Riding on a three-game winning streak into Indiana when they clash against rookie phenom Caitlin Clark and the Fever, the Phoenix Mercury have an insurmountable amount of momentum that will be put up to the test in front of arguably one the most electric atmospheres in the WNBA.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!When the Fever came to Phoenix for the first and only time this season on June 30, the soldout attendance at Footprint Center of 17,071 people watching Clark broke multiple records that previously lasted more than a decade, hence the popular term of “The Caitlin Clark Effect.”
Now that the venue is flipped in the rematch to the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Mercury are about to experience a ruckus environment once again.
According to the WNBA stat tracking website Across The Timeline, they posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the Fever’s attendance in their last game against the Washington Mystics made history.
“With today’s 17,274 in attendance for the Indiana Fever, the 2024 Fever are the first team in WNBA history to have seven home games with 17,000-plus in attendance in a season and are the first team to have 10 consecutive games with 15,000-plus in attendance in a season,” Across the Timeline said.
With today's 17,274 in attendance for the Indiana Fever:
– The 2024 Fever are the 1st team in WNBA history to have 7 home games with 17,000+ in attendance in a season
– The 2024 Fever are the 1st team to have 10 consecutive home games with 15,000+ in attendance in a season
— Across the Timeline (@WBBTimeline) July 10, 2024
Thousands and thousands of basketball fanatics have donned the Fever’s No. 22 jerseys with Clark’s last name on the back while also getting up on their feet whenever she has possession of the ball.
Since becoming a college basketball legend at Iowa, Clark was the No. 1 overall pick by the Fever in the 2024 WNBA Draft and the craze around her hasn’t stopped. Many previous attendance records of other teams’ home games have been broken across the country which has even caused some to change their venue to a larger arena due to the demand and potential increase of revenue.
The impact that just Clark has made on the WNBA has been huge and it has cast a larger spotlight on the rest of the league as the game is being seen by more and more people in general. It took players like Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson years to get the recognition they deserved as some of the best players the league has ever seen and are just now receiving the respect.
Taurasi is out tonight with a lower left leg injury, so the Mercury will have to find a way to not only battle the Fever but the rowdy environment without one of their leaders. Even though Taurasi will be inactive for four straight games, the Mercury beat the Dallas Wings twice and the Los Angeles Sparks coming into this matchup with Indiana.
The first tip between Phoenix and Indiana begins at 4:30 p.m. PT.
Mercury waive Liz Dixon, sign Fever’s 2024 second-round draft pick Celeste Taylor to 7-day contract
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers ASU Athletics, the Phoenix Mercury and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
