Sophie Cunningham provides a behind-the-scenes perspective on how the Indiana Fever has gone from filling small gyms to becoming the most-followed team in the entire women’s professional basketball universe.
Looking back on her rookie year after being drafted by the Phoenix Mercury in 2019, Cunningham said it was a different atmosphere playing against Indiana early in her career as the team was coming out of a rebuild era, often traveling to visit the Fever in venues that held about 200 fans.
“They would tell us on the bus before the game that they’re going to have to catch up on their sleep, they would joke about that, and the arenas would be empty.
We had a lot of empty arenas because it’s Indiana so it’s a small state, but then it went from that to overnight Caitlin Clark changed everything for Indiana and they became a global franchise,” Cunningham said.
“They’re at every arena on every road now, they are selling out, they’ve got fans lined up around the block at the games, they have media coming out of their ears and the arena is electric and it’s changed everything for the Fever.”
With increased media attention, comes more benefits in the form of chartered flights, tighter security, and more televised games, followed by a handful of veteran players excelling at an even higher level.
Even amid front office changes and the long-term outlook of the team after high-profile wins in the playoffs, this cultural shift is here to stay. The Fever have gone from a quiet road bump to one of the most-coveted places for the country’s best athletes to play.
