It started for me with a new relationship with a wonderful woman named Emily, and I am proud to say this is my third WNBA season. It started with a Chicago Sky playoff run that landed just short, but as I watched more, I liked more. After the second game or so I was convinced that Candace Parker could get 2 points on any possession she had wind for. By the fourth game I had referred to Courtney Vandersloot as a, ‘video game player’ because if I was playing as her in 2K, I would hold sprint the whole time.

As that season ended we were then treated to the first Caitlin Clark Iowa run. The next year I went to a Chicago Sky game with my season ticket holder girlfriend. Following that, the next Caitlin Clark Iowa run, and by then people were talking about what Emily and I were talking about. This year, Caitlin Clark elevates a sport, like Tiger, like Serena, like LeBron. I count myself among the grateful for those I mentioned, and for what Caitlin is going to do with her career.

It hasn’t been all gravy however, the influx of new fans to a league they have no experience with has led to a lot of bad takes. I’ll get this out of the way, many view Caitlin as another great white hope in a league that is predominantly African American. Many have viewed her treatment so far as some kind of bullying, and racial animus abounds in these conversations. This league plays hard defense, and the NBA should take note of it. I also think it would just remind her of her last time in Columbus when she almost got knocked out leaving the floor. O-H.

Caitlin can take it, this is the same hazing that goes on in every professional sports league on the planet. It is possibly more exacerbated by the fact that she is on a really bad team, and is constantly double teamed. For the nay sayers, I have her on my fantasy team, and she’s doing just fine. That’s right, our family did a WNBA fantasy league this year, not because we’re degenerates but quite the opposite. Emily is crushing us of course, but the point is we are watching.

As I watched the most viewed WNBA draft of all time, I was so happy that Angel Reese went to Emily’s beloved Sky. She is a fantastic player, and I honestly believe there could be a remake of the Magic/Bird rivalry in the next decade. For all of you LeBron haters who pine for the glory days of the NBA in the 90’s, watch a WNBA game now. It is the most physical game of basketball this side of Pistons/Bulls with the ‘Jordan Rules’ era. Now for the challenge: don’t be afraid to love that women are doing it.

Emily is going to a Sky game and a Red Stars game today, a Chi-town delight. Although I disagree with their hot dog toppings and pizza depth, Chicago is a great sports town with great women’s teams. Columbus, I am lobbying you to demand NWSL and WNBA franchises! Everyone should celebrate the renaissance of the WNBA and not just use women’s sports as a political prop for anti-trans legislation. Like Ted Lasso says, ‘Everyone Watches Women’s Sports.’