Welcome wagon: Catchings doesn’t mind Clark grabbing the spotlight in Indy
Perhaps you've noticed, there's a new star on the scene in women's basketball.
Thanks to Indiana rookie Caitlin Clark, the WNBA is smashing both attendance and viewership records. The Fever is likely to set a league attendance mark this season.
Of course, the Fever already had an unquestioned face of the franchise in former Stevenson High School star Tamika Catchings. She still lives in Indianapolis and attends occasional Fever games. So what has her role been during the Clark takeover?
“I'm a fan. I'm a spectator, like everyone else,” Catchings said in a phone interview. “I get to go to the games, get to stay engaged with the players, kind of from afar unless they ask me to come. I'm pretty much hidden in the background and doing my thing. I guess that's a good place to be.”
Clark and the Fever will make their second and final visit of the season to Chicago next Friday. When the Sky beat Indiana on June 23 at Wintrust Arena, Clark was asked about her relationship with Catchings.
“I think Tamika has reached out after every single game,” Clark said. “Been one of the most supportive people. I met her the first day I arrived in Indianapolis. Just obviously a great resource for myself to have and everybody on our team to have.”
Clark may have the nation's attention, but Catchings has done just about everything there is to accomplish in the sport. She won a high school state championship at Stevenson before moving to Texas after her sophomore year, then added an NCAA title at Tennessee and earned four Olympic gold medals. She led the Fever to its only WNBA title in 2012 and also won league MVP.
“Our film room is named after her, the championship trophy is in our locker room,” Clark said. “She's like the epitome of who we want to be, not only as basketball players, but as people. She's one of the best there ever is, so she's been nothing but supportive.”
After retiring from the WNBA in 2016, Catchings became an entrepreneur. She bought the Tea's Me tea house and just opened a fourth location in Indianapolis. She also runs her foundation, does some television work for the SEC Network and helps guide several nephews. Kanon Catchings, son of her sister Tauja, will be a freshman at BYU this season. His famous aunt has already been out to Provo to help him get acclimated.
“The tea shop has been fun,” Tamika said when asked how she spends her time. “Speaking and traveling. Going to the Fever games here and there. It's an exciting time here in Indy, especially with the (WNBA) all-star game coming here next year. Getting geared up for that.”
Catchings' most in-depth conversation with Clark came before the former Iowa star's introductory news conference. What advice is there to give to someone as deep in the spotlight as Clark?
“I just let her know, 'Hey, I'm in the city if you need me,'” Catchings said. “But also, 'Soak in the moment, enjoy it.' There's going to be the highs and lows. I think the media people made a lot early on about all the animosity toward her.
“It's like, 'You know what? Just play basketball. Go you there and enjoy the moment, do what we do on the court, take care of business off the court and everything will work the way it's supposed to work.'”
Animosity toward Clark for the attention she's gotten may still be an issue among WNBA players. For Catchings, she's overjoyed to see the explosion of popularity for the Fever, even when it's personally inconvenient.
“It's night and day from last year,” she said. “People are buying tickets all the way in the last row at the top of the arena and proud of it, excited to be in the house and excited to be cheering Caitlin and the Fever on.
“Even the line to get into game, to find a parking spot — this is what it should be. People should be excited about being able to come and support the best players in the world. It's fun for me to be able to watch that.”
No better time to grab some tea and enjoy the show.