As I walked the dogs before the start of the Hawkeye women’s BB game tonight I scrolled through my newsfeed and saw multiple posts detailing alternative universes in which Pistol Pete could have shot 3 pointers or ones where Caitlin Clark couldn’t have. There were detailed breakdowns with numbers and percentages- almost all in an attempt to discredit Clark’s most recent record.

 

Most recent until just 5 minutes ago when she broke Stephen Curry’s record for most 3 pointers in a season.

I’m curious how people will try to discredit that one.

 

How do you spot a champion?

 

They are the ones who don’t place their worth, motivation, and identity on external validations. They know that being invaluable matters more than most valuable.

 

Champions cheer for greatness.

 

Champions want their records to be broken because they want their sport to continue to grow and they don’t base their current or future success on the past.

 

Champions break a record and spend their time talking about how great their teammates are.

 

Champions are human.

 

And the nastiness in the comments on posts about Caitlin is a stark reminder of how much people love to hate.

 

Champions don’t need to break records to know they are great. Yet so many feel the need to break down champions.

 

Caitlin Clark has done so much for women’s basketball, women’s athletics, and for math- her records inspiring so many to take to their calculators with gusto.

 

I don’t personally care about the records, I care about character. My daughters don’t admire the broken records, they admire the champion who broke them.