Caitlin Clark’s WNBA haters could learn a valuable lesson from Tiger Woods

Marc Cannizzaro

WNBA

By Marc Cannizzaro

No other player has ever intentionally checked Tiger Woods from a tee box or green and called him a “bitch” in his first year on the PGA Tour.

But when Woods burst onto the golf scene with his first major championship victory in 1997, at the age of 22, with more publicity than anyone in the sport had ever seen, his presence sparked a similar – albeit more passive – jealousy among some of his peers. We recently saw directed towards Caitlin Clark.

If I had a dime for the number of times during Woods’ early years on tour that I got a sarcastic look at the sky when approaching players to talk about Woods or felt a vibe of annoyance when They were constantly asked about him, I would be able to afford a membership to Augusta National.

At the time, the human element of the players’ reaction was understandable to some extent, given the overwhelming attention Woods was attracting because of the supernatural things he was capable of doing on the golf course – things that his peers couldn’t do.

Among the other players, there was also a feeling that Woods was going to take money from their pockets and food from their plates.

At the time, those who had gotten caught up in the petty jealousy of it all realized that the exact opposite would happen.

Ultimately, Woods would line his comrades’ pockets with more money than they ever imagined they would earn.

Even though he won more than any of his peers and, for a time, his dominance made it almost impossible for anyone to win major championships (hello, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, David Duval et al) , Woods didn’t take food off their plates, he put lobster and A-5 wagyu beef on them.

It also paved the way for private jet travel to tournaments instead of Southwest Airlines’ 23D seat.

This was the result of the extra money that Woods’ greatness and popularity brought to the PGA Tour in the form of increased tournament purses, more sponsors and massive increases in television revenue.

There isn’t a single PGA Tour player on the planet who shouldn’t thank Woods for what he has done to the sport in making it much more popular and, therefore, lucrative.

Woods’ impact on golf is an extreme example, but it illustrates at least part of the impact Clark has the chance to have on the WNBA and women’s basketball — and has already begun to do so.

Just look at the attendance numbers for WNBA games and check how many fans go to the games Clark plays versus the number of fans who attend the games she doesn’t play.

Maybe Chennedy Carter, the Chicago Sky player who performed that ridiculous hip check on Clark and seemed to call him “bitch” in the process, should take note.

The same goes for Angel Reese, Clark’s old college rival and another WNBA rookie who embarrassed herself the other day with her “what about me?” ” in response to the idea that Clark has brought more attention to women’s basketball than anyone else in the field. time.

“I know I’m going to make history,” Reese said Monday. “I’ll look back in 20 years and say, ‘Yeah, the reason we watch women’s basketball isn’t just because of one person (Clark), it’s because of me too’, and I want you to realize that.”

Reese, a terribly talented player, may become the best player in women’s soccer, but it’s Clark who, over the past year, has brought more eyes to the sport than ever before.

And it looks like it will be Clark who gets the chance, as Woods once did, to be the tide that lifts all boats.

Many women have brought the sport to where it was before Clark joined the WNBA – among them Diana Taurasi, Tamika Catchings, Tina Charles, Sheryl Swoopes and Sue Bird.

But Clark is able to take it to another level. If she does, it may take a while, but even the most petty and jealous of the petty and jealous will realize that Clark is not a threat to them but a ticket to a better life for them.

“I’m not answering any questions from Caitlin Clark,” Carter barked derisively when reporters asked why she tried to knock out her own sport’s most important player.

If Carter sticks around long enough to benefit financially from what Clark is fortunate to bring to women’s basketball, she might actually be the one to willingly bring Clark up in conversation so he can publicly thank her.

Likewise, Woods’ enemies of the day came to appreciate everything he did for the sport — as well as their bank accounts and quality of life.