Caitlin Clark is all about team

Caitlin Clark: Payback is a Really Nice Girl

by Pat Hickey

April 10, 2024

I have not watched the NBA in decades.  I stopped watching the NFL when room temperature I.Q. mesomorphs took a knee.  I have not watched a Super Bowl, since Dave Diehl helped Eli Manning defeat the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.  I remember my dad saying that the Super Bowl will be the end of dignity in sport.  He said that in 1967.   My brother authored a paper in high school arguing that the much over-hyped Fight of the Century would only benefit the hucksters and eventually cause boxing to all-but disappear. He got an A+ from his Marketing teacher and boxing is no longer on Friday night television.

I still watch the Chicago White Sox leave three men on and lose. The team loses and the owner tries to squeeze taxpayers to buy him another stadium.  Charles Comiskey was called a cheapskate who only cared for his ticket buyers, by leftist grifters like Studs Terkel.  Who did Old Studs take care of?  Studs.

Sports is witnessed at the high school level alone for this fan.  The Pros all are posturing loudmouths or cyborg thugs, like the Fox Sports NFL icons.

Gayle Sayers with the office (Mrs. Townsend, Natasha Adams and Stacey Hemp) staff of Leo HS in 2012

Once upon a time, the NFL featured men like Gayle Sayers who in five years dominated the game with over 9,000 yards in rushing.  This quiet and very funny man spent a few years at Leo High School trying to develop a computer technology program.  I had the pleasure and great honor to spend some time with this legend and his lovely wife.  Mr. Sayers commanded the young men of Leo High School to “never spike the football, dance or play the fool in the endzone. Hand the ball to the referee and act like you have done this before and that damn well plan to do it again.”

I have yet to see a man in full, such as Gayle Sayers, in any professional sport these days. Given my clumsy and comical participation in sports as a player and coach, I developed a deep regard for athletes, especially wildly gifted combatants gifted with humility and grace.

College sport has become a revolting spectacle dominated by long television commercials for Mando or Lume and DEI family friendly beverages, or EVs.  Except for University of Iowa Women’s Basketball. Really, it is Caitlin Clark of the Hawkeyes.  Caitlin Clark just might be the retro-revolution in Sports.  One brilliant writer noted that Caitlin Clark is to sport, as Taylor Swift has been to Pop Music, but with more talent.  I wish I had said that.

The ancient Greeks saw agonistes (a person’s struggle in contention) as the key to wisdom, athleticism and kindness through sporting competition.  In Caitlin Clark we see all three of these values on the hard wood. Not so with too many college and professional athletes these days.  Anymore there is a tendency to provide spectacle and for individuals to celebrate only themselves.  That is why millions of people have turned off the channel.  Millions more, however, buy the hype and gamble away the house money on the Sweet Sixteen or Superbowl.  Many millions of people buy the products using sports to sell body crack deodorants, insurance policies, beer and politicians.

We are the latter-day Romans feasting on our comforts and wasting our souls. The Romans favored spectacle over competition and packed the circus maximus on race days or screamed for more blood in the Coliseum.   Some private high schools have become gladiator schools with blue chip athletes paid for by their boards of directors and abrogating the notion of student athlete in favor of a top ten placement in the high school rankings.  Vale Virtus!

Last year, my cynical bones were rattled by a girl from Iowa, a Catholic high school graduate with a mom and dad, without piercings or tattoos and the natural hair color God bestowed upon her. Caitlin Clark reminded me of the many hundreds of young women who compete in amateur sports, but with a tad more grit, grace and gravitas born of thousands of hours in the practice of basketball. She is a joyful genius on the hardwood court.  She is Ted Williams, Peggy Fleming, Larry Byrd and Michael Jordan wrapped in a lanky frame with a ponytail.

