Inside Caitlin Clark’s first WNBA trip to Canada: Fever vs. Tempo
Yahoo Sports' Caroline Fenton and women's basketball writer Cassandra Negley discuss what the atmosphere and fan environment was like during the Indiana Fever vs. Toronto Tempo matchup. Catch the full conversation on the "Hoops 360" podcast, and subscribe on Apple podcasts , Spotify , YouTube, or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
You were there for the Tempo Fever game.
You had a great breakdown of the environment, the fan atmosphere, all of the open arms that welcomed Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever in Toronto last night.
W- we'll, we'll get into the game in just a moment.
Yeah.
But the fanfare of it all- Yeah what was the experience and the atmosphere like in Toronto?
It was a very warm welcome from Caitlin, for Caitlin and the Fever from the start.
It felt a little bit like 2024 when Caitlin and the Fever are first coming to these different areas.
Yeah.
This was their very first trip north of the border.
She and many of the other players said that they have never played up here before.
And it's interesting because these are players who have been with USA Basketball, international players.
Caitlin kinda said this.
She's played in a lot of places, and she feels like basketball can bring people together, but this was her first time in Canada.
It was, I, I think I've said this here before, I really like walking to the arena and kinda seeing what the vibe of the city is or the, the neighborhood before a game happens.
And so when you're walking around, I found it most interesting, it's by Union Station, I believe, and there's all these, you know, finance people or business people in their suits, all black.
And then you kinda look at 'em and you see these pops of, like, 22 jerseys.
Then you get closer to the arena and the lines are starting.
But I think the really interesting thing was, you know, one of the interesting aspects of this game, I think, is the Fever are clearly kind of, quote unquote, "America's team" in the way that the Dallas Cowboys are, quote unquote, "America's team."
Yeah.
You have seen them continuously set viewership records.
They are on an incredible stretch with ESPN boosting those numbers.
People love watching the Fever and that shows in that.
You turn to the Tempo, and this is literally Canada's team.
They have branded themselves as such, and we'll have more on the Tempo in the coming weeks, but- Yeah there was sort of that going on.
And Sandy Brondello said it herself when we were at practice Monday, she completely understood that people were going to come to the arena, which was put at Scotiabank Arena with about 20,000 capacity, for Caitlin Clark.
Yeah.
For the Fever.
They were going to cheer for that.
But there were still a lot of Tempo fans there, and you could see this kinda split.
I know one thing that you had pointed out that you thought was interesting in the story was there's this one woman I saw with a Caitlin Clark jersey, but she had a Tempo hat.
There were lots of pairings of people who he, you know, maybe is in a Tempo T-shirt, and she's in Fever gear, vice versa, or friends- Yeah or what have you.
There was a fun mix.
It was a fun game.
It felt very lighthearted in a way that, you know, I haven't been on the road with the Fever in a little bit now, but certainly there are match-ups that don't feel this light and fun.
