Why the Indiana Fever could be the new "America's Team" (sports)

[C C]

LINDA COHN
https://youtu.be/ZyLx-p9EKRE

VIDEO EXCERPT: I'll tell you why the Indiana Fever right now is America's team. Let me count the ways.

Well, Caitlin Clark, love her or not, you have to admire her. She's incredible. She just came off this record-setting weekend. Back-to-back games, 45 points, 10 assists, you know, all the whole thing. This number of steals, four steals, two blocks. Like only five players, WNBA and NBA. She's the only WNBA player to do it.

[...] And it seems like the Indiana Fever is always on. And when I know they're on, I'm like, "Oh, let me check out what's going on." Okay, that's what the Indiana Fever is to a lot of people who cannot name another team in the WNBA.

Here's another reason why they're America's team. Not only Caitlin Clark, but also Sophie Cunningham. Cunningham, of course, is Miss Fingerpointing. Amazing. Every time I see this pick, I crack up. She goes viral. It's amazing. It's probably one of my favorite memes of all time. And she's very likable.

After doing back-to-back games, you know, on Friday and Saturday, she was at her camp for 300 kids, signing autographs and taking pictures with them. People love Sophie. Just seems to say the right things, do the right things.

But this team is also polarizing. Their coach is not viewed favorably. People don't like the coach, Stephanie White. [Many heated exchanges between her and Clark, "take the cuffs off Clark!" sentiment among the fans.]

But the comparisons to the Dallas Cowboys when they were labeled America's team. Let me go through the specific similarities...

Why the Indiana Fever could be thje new AT ... https://youtu.be/ZyLx-p9EKRE

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ZyLx-p9EKRE

[Yazata]

I've never watched a WNBA game (I haven't watched an NBA game in several years either) and the Indiana Fever is the only WNBA team that I can name. Caitlin Clark is the only one of their players I can name. But yeah, the pointing thing did catch my attention. Sophie Cunningham's expression as she does it is a classic.

I do watch college basketball now and then.

Back before the college in my town closed down, I used to walk over a few blocks to watch their games live. And they had women's games before the men's games and the admission price was the same if I watched both. So I'd go early and watch the women too.

And I unexpectedly found myself liking the women's game more than the men. It was more of a team game with the women, not just a few male stars and the whole offense was just get the ball to the stars who would charge in and dunk. The women actually had plays and you could see that they had practiced moving to particular spots on the court and moving the ball.