This year’s Big Ten triumph and the very combative Sweet Sixteen brawls witnessed the grace and gravity of Caitlin Clark, supported by her family and the growing legion of CLARKIES, an homage to Taylor Swift’s cognominal.  Caitlin Clark is poised to be the number one draft pick of WNBA.  Personally, I hope that she will remain with University of Iowa, as her product endorsement will far surpass a Women’s Basketball League salary and her reputation as a singular role model for boys and girls as an athletic icon will only be burnished.  Lastly, I would love to witness a 2025 repeat, as I have little doubt that Iowa will take the NCAA crown. That would also be an opportunity to answer last year’s insult – not that Caitlin Clark harbors any such meanness.  That is for a cluck like me.

In last year’s match-up with LSU, I watched this phenomenon of a player take the taunting and insults of her graceless opponents with a regal dignity.  This year the graceless LSU Tigers walked off the court before the playing of the National Anthem, only to have Ms. Clark pump up forty-one points with twelve assists.  Payback is a dignified young woman,

FINAL UPDATE: April 7, 2024, South Carolina 87-75 defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes.  A very classy Gamecock’s Coach Dawn Staley called Caitlin Clark a GOAT- Greatest of All Time.  Coach Staley is more than correct.

-30-

Born November 8, 1952 in Englewood Hospital, Chicago Illinois, Pat Hickey attended Chicago Catholic grammar and high schools, received a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Loyola University in 1974, began teaching English and coaching sports at Bishop McNamara High School in Kankakee, IL in 1975, married Mary Cleary in 1983, received a Master of Arts in English Literature from Loyola in 1987, taught at La Lumiere School in Indiana from 1988-1994, took a position as Director of Development with Bishop Noll Institute in Hammond, IN and then Leo High School in Chicago in 1996.  His wife Mary died in 1998 and Hickey returned with his three children to Chicago’s south side. From 1998 until 2019, it became obvious that Illinois and Chicago turned like Stilton cheese on a humid countertop. In that time, he wrote a couple of books and many columns for Irish American News. When the kids became independent and vital adults, he moved to Michigan City, Indiana, where he job coaches Downs Syndrome and Autistic teens in LaPorte County.  He walks to the Michigan City Lighthouse every chance he gets.

Comments 49

  2. Great perspective!
    I did not understand, however, the reference to Studs Terkel. I don’t doubt his leftist leanings, but didn’t understand how that played in to his comment(s) about Comiskey?

    1. Studs pushed the whole notion that Charles Comiskey was to blame (100%) for the Black Sox Scandal of 1919 and “working man Shoeless Joe” was not a scum bag grifter with baseball skills. Comiskey worried more about the price of tickets for working people than the salaries of athletes. The beast.

      2. Loved your article…Caitlin may also be the Joan of Arc for the WNBA!! No doubt she is fun to watch!!
        Also, since you have connection to Kankakee, I was wondering if you were in any way related to Tom Hickey, MD? He was a well known physician in KKK for years.
        Sal Rinella

