Full disclosure: I am an alumnus of the University of Iowa (UI).
Opinion: It is well-known that there is a loyal fan base for the Hawkeye Football team and to some degree, the UI Men’s Basketball and Wrestling teams. Seldom, however, has there been a loyal following for any of the UI Women’s sport teams…until now.
Last weekend I brought my seven-year-old daughter to watch the NCAA Big Ten Women’s Basketball Semi-Final Championship games in Minneapolis. The UI Women’s Basketball (WBB) team was playing in the semi-final game against Maryland. I had heard the hype around UI’s Caitlyn Clark, the 2x Big Ten Women’s Basketball Player of the Year. I wanted to see her play live and “judge for myself” whether she lived up to all the individual hype.
Caitlyn did – no question. From the tip off to start the game to the buzzer to end the game, she lived up to all the hype and… then some.
The UI Women’s Basketball team won that game vs. Maryland 89-84. It was a high scoring game and definitely moments the UI WBB team looked like they might lose the game: Maryland had the momentum and UI seemed to be in a shooting slump. But Caitlyn AND the UI WBB team held strong to pull out the win.
On the car ride home, I asked my daughter what her favorite part of the experience was.
She said, “Mom, it was watching the UI WBB team play.”
It was a delightfully beautiful, unexpected answer that…is so right.
Reflecting on that game, it was just not Caitlyn. It was the entire UI WBB team that played phenomenally well TOGETHER. Yes, Caitlyn may be the “star” but every, single player on that team appeared to know what their position was on the court, executed the plays to the best of their abilities and more importantly, trusted each other.
When plays did not go as planned, the UI WBB team adjusted to make it work. When a player made a mistake, the UI WBB teammates adjusted to make it work. The emotional IQ of all the players AND Lisa Bluder, the UI WBB Coach, is off-the-chart and ridiculously remarkable to watch.
It was exciting, refreshing and a privilege to watch the UI WBB team play. And, I can confidently say that at least two new loyal UI WBB fans have been added to the already 9,000+ loyal UI WBB Hawkeye fan base that was in attendance that weekend at in Minneapolis.
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