Although Iowa hasn't historically been a hot spot for celebrity sightings, Caitlin Clark's greatness in women's college basketball has changed that — for now.
During fourth-ranked Iowa's dominant 99-65 win over Bowling Green on Saturday in Iowa City, WNBA legend Sue Bird and actor Jason Sudeikis (star of sports TV show "Ted Lasso") were sitting courtside to see Clark and her Iowa team in action. Sudeikis even even gave Iowa fans something extra to cheer for, as he stood up from his seat and did a dance when shown on the stadium's Jumbotron during a timeout.
Not only did Clark get a picture with the two celebrities after the game, but Bird and Sudeikis met the Hawkeyes in their locker room as well. There, Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder introduced them as "The best player and the best coach in America." It was a reference to Bird as the player and Sudeikis as the coach in his role as an American football coach turned British soccer coach in "Ted Lasso."
What a day. #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/4AICiAeHx8
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) December 2, 2023
After the introductions, Bird and Sudeikis seemed to share a few words with the Iowa squad and took a few pictures. Then Sudeikis signed a "Believe" poster hung up in Iowa's locker room (if you know, you know).
Apparently, the two celebrities made a Midwest pilgrimage in order to watch college basketball together, as they were also in attendance for the Kansas versus UConn men's basketball game in Kansas on Friday night. And no Midwest college basketball pilgrimage would be complete without watching Caitlin Clark play.
In fact, when speaking to the Wall Street Journal about Clark's playing style, Bird said, "I mean, it's jaw-dropping. It's eye-popping. It makes you take note of those moments."
Bird is not alone in that sentiment — as shown by the fact that season tickets to Iowa women's basketball games have been sold out since August, and the school has also had to pause single-game ticket sales for the season. Prior to this year, the Iowa women's basketball team had only sold out three regular season games in program history.
It may be only a matter of time before we see some other celebrities show up for one of Iowa's next home (or away) games. Then again, considering that Clark is destined to be the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft and surely has a lengthy professional career ahead of her, perhaps most celebrities aside from Bird and Sudeikis will be willing to wait until she's out of Iowa in order to watch her play (no offense, Iowa).
