by Dale Reeves
Story Pastor
The women’s NCAA basketball national championship set a new record this year, as 18.9 million folks watched the final game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and Iowa Hawkeyes. This made it the most-watched basketball game of any kind, NBA included, since 2019. The game pitted the woman who set all kinds of NCAA records this year—for both men and women—against a team from South Carolina who was 36-0, hoping to finish with a perfect season. South Carolina did just that, as they defeated Iowa 87-75 to win its third NCAA women’s championship. It was Iowa that knocked South Carolina out of the tournament last year, beating them in the Final Four. But since then, South Carolina has not lost a game.
For the first time in its 42-year history, more people watched the women’s NCAA championship game than the men’s championship game between the UConn Huskies and the Purdue Boilermakers. Women: 18.9 million compared to the Men: 14.8 million viewers. Last year 12 million watched the NBA finals. Every single one of Caitlin’s last three college games broke the record for the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever . . . from 12.3 million to 14.2 million to 18.9 million. I watched her last three games.
Thousands of kids across our nation—both boys and girls—took a more robust interest in women’s basketball this year as they played in their driveways, backyards, and school gyms. This trend was sparked not only by Clark, but also by the play of others like Louisiana State University’s Angel Reese, NCAA 2024 champion Kamila Cardoso, and South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. Concerning Clark, Coach Staley said, “I want to personally thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport. She carried a heavy load for our sport. . . . and it’s not going to stop there on the collegiate tour . . . she is going to lift the WNBA up as well.”
Number 22
This past week the University of Iowa wasted no time in retiring Caitlin Clark’s number 22. She won the Wooden National Player of the Year Award in back-to-back seasons in which she guided her Hawkeyes to two consecutive national title games. Just a month ago she became the all-time NCAA Division I scoring leader (for both men and women college basketball players). She passed the late Pete Maravich of LSU on March 3, and went on to score 3,951 points in her college career. She will likely enter the WNBA draft as the No. 1 pick. Concerning her legacy, Clark stated,
“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 young girls that are inspired to play this sport or dream to do whatever they want to do in their lives.”
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A number of basketball legends paid respect to the “Caitlin Clark effect” on women’s basketball this year. For instance,
“If you don’t rock with Caitlin Clark’s game, you’re just a FLAT OUT HATER!!!!”
—LeBron James
“What a career @CaitlinClark22. We undoubtedly watched one of the all-time best college careers . . . ring or not. Thank you for helping elevate our sport with your play, your poise, and of course your logo 3’s!”
—Sue Bird
“Caitlin Clark’s extraordinary play this season has been the catalyst for growing women’s basketball, with record-breaking viewership throughout the tournament.”
—Earvin Magic Johnson
Jesus Values Women
So, what does God think about all of this? We can get so wrapped up in our pursuit of playing and watching sports, and it definitely can become an escape and a distraction from our relationship with God. But as any athlete will tell you, there are lots of life lessons to be learned along the way, for those who want to learn them . . . the importance of being a team player, learning to be disciplined, making sacrifices, coping with adversity, accepting constructive criticism, being humble and hungry, being unselfish with the ball, loving on and serving children with special needs, in cancer hospitals, etc.
When I think of how the women’s basketball game came to the front and center this year, I have to think that this attention paid to women’s sports pleases God. All throughout the Gospels, Jesus elevated the role of women in a society in which they were viewed as second-class citizens. The treatment of women is the oldest injustice in human history. The Pharisees in Jesus’ day prayed numerous times each day. Customs dictated that they habitually thanked God for three specific things:
“God, thank you that I am a Jew and not a Gentile.”
“God, thank you that I am free and not a slave.”
“God, thank you that I am a man and NOT a woman.”
But Jesus’ approach to all women was revolutionary. He saw them as created in the image of God just as men are (Matthew 19:4). He saw them as genuine persons worth caring about, not simply as objects of male desire. Jesus regularly addressed women directly in public, which was unusual for a man to do (John 4:27). He spoke with the Samaritan woman, the woman caught in adultery, the widow of Nain, the woman with a bleeding disorder, the sisters Mary and Martha, and a group of women on route to the cross (Luke 23:27-31). And he frequently referred to them with an endearing term such as “daughter.”
And, when Jesus arose from the dead on the third day, whom did he appear to first? A woman—Mary Magdalene—his devoted follower out of whom he had driven seven demons (Mark 16:9). Mary had been weeping at the tomb, thinking she had lost Jesus forever. But he appeared to her in the flesh and brought victory over despair. I don’t think it’s accidental that Jesus first appeared to a woman after his resurrection from the dead.
Jesus demonstrated only the highest regard for women, in both his actions and his teaching. As a result, women responded favorably to Jesus’ ministry in direct contrast to that of the Pharisees. And, that’s what I’d call the Jesus Effect! Whether you are male or female, the same Jesus calls you to take up your cross daily, and follow him. You will never be the same again!
“All who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:27, 28, NLT).