    2. 1. I too gave up on certain professional sports, i.e., NBA, NFL, NHL, etc. I still watch baseball and the soon to be Nashville White Sox. No one writes about Reinhorn (what we called the 2 original owners) decimating the team to reduce salaries, drive down attendance, get turned down for a new Baseball Palace of the world, and then move. Well, don’t let the door hit your ass when you leave. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
      2. Sports today, like society today, is about, violence, put downs, spectacle over substance, gracelessness, greed, etc.
      3. And why do we idolize players at all. What do they do exactly that makes them better than the every day person. Not a God damn thing as far as I’m concerned. Who cares about Caitlin or any athlete (conservative, liberal, progressive queer, etc, for want of better terms), singer, movie actor, politician, etc except for those who have a political agenda. ITS A GAME THAT DOESNT MEAN ANYTHING EXCEPT TO GAMBLERS.
      4. We should promote true heros like Mr. Hickey, physicians, other health care workers, scientists, writers, craftersmen who use their hands and minds, etc. I recently found an Armenian immigrant (don’t worry, he’s legal, you can rest your heart and keep your pants dry) who was a civil engineer. Upon retirement he became a cabinet maker. I asked him to use some exotic woods to make cabinets for my early tube stereo equipment (made by hand in USA). To watch him turn slabs of wood into cabinet ‘art’ for my receivers/tuners was a joy to watch. Better than watching an NFL game.
      5. I knew Studs since medical school, interviewed him on my small time radio show (KZFR, 90.1 FM, Chico, CA), read all his books. He was for the common man. His books were about everyday people. Whether Comiskey was a cheap bastard is not the point. He was a true American capitalist. What did you expect?
      It was the gambling, the greed that was important in that story. That’s why sports today are BS. I learned that as a kid. I was hooked on wrestling in grade school. Thought it was real (God was I naive). Until I saw two opponents coming out from their dressing rooms at old Marigold arena laughing and patting each other on the backs and talking about where they were going afterwards to eat and drink. POOF went my bubble.
      And now sports betting is legal as long as the govt gets its cut (like legal dope).
      Who cares who wins anymore. Professional sports are useless, watched by brain dead fools trying to numb what’s left of their minds. When an ‘event’ is on I turn WFMT on, pick up a book and it’s bliss.

      1. Thomas. Once again I agree with everything you state here. It’s on point.
        The only difference … I go to iTunes or satellite radio instead of FMT.

        Thank you for saying it.

        1. Thank you Ken.
          Being computer illiterate (and proud of it) I can barely use an old fashion radio, let alone a so called smart phone.
          Another thing to do during ‘events’ is go to public library, pull a couple new books sit in comfortable chair in the reading room and expand ones mind by visiting other worlds instead of over eating, drinking, smoking and acting like a fool.
          Just what is so important of a Bear victory? Sox victory, Cubs, Hawks, etc. How does it make you better, improve your mind, outlook, etc.
          Bread and Circuses, that’s all it is. Numbs the mind while your country is taken away from you. And Orange Man is not our Savior.

  4. Great column about a great woman (maybe I should say cis woman?) and how she honors herself, her family, and her athletic gift by exhibiting true sportsmanship. It’s not as splashy a headline as the transgender activists demanding that biological men be allowed in women’s competitive sports, but such a welcome change from the usual garbage we see on the various fields these days.

    One other comment caught my eye:

    “Some private high schools have become gladiator schools with blue chip athletes paid for by their boards of directors and abrogating the notion of student athlete in favor of a top ten placement in the high school rankings. Vale Virtus!”

    This has been going on for decades as the area catholic schools where I grew up were pretty masterful at recruiting gifted athletes away from us unwashed public school kids. I’m looking at you St. Laurence, Brother Rice, Mount Carmel!

  6. We watched with amazement the talent and grace of this young lady. What a ride. Sadly she’s a once in a lifetime person. Her parents raised a stellar young lady!

  7. As a lifelong NFL fan, your writing humbles me. I have long ago accepted the need to put on my eclipse glasses in order to block out the hype, individual divas, political messaging (BLM), and soulless pardons for women and dog abusers in order to see the totality of the selfless athletes that are there to compete from the heart as champions. They are still there but there’s a hell of a lot that gets in the way. And then of course there is the money and new gambling initiatives. OK. Go Bears!

  8. I find it amazing that people condemn CEO s of large corporations who employ thousands of people are condemned and people say they make too much money but praise a person who makes as much money in one game that most people make in a lifetime saying this athlete deserves more money?
    Many of these million dollar crybabies
    are lucky God gave them their gifts and should just shut up and play ball
    As stated pro sports really do leave a bad taste in me
    Caitlin is a breath of fresh air and hopefully fame won’t ruin her glory

    1. Very much agreed. But in reference to the CEO’s you speak of. Yes they employ many, but could give a squat about them. Al they care about are the golden parachutes and any social status bandwagons they can jump on. How many have destroyed their companies yet walked with a fat wallet for “the fine job they did”.

