“Diana Taurasi punching the air rn,” “I can’t wait”: College hoops fans left debating over ESPN’s four-part series on ex-Iowa star Caitlin Clark
Caitlin Clark, the former Iowa Hawkeye who became one of the most talked-about athletes last season and who has changed the state of women's college basketball forever, is set to feature in a four-part series documenting the recent college basketball season.
The series, which will be available on ESPN, will not just feature Caitlin Clark. The show will also follow Kamilla Cardoso, the Brazilian star who was part of the undefeated national championship-winning South Carolina Gamecocks, as well as Kiki Rice.
Fans were happy about the soon-to-be released series.
This fan is happy to see Kamilla Cardoso featured in the documentary
However, this fan argues that because the national championship game was only played a month ago, the series is hurried and is only capitalizing on the recent popularity of women's collegiate basketball.
This fan believes that Caitlin Clark should not be the main focus of the documentary, considering she did not win a national championship in her time with the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Finally, this fan has referenced Diana Taurasi, who made some negative comments about Caitlin Clark during the women's final four
Why is Caitlin Clark the focus of a documentary?
The four-part series will mostly focus on Caitlin Clark. Whatever the fans think about Clark, her contribution to the sport of women's basketball and college basketball in general cannot be understated.
Clark has been regarded as the "poster girl" for the new era of women's college basketball. Before Clark, Cardoso, and Angel Reese (who is not included in the documentary), women's college basketball was far from popular and had a play style that did not entice people.
But Clark and company brought a new style to women's basketball. It is now a game that is much more similar to its male counterpart, and the fans have taken to this.
The recent season had more viewers than the men's games, and Clark's games broke records in terms of TV viewership. For example, the women's national championship game, which included both Caitlin Clark and Kamilla Cardoso, had a viewership of 18.7 million people. In contrast, the men's national championship game, which featured star player Zach Edey, had a viewership of 14.82 million.
This was the first time that the women's national championship game had more viewers than the men's game, and it proves that there is a massive interest in women's college basketball at the moment, hence why ESPN is releasing the documentary series of a historic season.
Do you think Caitlin Clark is fully deserving of this documentary? Let us know in the comments section.