arenas every time. Hours before the games, they started lining up just to get memorabilia from their superstar. This is the kind of impact CC has brought.
But it isn’t just limited to fans—she’s bringing in money for the W too. According to Dr. Ryan M. Brewer, CC already accounted for 26.5% of the league’s economic activity last year and had the potential to exceed $1 billion in its sophomore year. Though the case is a bit different now!
With Caitlin Clark sidelined, Indy needs a plea to call loyal fans!
The Indiana Fever sensation is already out of the playoffs due to her season-ending right groin injury. So not only has attendance plummeted, but during Game 1, a lot of seats were vacant, too. But unlike last year, Indy had Game 2 at their home in Indianapolis, so they made a plea.
At first, it was GM Amber Cox coming on X to urge fans to make it to the arena, and then CC dived in. As per the video posted on the official X account of the Indiana Fever, CC delivered an energetic rallying cry: “First home game since 2016..I need to see every single person in Indianapolis, whether you’re inside the arena, could be outside of the arena, I don’t care. Show up. Get loud for my teammates. We need to get a dub and then we’re taking back to Atlanta. LET’S GOOOOOO!” she said. From there on, the team picked up—and the fans listened.
A crowd of 16,682 showed up at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to support Indy in Game 2 versus the third-seeded Atlanta Dream. And that same audience became the X-factor as they poured their hearts out, with the frustration on the faces of Dream players quite clear.
“They packed the house,” HC Karl Smesko admitted in the postgame press conference about how the crowd impacted the third quarter. “They were really loud. That gives them home-court advantage, but, I mean, that’s going to be wherever we go. It’s the playoffs. It’s going to be packed. It’s going to be loud. We got to play through anything that happens in the game, and we’ve been great on the road all season. Today was kind of just an off day.”
And thanks to the electrifying energy, combined with players’ efforts, Indy won. So yes, Caitlin Clark’s fan base isn’t just growing louder—they’re loyal and helpful too!