It'll be a big night tonight in Iowa. Our most famous favorite daughter, born and reared right here, a corn-fed, pork-lovin' true Iowan, our hometown ringer-of a daughter who can hit threes from a township or two away, will break the all-time scoring record set by Washington's Kelsey Plum. Our own Caitlin Clark will enter the game just eight points short of Plum's mark. If the U of M's Wolverine's were thinking of holding her to seven points, they'd have to raise the basket another ten feet. Chances are, Las Vegas, would still make her a favorite.
It's hard to be hyperbolic about Caitlin Clark, not simply because she can hit three-pointers from the other side of the court, but because she's tireless and a devastating opponent. Her Hawkeye team has a couple of losses this season already, and while just about everyone would love for the Clark team to take home all the marbles this year, there's no guarantee. And she knows it.
All of that being said, the truth is that Caitlin Clark has taken more than her team with her this year. She's grabbed the attention of millions who've become fans. NCAA women's basketball wasn't dying in the years immediately preceding Caitlin's stepping on the court, but since she has she's created something unheard of in women's sports. Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are better known hoopsters than any two men's teams stars. They--and their teams--pack stadiums. They've raised the women's game to levels of popularity unforeseen.
For the record, Caitlin Clark has scored 3520 points in 125 games. She averages 32 points a game, so, in all likelihood she'll get the 8 she needs before the crowd even settles in with their popcorn.
What's sweet is that it's not just her ability on the hardwood that's brought on all the fame, it's her disposition. She's a sweetheart, a good, good kid, and everybody knows it because she makes it abundantly clear that all of this--the success her teams have had and her own stardom are well, nice. But that's all. She's a darlin', and all she's all-Iowan.
Tonight, if you want to get to Carter-Hawkeye, plan on big bucks. It'll cost you $209 a seat in the upper corners. You want to watch them take on Ohio State in the season finale, it'll cost you, at bottom, $396. Not kidding.
Ask any Iowan, even those who aren't life or death Hawkeye fans, even a part-timers like me, who never saw a game, not even on tv--Caitlin Clark is great and has been great. She's a blessing, not just to Hawkeye basketball, but to the whole state--and more too, even more.
Men and women who do what they do with aplomb and humility are pure, out-and-out blessings to all of us. Caitlin Clark is one of those. Even before she hits one of those half-court threes, even before she's shoveled out an assist or two, she's lit things up and made things shine.
This morning I'm thankful for our own Caitlin Clark. She's a blessing.
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