  9. You have once again impressed a fellow Irishman- great column.

    Every time I hear someone from ESPN commenting on world events, the economy, or anything that isn’t remotely connected to their alleged area of expertise (sports), I cringe. Although you are entitled to your opinion on other things, please stay in your lane, folks.

  10. Great article!
    It was reported that 18.7 million viewers tuned into the matchup between Iowa and South Carolina. Why so many viewers?
    Are people looking and longing for the pureness and simplicity of sports? Perhaps.
    I’m a sports girl. I used to enjoy watching. I have become discouraged by the woke in sports. I am anti men who identify as women playing in girl/ women sports.
    Dawn Staley blew it. She folded. She agreed if men think they’re women they should play. No just no. One does not reach greatness in a sport without sacrifice, dedication, and practice.
    I grew up with a dad who was a hockey fan. From an early age I was taken to games as my dad explained the game. I had the pleasure of meeting some of those players. My father had a proud moment when Stan Mikita told him he had a beautiful family.
    I agree with you that high school sports is still good for now. I’m hoping that that doesn’t become woke.
    Thanks for your column.

    1. Linda, I totally agree. I rarely watch football because of the posturing and in your face celebrations along with the endless commercials. I’m still a big hockey fan, it is the least woke of the major sports, except for the one day of gay pride celebration (cringe). Hockey players are a different breed of athlete.

  11. Good story. Ms Clark is a throwback. Didn’t know anyone shows sportsmanship anymore. I wish there were more like her. I say that from stories all around…I didn’t follow the hype and watch, so being honest I defer to all that did. Throughout your story you touched on so many reasons I’ve given up on sport, all sports. Used to love it all but not anymore. And really, as much as she has exhibited class, sportsmanship, morality, etc., if she takes NIL money (and seriously, why shouldn’t she) she falls into the category of being part of the problem. Hopefully she remains the way she is and doesn’t become another one of those.

  12. “Hand the ball to the referee and act like you have done this before and that damn well plan to do it again.”….a perfect mantra for and from a true winner. Should be a rule, and its meanings, taught by every coach. And parent.

  13. Great essay about a great athlete.

    I read an article about her early playing, and one quote from her middle school coach stuck with me: “I had 4 girls who wanted to have fun playing, and Kobe Bryant in a pony tail.” How hard it must be to ride that potential and drive and not fall off into chaos! Kudos to her family for helping her ride it!

    (I also ran into a blurb from a sports writer who used a pic of her game face and stated that she needed “to learn to control her emotions, just like the men.” Hmmm… like Travis Kelce chest bumping his coach during the superbowl? A bit… oh, I don’t know… misogynistic, perhaps?)

  14. Loved your reference to Mr. Sayers code of conduct on the field. I cringe now when I see the celebratory chorus line dance in the end zone after a TD; or the chest-pounding after a tackle. Don’t recall any of that with the ’85 Bears, though. Like he said: “Act like you’ve done it before and will likely do it again.” (Words to live by)

  15. panem et circenses has become the norm in our society. Keep the masses distracted.

    Grounded, gifted individuals like Sayers are becoming rare. Let’s pray Caitlin Clark doesn’t succumb to the celebrity her talent and it’s exercise has brought her.

  17. I don’t watch any sports anymore and I have saved myself lots of money in tickets, parking, eating, drinking, and gambling. And I don’t miss it. Sports used to be such a positive outlet. Not anymore.

  18. When the Packers played the first two Super Bowls, Lombardi simply called the AFL “the other league”. It should not be the “Super Bowl” – its the “NFL Championship” – and the Packers (my team – my grandfather played for them, one game as a reserve) have 13, and the Bears have 9. The two greatest teams in the NFL. And it should be called the “Hallas Trophy” – I doubt Vince Lombardi would mind at all.

