WNBA star Caitlin Clark is a showstopper in Baltimore, even without playing
About 90 minutes before tipoff between the Washington Mystics and her Indiana Fever at Baltimore's CFG Bank Arena, the 2024 No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick emerged from the tunnel meeting a quiet gym. This was the first time she'd been sidelined for a regular-season game in her professional career. Clark wore a Nike windbreaker and matching Air Maxes with a digital camera tied around her wrist.
Advertisement
She snapped flicks of her teammates warming up and snuck up on coaches to capture this Wednesday in Baltimore. That's how most others in the gym felt, too — even if the luminary sharpshooter never put on a uniform.
It was announced last month that a pair of Mystics-Fever games were being moved from the 4,200-seat CareFirst Arena to CFG Bank Arena, which seats 14,000. Wednesday was the first, with the Mystics winning 83-77 in front of an announced crowd of 11,183. Sept. 7 in the same gym will be the rematch. The reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year was, and will again be, the main draw.
Folks who bought tickets the day they went on sale shelled out hundreds of dollars per seat. By game day, two days after the Fever that announced Clark's quadriceps injury would hold her out for at least two weeks, StubHub offered seats for less than $10.
Even without the game's headliner, there were still Fever fans — and more specifically, Clark fans — braving the misty May weather.
Advertisement
'I knew she was gonna come on the trip. She's not the type to sit at home,' said Melissa Kramer, a 30-year-old from New Jersey waiting patiently at the front of the line more than two hours before tipoff. 'And she knows that people spend time and money to see her in general, just to be in the environment with her. I knew she was coming and I knew it wouldn't be a problem.'
Clark set down her own camera and made her way off the hardwood and into the stands, flanked by what could've been mistaken for a documentary crew. A gym that looked bleak moments earlier suddenly felt smushed. Fans of all ages rushed to the front row for a peak at one of the faces of the WNBA. Clark grabbed a Sharpie and started stretching her fingers, well aware of what she was about to get herself into.
She signed shirts, jerseys and posters for 12 minutes. She posed for many pictures. One little girl reached her hand through the railing and probably won't be washing that marker off anytime soon. Someone had a copy of Clark posing for the cover of Time Magazine's December 2024 issue. Another fan held up a sign sending Clark 'healing vibes,' acknowledging that it was still the best birthday present of her young life.
A basketball court is 94 feet long. Clark signed autographs well beyond both baselines, her John Hancock filling up the length of the gym for fans draped over the railing behind the benches.
Advertisement
Mystics vs. Fever in WNBA game at CFG Bank Arena | PHOTOS
Why so generous with her time?
Fever coach Steph White didn't want to speak for her star player, 'but Caitlin was that little girl that watched this league,' she said. 'And when you are that little girl who eventually gets to live out her dreams, you want to empower the next generation of players. You want to give that hope to the next little girl that's in the stands to accomplish their goals and their dreams.'
Mystics veteran Brittney Sykes shared in that sentiment: 'Just being able to bring this game here is so much more than basketball. Now we've been able to show the little girls that are closer to Baltimore that, 'OK, you have a possibility to go to the league.' We would love for them to come all the way to DC, but that's the whole point of us trying to expand.'
Advertisement
Among those dreamers lucky enough to reach out toward their hero was a quartet of travel basketball teammates whose parents drove them down from Pennsylvania. Ten-year-olds Cece Geesey and Harper White, 9-year-old Daphne Fuhr and 7-year-old Paige Fuhrman met the hooper who is to them, what Taylor Swift is to millennials, or Michael Jordan to basketball fans of the 1990s.
The girls pooled their allowance together for these tickets. One made a sign explaining how allowance is $15, the going rate for cotton candy is $10, and tickets to see No. 22 on the bench are 'Pricey' with a frown.
There were no frowned faces after meeting Clark, even if just for a moment. 'It was the best!' one shouted. 'So cool,' another chimed in. They all spun around to show proof of signature, having followed Clark's rocket-ship ascension the past few years. Even with Clark sidelined, these elementary school pals were lined up before the gym doors opened.
Kramer was too. She's been a fan since watching Clark, then an Iowa freshman, bury a half-court shot against Ohio State. 'I thought, 'I don't know how this can't be real,'' Kramer said. She's seen Clark play six times. She got a picture with her hero in the middle of that lengthy queue.
Advertisement
There were Mystics fans who made the short drive for this game, too. There might have been more had this not been on weeknight (the rematch is a Sunday afternoon). But the Baltimore gym flooded with Clark supporters, wearing Fever gear. Or Iowa gear. Or both.
