Last time that I was in the same room as The Sparks, it was the 30th anniversary game in which, thanks to a well-timed buzzer beater, Nneka Ogwumike carried the team to a win against The Liberty. It remains one of those highs that don’t come around often but, when they do, leaves you wanting more. You walk out of the building believing that this will be the year that things turn around, that after three seasons of stumbling, things are finally locking into place.
Never mind any reasoning that would refute this. The most evident is the continued absence of crucial players like Cameron Brink as well as Kelsey Plum. Small setbacks like this could explain why the brief window between that game and when I next saw them has largely been missed opportunities. Not only missed, but the soul-draining kind of collapses that make you question your own sanity. As a longtime Sparks fan, I can weather this storm, but going into The Fever match-up was rough given that they had lost to them weeks prior by 24. Along with their game against The Tempo, The Sparks were put on notice for giving up over 100 points in two consecutive games. Was it possible to rebound?
Much like with The Liberty match-up, I was looking at contemporary stats to predict that Indiana was going to have a night of pure mauling. It didn’t make sense any other way. After all, they had gotten to The WNBA Semifinals where they played The Aces AND ALMOST WON with a line-up that could objectively be called their back-up. With most of the key players injured, the fight was impressive and made for some delightful ball. Also, the narrative of Caitlin Clark’s crew taking down A’ja Wilson on the eve of a potential dynasty-making year would’ve gone to The Fever fans’ heads. Much like Sabrina Ionescu in a bigger picture, it would’ve been legendary even if Indiana’s chances were hypothetically shattered shortly after.
Which is all to say that my relationship with The Fever is slightly different from the general public’s. Having regularly followed the seasons since 2021, I remember a time when this team was a joke. They’d team up with Stranger Things for jersey logos and would regularly rank in the bottom dregs. The upside is that this failure complements the draft in ways meant to help the team and, in this case, largely did. Aaliyah Boston set the groundwork for what was to come, but it was still a matter of building a team that gets results.
Much like The Liberty, I am skeptical of throwing praise on a team just because they have the hot new thing. I need it proven to me over time. Do I appreciate potential? Of course. However, I find certain sports fans can get obnoxious with their arrogance that a player out of college is somehow a messiah. I have been offput by this reasoning less because they have a younger player that speaks to them (I have a handful), but more because these people often are distant from the sport itself and only ever engage with it as a commodity, a numbers machine. It’s a loud minority, yes, but I know people who fixate on the drama over the game, and it’s deeply unpleasant. As a big fan of The Dream, there’s a certain “rival” I struggle to talk about with certain people because they made up their mind when this player was still a rookie. There’s no time for development and humbling. Whereas I used to be able to watch the games and not have to be inundated with complaints of racism and death threats (though ESPN’s Facebook comments were always about the sexism), it now feels like everything has to be sullied with unvetted controversy because regular basketball just isn’t interesting enough for you guys.
Which is all to say that I sympathize with Caitlin Clark a little bit and think Ionescu was one of the last college superstars who may be treated in The WNBA with any rationality. The media around her can become grotesque, nitpicking the insignificant and insisting she represents ideologies that are not her own. I don’t listen to her interviews. I don’t watch more than a half-dozen Fever games a year. What I do know is she’s skilled and has earned what praise she has the legitimate way. It’s just that her public narrative is a mess and maybe embodies the cynical detriment of the league. She can’t just be a player. She had to be the best immediately. There’s no room for patience and growth. Again, I think she earned her success, but her mythic status is clickbait from hack authors.
I’m sorry for opening with so much conversation around The Fever as an entity. I think they’re one of those young teams whose reputation precedes them and I worry that, moving forward, you would wonder why I didn’t have the same enthusiasm as everyone else in the room. I’m always down for a good game, but that rush when Clark hit the court to warm-up was not there for me. She was merely a player I’ve heard about. At most, I was viewing it through my nieces’ eyes, who are more invested in her journey and stand to get more from what limited minutes she could play. Another reason I sympathize is how much attendance relied on her existence. I’m assuming the upper rows were not opened due to the risk that she might not even be playing (meanwhile, they had been for the LA vs. NY game for dirt cheap). To have that pressure must be hell on anyone, even if our personal trip to see The Fever was predicated under the same presuppositions.
With that said, The Sparks announcer did the funniest thing imaginable when sharing the starting line-up. Because of Clark’s reputation, the room would grow deafening the minute she stood up. Seconds into his verbiage, she was on her feet running through the typical group huddle. Because of the pandemonium, nobody could hear the other names and I’m pretty sure the announcer just slurred them all as quickly as he could to do that antagonistic opponent thing.
Let’s back up a minute. Having gone to games since 2021, I have some awareness of what an average WNBA line looks like. Upon arrival, several of the ones outside had already formed a snaking pattern around the walkways. I don’t know that I’ve seen a crowd this dense since The Aces in 2024, and I got to say that I still love the warm atmosphere these people bring. To state the obvious, yes, majority of attendees were wearing The Fever jerseys. Even so, I saw nods to college basketball (specifically Iowa) in a prominent fashion for the first time since early Ionescu days with the Oregon greens. Remove context clues, and you could swear we were going to Indiana for the evening.
