Let’s talk about the moment. Caitlin Clark. Back in Iowa. Back in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Wearing that Indiana Fever jersey now, but still 100% Iowa’s own. And the crowd? Absolutely rabid. Packed to the rafters. Not for some Final Four revenge game. Nah — a preseason game. Against Brazil. BRAZIL. That’s how deep the Caitlin Clark effect runs.
Caitlin Clark has arrived 🤩
The 2024 WNBA ROTY is back at her old stomping grounds for her preseason debut vs. the Brazil National Team! pic.twitter.com/h608r7Tffb
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 4, 2025
Place looked like a sold-out Taylor Swift concert, only with more threes and fewer friendship bracelets. You could feel it. That buzz. Like, “Yep, we’re about to witness something again. Something filthy.” And right on cue — first possession, Caitlin pulls up from Mars and bangs a three. Net doesn’t even move. Crowd goes full explosion mode. It’s not even about the scoreboard — it’s the show.
The crowd erupts as Caitlin Clark takes the court in her preseason debut with the @IndianaFever at Carver Hawkeye-Arena 🔥 pic.twitter.com/y7BFz64Cq5
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 4, 2025
And honestly? That’s what this night was. A full-blown Caitlin Clark Appreciation Fest. Standing ovations like she just won an Oscar. People crying. Kids dressed like her. Grown adults losing their minds over a warm-up. It was beautiful.
But don’t sleep — this wasn’t just the Caitlin Show (okay, mostly it was). This whole thing gave the Fever some major love too. These fans showed out for the squad. Women’s basketball in Iowa is on a whole other level now. You could feel it in your chest. That’s not a crowd. That’s a damn movement.
Caitlin Clark drains a 3 on her first shot at her old stomping grounds 🔥
📺: ESPN pic.twitter.com/mSZ6Zh33UB
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 4, 2025
WNBA preseason games aren’t supposed to feel like this. They aren’t supposed to matter like this. But when Caitlin Clark walks back into Iowa, it hits different. This wasn’t just a basketball game. It was a homecoming, a thank you, a mic drop — all rolled into one.