    1. I think that the *Halas* family might mind ol’ George’s name being mis-spelled.
      But you’re in good company – Mr. Hickey couldn’t get Larry *Bird*’s name right either…

  19. So Pat, it appears we share a common bond – Englewood hospital! Me and my sisters were all born there as well, me in 1947! GEEZ, how’d I get so old? Anyway, I too was blown away by Caitlin’s poise and class throughout the playoffs and final game. A real talented lady. Wherever she goes, she’ll be successful, as she has grit and modesty, doesn’t take herself too seriously. What a gem. Too bad so many young girls these days are hung up on TikTok and becoming “influencers,” with nothing to offer but “likes!” Really empty heads! Such a shame. Thanks for an inspiring piece, and a breath of fresh air!

  20. There are still great and humble athletes out there, but they’re a bit rare. Chris Morel of the Cubs seems to be one. (Last night’s grand slam against the Padres was exciting!)

    The Big Ten men’s teams had some great athletes who weren’t self-centered, Boo Buie at Northwestern and Keisei Tominaga of Nebraska, for example. I might even include Zach Edey at Purdue, but his style of bully basketball was hard for me to watch, and I’m sure the NBA will change him.

    Too many athletes are following the lead of people like Deion Sanders, and I suspect more people were watching Colorado games last year out of schadenfreude than admiration.

    During the heyday of Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Ernie Banks, the Cubs were full of talent that wasn’t ‘me first’. I think Ron Santo might have been too much of a nice guy, that’s why Baseball didn’t put him in the Hall of Fame until after his death, denying him a final day in the sun in Cooperstown.

    1. “…but his style of bully basketball was hard for me to watch.”
      You’d have *loved* Wilt Chamberlain back in the day – particularly early in his career.
      The game *has* changed, though – the 3-point line has unclogged the low post considerably, especially since everyone seems to be able to shoot 3-pointers.

    2. Michael, as a long time Purdue fan, I would definitely include Zach Edey! While he played hard under the basket in the paint, that is what goes on in basketball there, a lot of pushing and bumping and struggling to get position. He rarely fouled much and maybe fouled out once in 4 years that I recall. He had a great,attitude and work ethic through it all, and only began playing organized basketball 8 years ago, way later than most. Most impressive, he was all about the team, never focused on himself (which is what they teach at Purdue). When asked about one of the younger guards who made a bad mistake at the end of the game in a media session after a bad loss, he said that he made many mistakes in the game and if he hadn’t, the play at the end wouldn’t have mattered, so it was just as much his issue. That’s team focus. So, yes, include him!

  22. Overall, a wonderful column. I agree with the argument that pro sports has pretty much become a wasteland. As for college athletics, it, too, has greatly changed: top players today routinely receive legal, substantial cash payments directly from the school recruiting them and the biggest wallet almost always wins. NIL payments add to the cash flow. Caitlin Clark and her Iowa team have been a wonderful breath of fresh air, primarily based on their team play and Caitlin’s awesome talent and cool conduct under intense pressure.

    OTOH, I strongly disagree with the author’s tepid inference that Charlie Comiskey was the root cause of the Black Sox scandal of 1919. Putting aside Studs Terkel, a red herring in this case, pun intended, there’s ample evidence of Charlie screwing his players out of promised bonus money for meeting goals set in player contracts; for achieving outstanding individual performances; as well as for winning the 1917 World Series. When attendance dropped during WWI he cut salaries, but when attendance rose again Cheapskate Charlie didn’t return salaries to their previous levels, let alone give raises. As if all of this wasn’t enough, Tightwad Comiskey even cheated the team out of clean uniforms: the White Sox were notorious for having to wear the filthiest uniforms in MLB! Every time I attend a White Sox game I visit the statues in center field. I take a moment to slap the statue of Comiskey across the face. He shoulda been run outta town, but instead 20 years later they elected him to the Hall of Fame. Go figure.