It is easy to get drunk off the idea of The Sparks winning another game, let alone by a dominant margin. When you’re having fantastic nights from Nneka Ogwumike, Rae Burrell, and Dearica Hamby, it’s easy to believe that this team is capable of locking in and really getting business done. On a night like this, it’s a beautiful reminder of their potential. There was some stumbling along the way, but the rush of a Sparks win eventually forgave and overwhelmed the senses even as The Fever manned the back door with constant threats of catching up.
One of the biggest developments since I last wrote was that Alissa Pili went from being off the team to being back on the roster and, let me tell you, I hope they figure out what to do with her. The Lynx days were rough, but I felt like The Sparks were hinting at something greater by the end of last season. If this game is any evidence, she has only started to develop her greater potential and is proving to be a driving force on the court, especially in a Brink-less environment. I just love watching her get those minutes and shine in the various line-ups that proved to be fairly competitive. Also, as the only Samoan player in the league, she is guaranteed a cheer every time she walks on the court in Los Angeles. That I promise.
A player I feel like I overlooked in the previous match-up was Ji-hyun Park. Outside of obvious hitmakers like Erica Wheeler and Ariel Atkins, she is somebody who I needed to study more. Maybe it’s recency bias, but tonight felt like a good showcase for what she could bring to the team. While far from the biggest shooter, she had the same aggression that Pili has and really made her presence known when possible. I still need to get a read on her conventionally, but she’s another one of those pieces that got moved around in the off season that maybe didn’t make sense originally but is now coming into their own.
To Fever fans’ credit, they are enthusiastic and into the game. They have their players that have triumphant entrances every time they sub in. During the one time that Clark scored a three point shot, their enthusiasm was unmatched for any other player. There’s a love that I cannot fully understand, but it’s also because I felt like I caught them on a very average night. Not average like their median quality, but average in the way that The Sparks can feel average sometimes. They get you far enough for a decent game, but nothing is blowing you away. Again, I sympathize with the pressure to be the greatest team in the league by media standards when I’d argue they’re still building to that greater potential.
Kelsey Mitchell was obviously crucial to their success with the night’s highest total at 29 points. There’s clear talent on the team, but some of it feels like it was one of those off nights. Everyone had their moments, but this wasn’t championship material. It was enough to put on a good game and let people see their favorite players. I’m also not completely sure that Lexi Hull and Sophie “Remember College?” Cunningham (I’ve seen her sell Yrefy more than play basketball in the past year) aren’t the same person even when they’re on court together. Maybe the absence of Boston makes a big difference and Clark’s recovery window set back things a little bit.
I’ll admit it’s tough to compare this game to the last one because The Liberty has years of anticipation in my family that make the rare wins feel otherworldly. The Fever, while most of my kin enjoy, is a group I’m struggling to share that enthusiasm with. I’m not saying they’re bad, but the narrative is not there for me. At most, I got a good game of basketball tonight, and I’m cool with that. Contrary to it being my birthday, this was a Christmas gift to my nieces who wanted to see their favorite player. They got to and, to her credit, she tried at all odds. It was just a few too many missed shots to flip the switch.
If I can write one very silly criticism, it’s that I am disappointed at the missed opportunity to have Plum participate in the t-shirt toss. I’m sure there’s protocol that stopped her, but man… when she’s not playing, it’s hard to resist attempting to recreate one of the most iconic moments in basketball history that didn’t involve a basketball.
Other than that… we have one more game on the schedule. It’s our second year with The Valkyries, and I am praying that Plum, Brink, and Kate Martin all get to play by then. I have been wanting to see the last two especially this season and get kind of heartbroken when they don’t. Tonight would’ve been a fun narrative between Brink and Clark just in terms of first and second draft of their class, but that’s how things go sometimes. I also just want to see Martin so I could say I’ve seen her on three teams in three different years (an honor only held by Odyssey Sims). I’m hoping she fits.
Anyway, Game 2 of 3 was a lot of fun with some great people. I worry that I sounded a bit too critical of things unrelated to the game, but I’m still struggling to get the passion others have for The Fever. Talk to me about The Dream or The Valkyrie (or, of course, The Aces), and maybe we’ll get nerdy. For now, I see a young team that’s got a lot going for them and I’ll be enthusiastic if they get the glue settled by playoff time. However, I come away more enthused by having another fan base this prominent and loyal that still feels invested in the sport (funnily enough, there was even a group called “Iowa in LA” present). It was also nice to be aware that Millikan athletes were in the house (Go Lady Rams!). Also, shoutout to Beejay Sax, who had one of the best renditions of “The National Anthem” that I’ve heard outside of St. Vincent. It may have been designed solely as a chance to improvise between the notes on a sax, but I was having a good time either way. Yadda, yadda, yadda, the atmosphere is so much fun and it always feels good to go back. Talk with everybody soon about the next one.
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