The heroine of the city is back. Caitlin Clark will be making a triumphant return to her home city as the Indiana Fever play the Brazilian National Team in a preseason friendly at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa. Clark is still nursing that left leg injury and did not take part in the first game against the Washington Mystics. She took part in all the warm-ups during that game, but the management decided not to risk it and rested her for that whole game.

“I honestly haven’t been back to Iowa City a ton since I left a year ago,” Clark said. “I’ve only been back a couple of times, once for a football game and once for my jersey retirement. So, it’ll be fun to get back there, see some of my former teammates, my friends that are there. A lot of my family will be coming.”  The tickets for the Brazil game sold out within 45 minutes and a full house was at the game. However, the coach had to take a call on whether to play Clark or not, considering her injury. With Clark’s friends and parents coming, it would be disappointing for them to not see her play, but professionalism comes first.

Former Iowa women’s coach Lisa Bluder, who played a huge part in making Clark the player that she is, has advised the new Fever head coach Stephanie White on how to best coach Caitlin Clark. “Just let her go. Sometimes she knows when she’s feeling it. Just let it happen,” Bluder has said. It comes off the back of the decision White had to make on when to get Clark back on the court after her minor injury.

Bluder implies that Clark has enough self-awareness to know whether to risk her injury or not. Even if there is a chance of injury and Clark feels like she should play, Bluder suggests it’s a better scenario than forcing her on the bench. The mental aspect of the game should also be considered; for example, if you play Clark because she wants to play and she is injured in the process.

It is on her; she will gracefully accept her mistake and learn from it. If you forcefully bench her, then it could cause long-term issues with the coach. Of course the decision also depends on the severity of the injury and the chances of Clark worsening it. In a 50-50 scenario, Bluder suggests preferring the player rather than the coach in the case of Caitlin. After 24 years in the coaching field, in which she spent four coaching and taking care of Caitlin, she knows what she is talking about. It was under Bluder that Caitlin went from a prospect to the real deal. And let go he did as Clark started in the game against Brazil, looking in full flow like the usual Caitlin.

Fever vs Brazil becomes the first  WNBA game to be played at CHA

Caitlin Clark has the ability to draw massive numbers wherever she goes. Her arrival has essentially forced broadcasters to up their coverage, with a record 41 Indiana Fever games set to air on national television this season. And it’s not just the main course getting all the attention — even the appetizers are making history. The Fever’s preseason matchup against Brazil delivered two more records.

It was a landmark moment for both Clark and the WNBA. Already the face of a new era, Clark helped make history as the league hosted its first-ever game at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The spotlight burned even brighter with Fever vs. Brazil airing live on ESPN, one of only four WNBA preseason games to earn a national broadcast this year. Another record, and yet another sign that Clark’s arrival is shifting the landscape of the league.

This game was the first of four WNBA preseason matchups being played on college campuses this year. Just yesterday, the Las Vegas Aces faced the Dallas Wings at Purcell Pavilion in Notre Dame. Chicago Sky star Angel Reese also enjoyed a homecoming, returning to the Pete Maravich Assembly Center at LSU to take on Brazil. The fourth and final game is still to come — a clash between the New York Liberty and Japan’s Toyota Antelopes at Matthew Knight Arena in Oregon, the very court where Sabrina Ionescu starred during her college career.

This gives a certain extra flair to the preseason as the home fans of that particular superstar are very eager to see them playing for their WNBA franchises. It elevates the preseason to something more than just practice games before the season. These stars define the city and the college from where they came from. These are their roots, from where they started their journey that carries a special meaning to them. It’s a good strategy business-wise for the league too, as the crowd comes in numbers to see their homegirls.