Caitlin Clark Makes Passionate Demand of Indiana Fever Fans Before Home Playoff Game
The Indiana Fever have their backs against the wall, given that they lost game 1 of their best-of-three WNBA playoffs series against the Atlanta Dream on September 14.
The Fever were in this same situation last season, when they were defeated by the Connecticut Sun (whom Stephanie White was coaching) by a score of 93-69 in what was their first postseason game in nearly a decade. However, this season couldn't be any different from last season for several reasons.
One of these reasons is that the Fever don't have superstar guard Caitlin Clark active, which is a crucial blow to their chances (although they were still swept by Connecticut with her last season). That said, there's one change from last year that will benefit the Fever: game two being at home.
Last season's WNBA first-round playoff format included the first two games being at the higher seed's home court. Only if the lower seed could win one of those two games, the winner-take-all game three would be at the lower seed's home arena. If not, the series would end without the lower seed playing at home.
This season, there is a 1-1-1 format, which means that the higher seed gets games one and three (the latter only if necessary) at home while the lower-seeded team gets game two. Therefore, the Fever were guaranteed a postseason game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Arena just by making the playoffs, and that game is arriving on September 16.
Caitlin Clark Fires Fever Fans Up Before Playoff Game vs. Dream
There's no question that Fever fans will be flocking to their home arena on Tuesday and bringing a ton of energy. But that didn't keep Caitlin Clark from sending them an enthusiastic demand, which was conveyed in a September 15 X post from the Fever's account.
"Woo! First [home] playoff game since 2016! I need to see every single person in Indianapolis — whether you're inside the arena or could be outside the arena, I don't care — show up, get loud for my teammates!" Clark said.
"We need a dub, and then we're taking it back to Atlanta. Let's go!"
Natasha Howard then added, "Get loud fans, we need you! We need you tomorrow night. Get loud! Get on your feet!"
what do you want to tell the fans ahead of Game 2? 🗣️🔊 pic.twitter.com/ZTHs8UmHas
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) September 15, 2025
Several other Fever players also sent messages trying to hype their crowd up and build anticipation for the game. But one would imagine that Clark's message will be the most meaningful, given her star power.
Expect Gainbridge Fieldhouse Arena to heed Clark's demand and bring the energy on Tuesday night.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the Indiana Fever and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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