CLEVELAND — There are athletes so transcendent, their impact so transformative, that their sport will forever be defined by its before and after.
There is baseball before and after Babe Ruth. Golf before and after Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, and again before and after Tiger Woods. Basketball before and after Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
And there will be basketball before and after Caitlin Clark, whose college career ended with an 87-75 loss to South Carolina in Sunday's national championship game. She has changed both her own competition and the way she views women's sports as a whole in very good ways, and neither will ever be the same.
“I never take it for granted,” Clark said during the tournament's first weekend. “I hope he continues to grow overall, especially after he finishes playing in college.
“It's not just happening in Iowa, it's happening all over the country. Getting into the door to the women's basketball game is difficult and that's exactly how it should be,” she continued. . “It should have been that way for a really long time.”
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Of course she's not wrong. Title IX was passed in 1972 to ensure that the doors to gyms and arenas across America were open to girls and women. The fight for equity in pay, funding and facilities continues.
Interest and opportunity are increasing, but progress is slow. This is often frustratingly so. Key moments such as her WNBA emergence in 1997 and her 1999 U.S. Women's World Cup victory prompted a surge in popularity, but did not lead to sustained growth. Women's sports still had to fight for media coverage and public respect.
opinion:Caitlin Clark and Iowa didn't benefit from an NCAA Tournament berth despite being a No. 1 seed
Before and after COVID-19, there were encouraging signs that maybe, just maybe, significant changes were coming. Ratings for the WNBA and NWSL are on the rise. Owners in both leagues viewed and treated franchises as sound investments rather than charitable projects. His USWNT landmark contract guaranteed equal pay.
Then came the Clark tsunami.
An average of 5.5 million people watched Iowa State's victory over undefeated South Carolina in the 2023 Final Four, captivated by her logo 3 and unapologetic trash talk. Nearly 13 million people watched the title game, in which Angel Reese and LSU gave their best performance against Clark and Iowa.
The attack on Clark's record ensured high interest would continue this season, but few could have predicted. this. Iowa State filled the arena for nearly every game, home or away. Each seemed to set new ratings records, culminating with 12.3 million people tuning in Monday night to watch the rematch between Iowa and LSU, this time with a spot in the Final Four.
The 12.3 million audience was the second-largest audience since 2012 to watch a basketball game, whether professional or college, men's or women's. It also exceeded attendance for all but one college football game last season.
Clark also became a commercial star thanks to State Farm advertising, becoming a constant presence in living rooms and bars across the country. When she passed Pete Maravich for her all-time scoring record, Nike hung not one but two of her signs in Iowa City celebrating her.
“It's a big honor for her,” Iowa coach Lisa Bruder said after the second round.
But Clark recognizes the magnitude of this moment and wears it effortlessly. Not just for her, but for all the women before her and all the women who will come after her.
She realizes that as long as the spotlight is on her, it extends to other players as well. her teammates. lease. JuJu Watkins of USC. Paige Backers of U.S.C. And on and on. Clark also knows how important it is for the girls who wear their jerseys and ask for autographs to have role models. Common sense for female athletes who now will never know a time when this wasn't ideal, not to mention the little boys who do the same.
“I just remember when I was a kid, there were no women's basketball games on TV. I didn't really hear about the WNBA. I looked up to the male players.” said LSU guard Haley Van Lith. He is perhaps best known as the player opposite Clark's “You Can't See Me” during last year's tournament, when Van Lith was still in college. Louisville.
“Today, young women can see themselves in other female athletes. We're there on TV. We're right in front of their eyes. They're us. I can relate to that,” Van Lith added. “I think that’s something really special.”
The ridicule of women's sports and the disrespect of female athletes is almost over. The persistent Neanderthal is now seen more as a relic of the past than as a clever comedian.
That is Clark's true legacy.
The scoring records, the player of the year awards, those are all great things. But that means silencing the voices that say, “No one cares about women's sports!” The peanut gallery and its longstanding command of respect for women's sports and the athletes who play them will resonate long after Clark is done playing.
“I hope they remember how we made them feel, that we brought joy to their lives, that we gave their families something to scream at the TV on the weekends. I hope that's the biggest thing that people remember,” Clark said Thursday. “I hope that every young boy and girl remembers the joy we had playing together and the 10 seconds we spent signing autographs, and that it inspires them to become whatever they want to be. I am.”
There was a time before Caitlin Clark. It's even better for us that she's pushed those dark days into the past with Logo 3 and her ratings records one by one.
Follow USA TODAY sports columnist Nancy Armor on social media @nrarmour.
