In a 89-72 loss to the Connecticut Sun Monday night, Indiana Fever's star player Caitlin Clark was benched after picking up her fourth foul. At this point in the game, 4:41 mark in the third quarter, the Fever trailed 69-41.
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Head coach Christie Sides ended up keeping all of the starters on the bench for the final 14 minutes of the game, and this led to the many speaking out, which includes even the opposing team's fans in attendance.
As a result of Clark not coming back in, all of the fans in Mohegan Sun Arena, starting chanting "We want Caitlin."
Chants of “We want Caitlin” are starting to ring out here at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Clark hasn’t played since the middle of the third, when she picked up her fourth foul. pic.twitter.com/yU0HQDkh4H
— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) June 11, 2024
To speak on Clark's popularity, even other teams' fans are buying their tickets to watch the No. 1 overall draft pick play, and in correlation rooting against their own players.
That is to say, the crowd was heard booing after Suns guard Dijonai Carrington fouled and then seemingly mocked Clark.
— Dan Zaksheske (@RealDanZak) June 10, 2024
The away team had Clark's back, which is not something that is seen in sports too often.
Despite all of the support, Clark had arguably her worst game of the season, putting up 10 points, 0 rebounds, 2 assists with a +/- of -30 in the loss.
The Fever now have a 3-10 record, while the Sun are 10-1, which is currently the best record in the WNBA.
A little odd that Caitlin Clark left the game mid-3rd q with 4 fouls and never returned, even as fans in Ct. chanted, "We want Caitlin." Yes, it was a blowout. And yes, Dijonai Carrington is a tough matchup for her. But only 22 minutes, when she needs reps? Odd.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 11, 2024
Fans undoubtedly want to watch Clark, who seems to be everyone's favorite women's basketball player. On that same note, the 22-year-old was recently left off the Team USA Olympic squad, which has stirred up some controversy to say the least.
Clark said her being left off the team only gives her motivation moving forward, while also noting she is happy for her peers.
"I'm excited for the girls that are on the team," Clark said in an interview with reporters. "I know it's the most competitive team in the world, and I know it could have gone either way, me being on the team or me not being on the team. I'm going to be rooting them on to win gold. I was a kid that grew up watching the Olympics, so it will be fun to watch them."
