SEATTLE — They lined up more than two hours before tipoff, snaking around the outside perimeter of Climate Pledge Arena.
Right in front of the doors, three collectors camped out, one carrying an authentic Indiana Fever jersey encased in a giant Ziploc bag, the other two with security-approved clear bags filled with sheets of WNBA trading cards.
The Caitlin Clark road show was in Seattle on Tuesday night, and although it was technically a Storm home game, the number of red and blue Fever jerseys waiting to enter the building easily dominated the landscape.
It was unlike any other WNBA game I’ve ever attended — even surpassing the overwhelming buzz from Sue Bird’s jersey retirement day in June 2023 or the Storm’s last WNBA Finals home game from 2018.
For the first of Clark’s two appearances in the Emerald City this season, fans traveled from locations throughout the Pacific Northwest, with one group of 10 making a 14-hour drive from Raymond, Alberta, on the Canadian Prairie.
The upper decks of CPA were all filled, right up to the top row, as a sellout crowd of 18,343 paid a premium price to be inside. Sue Bird, Megan Rapinoe, Steve Ballmer, Lenny Wilkens, Isaiah Thomas and Washington Huskies stars Demond Williams Jr. and Jonah Coleman were all among the Seattle royalty sitting courtside.
Within minutes of the doors opening, fans had filled the railing next to the tunnel to the Fever locker room.
A sea of kids, mostly young girls, stood three to four people deep, hoping to take away anything from No. 22 in red. Some wanted merely a high-five, but others carried 2025 WNBA All-Star posters, handmade signs, jerseys, basketballs, T-shirts and an assortment of Fever and Iowa Hawkeyes memorabilia.
Clark memorabilia is big business, and business is booming.
The Fever superstar obliged the masses, working the line to sign autographs, making the fan interaction as much a part of her pregame routine as her stretching on the midcourt Storm logo or the dozens of 3-pointers she launched during warm-ups.
a SEA of autographs for Caitlin Clark ???? pic.twitter.com/XCuHB0LWE5
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) June 25, 2025
And the Caitlin Clark Effect wasn’t limited to just Caitlin Clark.
One young fan wore a Lexie Hull Stanford jersey and walked away beaming when the third-year pro signed one of the numbers on the back.
Others were clad in Sophie Cunningham “bodyguard” shirts, voicing their approval at the first sight of the Fever guard who defended Clark in a scuffle last week and has seen her merchandise and memorabilia soar in the days since.
They also roared for the attention (and autograph) of former No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston, who would score a career-high 31 points as Indiana (7-7) pulled away with a dominant third quarter to cruise to a 94-86 victory.
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Clark had one of the worst games in her first two seasons as a pro, failing to hit a 3-pointer and shooting a dismal 3-for-13 in a six-point effort.
That hardly deterred her fans, who still sat up with anticipation every time she touched the ball and applauded when she re-entered the game in the final seconds of a contest that was fully in-hand.
As the clock ticked down, a fan behind one of the baskets decided to get an early jump on traffic and headed up the aisle. He was wearing a red Fever shirt with the words “Every game is a home game” printed on the front. On the back, it had the dates of every Fever road game with “Sold Out” printed over the top of the schedule and the phrase “Now you know” on top.
The show heads back home for a Thursday game against Los Angeles and then travels to Dallas on Friday night, where the entire scene will be recreated at American Airlines Center.
As I later followed that fan up the aisle, I reflected on how fulfilling it is to see WNBA players get the adulation they have long deserved — a reception reminiscent of what I saw during the United States women’s soccer team's run in 1999.
The shirts tell the truth: Everyone Watches Women’s Sports.
Now we all know.
Kevin Jackson is the chief content officer for cllct. He spent 25 years at ESPN Digital Media, where he was the founding editor of Page 2, and nearly four years as the Executive Director for Digital Content at FOX Sports.