None more on the nose than the red Fever T-shirts that read, 'Every game is a home game.'
Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
13 minutes ago
- USA Today
5 WNBA trades we'd love to see ahead of the 2025 deadline
The 2025 WNBA trade deadline looms on Aug. 7, and we've decided to go through the league and find some options for possible trades until that deadline. While some contenders like the New York Liberty, Indiana Fever and Seattle Storm don't make our list, teams like the Minnesota Lynx, Phoenix Mercury and Golden State Valkyries add key pieces ahead of this year's deadline. Our major disclaimer: WNBA trades are harder to pull off than NBA trades, particularly with the looming CBA. This might lead to this being a quiet trade deadline, but we're going to do some imagining anyhow. This all might just be moot, but we'll have some fun and do some hypotheticals for the heck of it. Wings G Arike Ogunbowale to the Lynx The Lynx are one of the clearest title contenders this summer, but they could use another hot hand on offense to withstand some of the best scoring teams they'll see in the playoffs. If Minnesota wants to push in all the chips, they could send a queen's ransom to Dallas to secure Ogunbowale for the rest of the season. She would instantly set the Lynx up to score in bunches from beyond the arc right away. The team could use one more guard who can score 3-pointers with ease, and it could send a good young forward in Diamond Miller and a first-round pick back to Dallas. POSSIBLE TRADE: Ogunbowale to the Wings for Miller, a 2026 third-round pick a 2027 first-round pick Mystics F Aaliyah Edwards to the Valkyries After the Valkyries lost forward Kayla Thornton for the season, the team now has a clear need at forward. Edwards could settle into a more long-term role in Golden State, a team that will need young players on rookie deals with free agency looming for some of its best players in 2026. The Valkyries are starting to fade down the stretch, but adding Edwards would give the team a bit of a jolt now and a good building block for later. Forward Cecilia Zandalasini could be an intriguing fit for Washington to come off the bench and replace Edwards' minutes in the rotation. POSSIBLE TRADE: Edwards to Golden State for Zandalasinia, 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick Sky G Rachel Banham to the Dream Few teams in the WNBA love to shoot the 3-pointer like the Dream, and Banham coming off the bench for Atlanta could cement it as one of the best contenders in the league. She would be an outstanding option for a Dream team that could thrive with more options in the rotation to score from beyond the arc. Chicago needs young talent, so Dream guard Maya Caldwell and forward Taylor Thierry could get real minutes with the Sky as part of the trade. POSSIBLE TRADE: Banham to Atlanta for Caldwell, Thierry and a 2026 second-round pick Sun G Marina Mabrey to the Mercury The Mercury are trying to push for a title, and Mabrey could instantly elevate those chances. Phoenix could put together a compelling trade package for Connecticut, one featuring guard Lexi Held, forward Natasha Mack and a 2026 second-round draft pick. Phoenix could throw a 2027 pick in the mix as well to get a deal done, and Mabrey could arrive in Phoenix as a valuable depth option that can hit 3-pointers and give the team more of an edge. POSSIBLE TRADE: Mabrey to Phoenix for Held, Mack, a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick Sky G Rebecca Allen to the Mystics The Mystics could use another veteran guard coming off the bench for their playoff push, and Allen could absolutely provide that. Chicago could add a young guard in Lucy Olsen to the roster, and Washington could try Allen out for the rest of the season coming off the bench and potentially re-sign her as a free agent next offseason. A player-for-player swap makes sense here, as Olsen's overall potential matches Allen's instant and possibly long-term impact. POTENTIAL TRADE: Allen to Washington for Olsen
Fast Company
an hour ago
- Fast Company
Angel Reese's style secret is versatility
As a forward on the Chicago Sky, Angel Reese is one of the most dominant players in the WNBA, and when she joined us to speak about being named to our Best Dressed in Business, she'd just broken league records by closing her fourth consecutive game with 15+ rebounds. (When critics panned her for 'mebounding,' she trademarked it.) It all embodies how Reese's draft class did more than add fresh competition to the league when it arrived with a splash in 2024. It awakened the spectacle of the sport, celebrating the uniqueness of players who broke free from their uniforms with expressive, pregame tunnel walks—a critical piece in increasing sponsors 19% that year and viewership by 170%. 'A lot of the women already had the fashion, and I think the platform really helped them,' says Reese. 'I think coming to the league with all the eyes that we had, it really shined a light on them and gave them the flowers that they deserve.' Long before she joined the Met Gala host committee or had partnerships with Good American and Reebok (her signature Reese 1, inspired by diamonds, was announced this month), Reese earned the nickname Bayou Barbie for her glam perspective, even on the court, which was part of her game as long as she remembers. 