Many months ago, probably back in January, my son, Luke told me there was a woman who was going to change women’s basketball, She was going to be a female Michael Jordan, and the WNBA would never be the same again. Her name was Caitlin Clark, and I needed to watch her play.
Well, my son was right. She did change women’s basketball, and she is amazing to watch on the basketball court. When Caitlin Clark was drafted by the Indiana Fever, I had my own prediction, along with everyone else: I knew that Indianapolis was never going to be the same again. I knew that this extraordinary young woman would indeed, impact the Indiana Fever, and all of us who live here.
She is a spotlight, a beacon, an incredible force, who will be the first person to admit that she is not perfect. Despite setting record after record, she is not perfect. Despite setting the bar on passing the ball to other players, she gets mad at herself, which caused her to get benched a few times this season.
Despite all that she is, and all of her success, Caitlin Clark is a human being, and she will be the first to tell you that she struggled this year in her first year as a pro.
But let’s talk about the whole Fever team, not just Caitlin Clark. You know all those players, that we have watched and feel in some way, like we know them. A few weeks ago, I told Marcie we should invite them over cause we feel like we know them, and they should get to know us.
As this beautiful season has played out, I can’t help but find the lessons, the behaviors, the character traits and the success the Indiana Fever has demonstrated. I would even call them spiritual truths. I have been blown away by so much that this franchise does right.
First of all, the Fever team always thanks the fans. After playing in previous years in what Lexie Hull calls a barn with six people in it, the team is overwhelmed by the fan support this year. And we know that is the number-one impact of Caitlin Clark. Every home game and road game was packed by fans who wanted to do what Luke suggested. They wanted to see Caitlin Clark play basketball.
Like other things that we watch unfold in front of us in real time, we never really know how the players talk to each other, or what exactly the coaches say to the players, during the game. All we know is what is on social media, or by watching the post-game press conference. And I gotta tell you, I have never witnessed a more inspiring model of good behavior during a press conference than those done by the Indiana Fever.
Without fail, every single player along with the coach, Kristie Sides, speaks with respect, humility and level-headed understanding when answering questions. And somehow, they manage to never throw anyone under the bus. They find the good in each game, each player and each opponent.
Reporters might ask leading questions which may be an attempt to bait them into making derogatory comments about the referees, or the other team’s players, but they don’t do it. They make light of the reffing, they compliment the other team, and they always talk about their own teamwork.
Every time anyone from The Fever franchise speaks publicly, they follow the advice offered in the Bible in the book of Thessalonians: “Encourage each other, and build each other up.” — I Thessalonians 5:11
I was thinking the other day, that maybe I should do a post-game interview about our church service one Sunday. If I follow the model set by the Indiana Fever, it would go something like this:
We had a great service today. We played well together. We didn’t have one of our starters. Bob McLeaish was out, but Eric Wood stepped in and he did a good job for us. All our players seemed to fit well together, They haven’t played together that long but they’re doing really well together. The singers are giving it their all, Shawn mixes the sound, Marcie does the keynote, Jodi slipped in just under the buzzer with the prayer, and as always you know we’ve got a great group of people that come in and and watch us play and you know take part in and what we call our service and they are a forgiving group of people no matter what we do they just roll with it. It’s all good. We are looking forward to the church league playoffs. I’m proud of these guys . They’ve got a lot of heart.
I mean, I could do a quick press conference every Sunday after the service, and we could post that on Youtube. Think that might get some attention and increase our attendance?
But it isn’t just the press conferences that we should take from the Indiana Fever organization. We could all stand to improve our game if we took more from their playbook. Their playbook of fun, and joy and passion and respect.
I think we all noticed the evolution of the team from the beginning of the season to the end. They became closer as they played together. They began to understand each other better as they played together.
What I love about the Fever organization is their ability to find the good in even a dismal game outcome. They are resilient. They look forward to a bright future. They are grateful for the season that just ended. They don’t talk smack. They don’t shoot their wounded.
In another post-game interview sort of summarizing their season, Caitlin Clark talked about the resilience of the Fever team. She responded to a question about the tough beginning with their schedule that caused them to win only one game and lose 8 games. She stated that in the middle of that losing stretch, she said to one of her teammates that the lessons they were learning at that moment were going to pay off in the end. “Those were moments,” Clark said, “where we built confidence, moments where things didn’t always go our way, but we became more resilient as a result of the struggles.”
Clark also said that she really admired her teammates and coaching staff because every single day they all showed up with a positive attitude, with a drive to get better, and those are the people that you want to be around every single day. My coaches and my teammates pushed me to be better, but at the same time, they were a shoulder for me to lean on when times were tough.
Caitlin Clark concluded her comments with these words:
“All we do is believe in each other and love each other to death and that’s what a true team is.” — Caitlin Clark
Sounds like a dream team, doesn’t it? A group of people who are getting things right. The Indiana Fever basketball team won only 5 games two years ago — FIVE games out of 36 games. Last year, they won 13 games out of 40. And this year, they broke even with 20 wins and 20 losses, and they were the sixth ranked team in the WNBA. I think their hard work paid off. I think they got a lot of things right.
So, as far as I'm concerned, the Indiana Fever is a model for many organizations. A model of how to treat others, of how to talk about others, and a model of teamwork and resilience. Quite simply, The Indiana Fever is Unstoppable. Amen.
The Fever players are amazing basketball players, but they also seem to have an understanding of their role in the grand scheme of things. I particularly love these words from Caitlin Clark:
“I don’t want my legacy to be, oh, Caitlin won X amount of games or Caitlin scored X amount of points. I hope it’s what I was able to do for the game of women’s basketball. I hope it is the young boys and girls that are inspired to play this sport or dream to do whatever they want to do in their lives.” — Caitlin Clark
So we applaud the efforts of our city’s team, and we wait for the next opportunity to watch them play.
Comments