Long before the WNBA official season, the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark have already found themselves at the brink of history. The Fever’s preseason opener against the New York Liberty underscored their undeniable impact on the league, as they set an unheard-of number in this preparatory season, prompting the hoops community to share their perspectives.
Just a few days after the preseason opener between the Fever and the Liberty (April 25), the WNBA released the broadcasting numbers. As per the report, the average viewership of the game was around 743,000, while it peaked at 822,000 during the course of the game, making it the most-viewed preseason game in the league’s history.
The broadcast numbers aren’t close to the coveted preseason game between the Fever and the Brazilian national team, which drew an average viewership of 1.3M. But from a preseason opener perspective, the numbers were up. According to Sportico, the numbers surged 76% from last year’s preseason opener between the Las Vegas Aces and the Dallas Wings.
Advertisement
From a contextual perspective, there were few doubts in this regard. The game marking Clark’s return to the W after missing most of last season was an anticipatory moment. Furthermore, it also gave the fans a preview of how Fever’s new roster, featuring players like Raven Johnson, fares against a star-studded NY Liberty lineup that included Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones.
The game’s craze also reflected in the attendance at the Barclays Center, which was quite impressive, despite the Fever being the away team. More than 14,000 fans attended the game live during this preseason opener and subsequently gave the fans enough stuff to chatter about on social media, especially directed towards the major driving force behind these impressive numbers- Caitlin Clark.
Physical play, off-ball role, and ratings dip fuel growing fan debate
“You ****** better make sure you keep Caitlin Clark upright. Call fouls and kick players who cheap shot and suspend them, and call fouls on people who grab and pull on her for 94 feet!!,” wrote a fan.
Advertisement
“Y don’t large networks etc.. put pressure on the WNBA and it’s agenda filled competition committee to call egregious fouls to keep Caitlin Clark from constantly getting hard fouls and cheap shots? What about space to move and not grabbed full court? Similar to the Jordan rules,” remarked another.
In Caitlin Clark’s two years at the University of Iowa, we’ve got enough evidence that the CC effect is real and thriving in the current WNBA era. When CC graces the court, fans tune into their television sets, and people turn up at the arena. When she isn’t, the anticipation around the league tends to fall, as it did last year, when CC missed most of the season due to a string of groin and ankle injuries.
As a result, fans aren’t holding back in the WNBA about the tough physicality and hard fouls around her on the court to protect her and give her return a long shelf life, especially after she’s coming off an injury. Of course, the suspension part is an overexaggeration of their sentiment, but the comments truly reflect the fans’ concerns about Clark’s presence on the court.
“Just wait until the@IndianaFever injury train starts,” commented a netizen.
Advertisement
“Her rating dip. Be careful @IndianaFever @wnba before you lose your cash cow. Rein in your fo and anti cc fans,” chimed in another.
Now, this parallel that the fans are drawing with injury isn’t happening in isolation. We’ve seen it prominently last season when CC got injured. The Fever’s national television rating dipped by approximately 55%, from 1.81M to 847,000, leading to an overall dip in the WNBA’s ratings as well. Thus, the netizens were quick to point it out on social media.
Apr 25, 2026; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) during the first half against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
The Fever is already facing a few hiccups in this regard. Players like Aliyah Boston and Lexie Hull didn’t play due to minor injuries. Head coach Stephanie White has clearly stated that their absences were “precautionary”. But the gray area regarding the Fever’s injuries still persist this season as well.
Advertisement
“It will slowly decline after that if they made CC off the ball movement on every game,” summed up another.
It’s an interesting take, and over the past few days, there’s been a lot of noise around it. For starters, there’s no shying away from the fact that CC has been the premier ball handler for the Fever ever since her arrival on the team. And to be honest, she has thrived pretty well in that role. For instance, in her rookie season, Clark averaged over 19 points per game, further reinforcing her success in that role.
Thus, the team and Stephanie White’s dynamic shifted from that role to an off-the-ball role, a role that isn’t a popular take among many Fever fans, especially after CC scored just 7 points and went 2 of 10 in shooting. Even an analyst like Rachel A. DeMita offered a perspective on this in her latest assessment.
“What we’ve heard over and over, not only this season, but also last year, is coach Stephanie White saying, ‘We got to get Caitlin off the ball to give her more looks,” she said.”My problem with that sentiment is that it hasn’t worked yet. So, how much time are you going to try to develop Caitlin Clark into this off-ball player to get her better looks, when she’s actually not getting better looks, and she’s actually not shooting the ball well?”
Advertisement
The strategy might be a major step towards managing Clark’s workload on every play. But the fans aren’t buying it, and it could lead to disruption in viewership in the season to come. From an immediate perspective, Indiana Fever’s viewership might enhance further for their next preseason game against the Dallas Wings, where we’ll see the clash of two dynamic guards of the nation- Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers.
The post “Make Sure You Keep Caitlin Clark Upright”: WNBA World Can’t Stop Talking About Fever’s Preseason History appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