'I always had my hair done, and my nails were painted,' she recalls. 'My grandma used to put mascara on my lashes, and she brushed my hair up nicely. It was always 'dress to impress.'' Reese's passion for fashion was spurred on through her mother's closet, from which she'd steal bags and heels, the latter of which felt tricky for her 6' 3' frame. 'I think it took me a while to feel confident in heels, going out, because I was already so tall,' she says. 'But once I got older and seeing how much I stood out, it made me feel, like, super confident and bold.' That boldness is a throughline of her 'fits—and perhaps the only one she cares much about. When I mention her silhouettes tend to embrace high waists and crop tops, she shrugs off any trends you might see, and insists she wants to have the opposite of any signature look. 'Sometimes I'll go streetwear. Sometimes I'll go super girly,' she says. 'I don't really identify myself as dressing one type of way. [Though] I am into high fashion for sure. So you probably see me with a nice bag, nice pair of glasses.' Describe your style in a sentence. I am versatile. What's the one piece in your closet you'll never get rid of? I think my bags. I've created a collection of bags, when I see it, I need it, I have it. I'm in collector mode, in my vintage era. I just got this double flap Chanel bag, it's orange, and I love it. How long does it take you to get dressed in the morning? If I'm only going to practice, it doesn't take me long. But when I'm getting ready for a game? An hour, for sure. What do you wear to a big meeting? I don't really have meetings [laughs]. Most of these things are on Zoom these days. I don't want to meet people or go to their office. What's the best piece of fashion advice you've ever gotten? Be confident in your skin. Law Roach kind of told me before, don't care what anybody else has to say. Like, as long as you're confident in it and you feel good in it. It's aura. You have to have aura.
Fast Company
an hour ago
- Fast Company
Fast Company's Best Dressed in Business
BY It took me 35 years before I learned how to dress well. And it took about that long to learn who I was. That timing is not a coincidence, as anyone on our inaugural Best Dressed in Business list will tell you. For the first time in our three-decade history, Fast Company is celebrating fashion across the world of work: eight remarkable individuals ranging from athletes on the court of the WNBA to designers in the C-suite of Seoul to innovators at Apple. This editorial initiative is not about whether quiet luxury or that cut of jeans is still in. It's not about labels or influencers, either. It's about celebrating those who are comfortable enough in their skin to stunt across the professional world. Because most of all, dressing well requires knowing oneself. In some ways, the timing of this package couldn't be more fraught. Both high fashion and fast fashion are encountering new challenges in the face of shifting consumer tastes. But never before has culture afforded us the license to dress in so many different ways for any given circumstance. We live in an era of unbridled self-expression, fueled by social feeds and global retailers moving too fast to keep track of. This is an advantageous moment for individualism: There is no wrong way to dress anymore, and there are countless right ones. For a lucky few, work offers a path toward self-actualization. And the way we dress for that occasion is something we are here to celebrate. —Mark Wilson Mauro Porcini, chief design officer, Samsung Mauro Porcini became the world's first chief design officer at 3M, before taking the role at PepsiCo and, now, at Samsung. But as a designer seated in the boardroom, he admits to being constantly pulled between two worlds. His style captures this duality, and has served as a tool to be taken seriously as a creative in business—while helping him find peace within himself. Emma Grede, fashion entrepreneur Emma Grede is a mother of four who has spent most of her career building a fashion empire behind the scenes—and behind the Kardashians. As the cofounder of Good American, Skims, and Off Season, she's created a constellation of brands that reach into the closets of people around the world. But she's still managed to become a style icon in her own right by creating a rotation of classic pieces that she mixes and matches. Read more Angel Reese, forward, Chicago Sky As an all-star forward for the Chicago Sky, Angel Reese is one of the most dominant players in the WNBA. But her draft class did more than add fresh competition to the league when it arrived with a splash in 2024. It awakened the spectacle of the sport, celebrating the uniqueness of players who broke free from their uniforms with expressive pregame tunnel walks. Salehe Bembury, shoe designer One of the most in-demand designers in sneakers, Bembury has collaborated with New Balance, Crocs, Versace, Moncler, Vans, and other brands. With an aesthetic rooted in a combination of outdoor lifestyle and funky, organic shapes, Bembury has reimagined streetwear as something as biological as it is mechanical. His personal style is equally interesting.