  23. Oops! Correction: in the 1st sentence of my 2nd para, the word “not” should’ve followed “was”: “tepid inference that Charlie Comiskey was not the root cause of the Black Sox scandal.”

  24. True what you say about Ms. Clark. And in part thanks to her, the woman’s NCAA basket ball final attracted more eyeballs than the mens’. First time in history that has happened. Apparently though that was not enough validation of woman’s basketball for “classy” Gamecock Coach Staley who implied she will be recruiting men in the future.

  25. ry good article that puts many things in perspective! However, in my opinion, you cannot compare Caitlin Carter to the likes of Ted Williams, Peggy Fleming, Larry Byrd and Michael Jordan! They excelled at the college level (excluding Ted Williams),but more importantly, at the professional level with class and dignity. Those were all icons of a different era in sports. Comparing her to Michael Jordan, really?

  26. Curt Flood, the anti-Comiskey, inadvertently destroyed professional sports when he sued for free agency and won. Now we have “players” in EVERY professional sport earning more in a single season than four ordinary people earn in a lifetime. With enormous wealth comes enormous arrogance. Players (most, not all) refuse to show any joy in playing their games. They don’t care about the fans and many expect their talent alone to suffice rather than exerting themselves to be the best. Now we’ve introduced “legalized” gambling into professional and college sports. If you don’t think that will cause problems, you’re probably a descendant of Arnold Rothstein.

    1. Flood did NOT destroy professionaly sports. THE OWNERS DID AND THE FANS DID. Nobody FORCES any owner to pay players those salaries. They should follow Reinhorn who refuses to deal with certain agents bcuz they best him. He loves mediocrity and pays accordingly.
      Otherwise, I agree with everything you state.

  28. I thought I knew a little bit about sports, but I’m often reminded of how little that is.
    Case in point: “She is Ted Williams, Peggy Fleming, Larry Byrd,…”
    I’ve heard many things about Mr. Williams and Ms. Fleming, but I’d never heard of this “Larry Byrd” guy. Was he a contemporary of Gail Sayers, perhaps? Or maybe, was he part of those epic duels (both in college and the pros) with Magic Jones?
    Your point is well taken though. In Detroit, Barry Sanders was a big proponent of the “Act Like You’ve Been Here Before” school. I suppose it’s refreshing to see because it’s so rare. I never knew you needed a choreographer to play football…

    1. Larry Byrd was on the same team as Kevin McHail and Robert Paris. They were all on the Boston Selltics if I recall correctly. I think Tiny Archway was also on that team. And you are correct. Larry and Magic Jones had many epic duels. But Gail Sayers? That’s a name I do not recall.

  29. I sometimes think I’m alone in my attitude towards these things. But your article puts lie to that notion. Those of us who are disgusted by the current affairs in sports are actually legion, I suspect. Yet many still watch this crap (I’m not one of them) out of habit and as an escape from reality attempt. Turns out that the sports fiascos are merely a reflection of the whole mess that society has become. I dropped out of watching most sports but it’s not possible to totally look away from the train wreck that our country has become. Thanks for writing about one exceptional person who helps keep hope alive.

  30. Excellent writing Mr Hickey. I grew up loving & playing all sports. I did see the Cubs clinch in 2016 & a few great cheap seats at Comiskey(whatever name it is now). But follow sports? I’m like you. No team. It’s all about the individual. I used to wait by Wrigley & got Williams & Banks autographs & they chatted with this young lad & made quite an impression. Total class. Same with some of the Hawks like Magnuson & Mikita. When I took my daughter to a Cubs game, Sosa & Zambrano just stared at kids asking for autographs in the player parking lot. A Dad actually called them out & said these kids worship you. All they want is an autograph. Nothing. He eventually yelled out you guys suck & Sosa gave one of his peace/kiss/chest bumps to the kids. Big deal. These days I don’t watch or follow sports. They make so much money yet won’t interact with the unwashed masses. I’d rather watch wet paint dry these days.

Leave a Reply