Every Batman needs a Joker. Every Megamind needs a Metro Man. And while this holds true in sports as well, the narrative around rivalries often gets distorted. Just look at Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, two of the stars of this year’s WNBA Draft Class. And according to one analyst, these two rookies are comparable to two of the biggest stars in the entertainment industry.
Clark and Reese have been playing against each other since their high school days, but it’s the 2023 NCAA tournament and then the Indiana Fever’s first clash of the season with the Chicago Sky that’s most memorable. Drawing some of the highest numbers of viewers women’s basketball has seen, Clark and Reese were the main attraction. And Cari Champion says on Naked Sports’ latest podcast, “The perceived rivalry that exists between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese is also akin to the rivalry narrative that exists between Taylor Swift and Beyonce.”
While T-Swift and Queen B are two of those artists whose music transcends borders, some may portray a rivalry between them. The comparison of the two stadium tours this summer was a popular instance. Just as the Lover singer calls it unfair, adding “pit two women against each other, even when those two artists in question refuse to participate in that discussion,” what Champion says is that let two successful women exist within the same arena with their own achievements; there is enough space.
As she compares Clark and Reese to arguably two of the most famous women on the planet, Suzy Exposito points out on the podcast, “I think with these very public rivalries that happen to be like vicariously lived through fans, I think that there are a lot of parallels between someone like Taylor Swift and Caitlin Clark.”
Where Swift calls Beyonce a “gem”, Clark and Reese have their own way of showing respect to each other. “No hate. We’re going to play on the same team one day, I’m sure,” the Chicago Sky star admitted on her podcast last month. The two have often iterated that they respect each other, and are competitive for sure, but any unhealthy rivalry is only an outside perception. Clark had even called out the media regarding the same in one of the post-game interviews.
But while the discourse around them gets a little heated, Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball coach believes it is bringing eyes to the sport.
“It’s part of growing,” says Shea Ralph of Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese
When the LSU Tigers defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes at the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Angel Reese pointed to her ring finger and mimicked Caitlin Clark’s “you can’t see me” celebration. Suddenly everyone was interested in watching women’s basketball for these two as a fierce rivalry was born, and Shea Ralph can’t help but think it’s a good thing.
Per The Tennessean, Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball coach said, “It’s part of growing, and the positive is that I don’t think attention can be bad. As long as you’re not doing bad things, and that’s not happening, then having eyes on you is a good thing. So there’s high-level competition, there’s jawing back and forth, there’s women that want to win and prepare to win, there’s great coaching. I mean, who wouldn’t want to watch that? It’s awesome. I love it.”
