The Indiana Fever had its biggest game of the early season on Thursday night against the Atlanta Dream in Indiana’s 2026 Commissioner’s Cup debut. The Fever entered the contest on a two-game losing streak after dropping both games of a West Coast road trip to the Golden State Valkyries and Portland Fire.
The Fever, which usually boasts one of the most hostile arenas in the WNBA at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, hosted Atlanta in Thursday’s matchup. However, one of sports media’s most prominent personalities, Jason Whitlock, felt that all of the enthusiasm that has resonated throughout the arena since the team drafted phenom Caitlin Clark out of Iowa in 2024 was missing.
“The atmosphere inside the arena is trash. Thrill is gone. Fever,” Whitlock posted on X.
The atmosphere inside the arena is trash. Thrill is gone. Fever.
— Jason Whitlock (@jasonwhitlock) June 4, 2026
People on social media had a wide range of reactions to Whitlock’s assessment.
“I was a sports fan that got interested in WNBA only because of Caitlin Clark. After this game, I’m back to college sports. So bad,” one fan replied on X.
“They had an athlete that lifted the league to wildly new heights and could have carried the WNBA for a decade if handled properly. Ridiculously, they allowed jealousy, racism, and sexism to destroy that once in a lifetime chance. Now it’s gone,” someone else added.
“You way too good a sportswriter to be worried about some wnba (stuff). That’s beneath you,” another person added.
Clark battled and competed despite throwing up during the game. There’s a chance the arena could sense that something was amiss with the face of the franchise, because as soon as Clark turned things on and took over in the third quarter, the Fever faithful were roaring again.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.