Caitlin Clark’s absence from Team USA might be one of the reasons why their opening game in the 2024 Paris Olympics had the lowest attendance. It was the rematch of the gold medal game of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but was not enough to attract more fans.
According to the official tally for the games played Sunday and Monday, Team USA vs Japan only had 13,040 people in attendance. It’s the lowest among all the six games played in the first two days.
Here is the rest of the attendance for all six games:
Spain vs. China – 27,021
Serbia vs. Puerto Rico – 15,324
Nigeria vs. Australia – 24,023
Canada vs. France – 20,211
Germany vs. Belgium – 20,211
Team USA vs. Japan – 13,040
For what it’s worth, the crowd for the game was pro-Japan the entire night. It was not enough to have past two WNBA MVPs A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart or even a star like Sabrina Ionescu to raise the attendance.
While the game starting at 9 p.m. local time had an effect, it’s quite surprising that the star power of the players mentioned above, as well as their talent, didn’t pull a massive crowd. American fans in France might not see the value of watching the women’s team given that they are expected to cruise to the gold.
Things could change when the knockout stages start in Paris but it’s not far-fetched to think that having Caitlin Clark would have packed the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille. Clark might not be famous in other parts of the world, but there’s enough coverage on social media to make international fans curious.
In addition to that, Clark’s fanbase might have certainly made the trip from the United States to France just to witness her play in the Olympics for the first time. She adds a lot of entertainment value regardless of the game’s outcome, so people will watch her live just for the sake of watching her play.
People criticized Team USA for not putting Clark on the roster since they could still win it with her in tow, even if she wasn’t ready. Her presence would have also helped further, not just the WNBA internationally, but the entire sport of women’s basketball.
Caitlin Clark has been a ratings hit for the networks covering the WNBA, as well as selling out arenas at home and on the road. While there’s no guarantee she would have sold out internationally, it’s not hard to imagine the attendance getting close to the 27,000-plus numbers from the Spain-China matchup.
Ben Golliver of the Washington Post reported that some German fans in attendance wore Caitlin Clark’s Iowa jersey. They followed the 22-year-old guard’s career since she was in high school so there’s certainly interest in parts of Europe.
Dawn Staley opens up about Caitlin Clark’s Team USA snub
South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley is a member of Team USA’s selection committee that snubbed Caitlin Clark for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Staley admitted during NBC’s coverage of the event that Clark would have been high on their list if she hadn’t struggled in her first few weeks as a pro.
“Caitlin is just a rookie in the WNBA, wasn’t playing bad, but wasn’t playing like she’s playing now. If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people,” Staley said. [H/T Yahoo! Sports]
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Source: Los Angeles Times (edited)
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