The following is a game report for the Indiana Fever vs. LA Sparks at Crypto.com Arena 5.24.24

Game Reports are not “Game Logs” but an ongoing series covering attended games including all the trivial stuff that occurs along the way including travel, food, merch purchases, and arena reviews etc….

I suppose it was a fortunate coincidence that my first WNBA game attended this season just so happened to be Caitlin Clark’s first game at Crypto and her Indiana Fever’s first win. Caitlin was just as excited as I was about the game wearing her Kobe’s in purple and gold. But wait, this is jumping the gun. This is a GAME report after all and not just a recap of the game.

Well I started my trip back in San Diego and took the Amtrak up to the game. The train was CROWDED. I had to sit backwards (never my favorite) in an aisle seat. The guy next to me was fast asleep (or at least was faking it so he did not have to acknowledge me) and only woke up intermittently throughout the trip. I mention this because I had stacked my iPhone with “Miles In Transit” youtube train vlogs. I also had some Red Vines, a coke and a water for my train snack. I’m sure the guy next to me woke up and thought I was a total psycho, watching train vlogs on an actual train, eating Red Vines but you see, sir, that is what I do: ride trains, eat red vines, and watch train vlogs and the WNBA.

But train vlogs were not the only thing I was watching, I also had the Indiana Fever’s media availability also on Youtube from the previous morning downloaded (shout out youtube premium) so I could scout the mood and mindset of the visiting Indiana Fever. And to be honest, Caitlin Clark looked exhausted and frustrated. The Indiana Fever did not have a win – yet.

I arrived at Union Station in LA a two hours before the game but with the arena opening 90 minutes before tip-off (as opposed to the usual 60) I think I had timed it just right as it would take a little while for me to get a Metro Card and a ride on LA’s MetroRail. LA’s MetroRail was on time and quick and had been lovingly scented with weed for the duration of my trip.

When I got off at the designated MetroRail station, two blocks from Crypto, I was excited to see Los Angeles’ version of the Statue of Liberty, aka the Graffiti Towers. This was cool to see in real life because I had no idea it was across the street from Crypto. Not sure how this even happened but it does not give me the greatest hope for the city’s safety. I mean I remember when people thought the antics of Project Mayhem in Fight Club were unbelievable in a post 9/11 word but that’s like day care activities compared to Graffiti Towers. Anyway, it was something.

I made it to Crypto and the arena had just opened a few minutes ago. I made my way IMMEDIATELY to the merch store and picked up a hat (that was not available online or at Fanatics.com – which I feel like is always a win) and then went to a vendor and picked up a Cam Brink t-shirt (also not available online or at Fanatics.com but this one is less of a win – read on). It had BRINK 22 and the Sparks logo like the back of her jersey reads – and looked and I was excited because I thought it was a shirzee type situation with the writing on THE BACK but the writing was on the FRONT so the joke’s on me. And now every time I wear it people think I am wearing it backwards. Oh well, I guess I still like it. I mean any Cam Brink merch is better than no Cam Brink merch.

Anyway, I found my seat which was up on the third level above the suites. If you have ever been to Crypto and sat in one of these seats, you will know that it is VERY high up. Like nosebleeds in other arenas would be a good 20 feet lower. Still they actually give a great view of the game. But not so great for seeing faces and gaging reactions, etc… That being said I was just “happy to be there” and when I saw Cam and the Sparks come out, I cheered so hard. And when Caitlin came out, I didn’t think I was going to cheer – but oh well I did.

You see I’ve been watching A LOT of Fever every night on TV for the past few weeks – through the preseason and I’ve really come to know them over this time (yes I know I’m being a goof here but honestly I really think I knew them better than any other WNBA including the Sparks which are blocked out in San Diego so I always have to watch the replay). Even though I was excited, like everyone else was, to see Caitlin Clark, I was REALLY excited to see Aaliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell – and honestly Katie Lou Samuelson most of all. BEGIN EMBARRASSING RANT. I remember when Katie Lou was back on UConn and honestly she did not work out with the Sparks a few seasons ago, which bummed me out, and she took time off to have a baby and has returned with a vengeance for Indy this season. I also think she just looks so damn swaggy in the t-shirt and her Puma skater shoes (in fact I bought a pair of those Pumas the next day). END EMBARRASSING RANT.

Anyway, before the game began, I went and grabbed a hot dog, a pretzel and an Orange Fanta form the arena food services. I have to say this was both the worst stadium hot dog I have ever had and the BEST stadium pretzel I have ever had. The Fanta was dependably fine.

The game started and the people next to me finally showed up. In fact, the stadium was PACKED, even in the upper deck. I would later find out that the attendance for this game was more than ANY Laker game in the past season. So yeah, if you didn’t already think so, the Caitlin Clark effect is very REAL.

Well the game started and the Sparks jumped out to the early lead. I went and took a lap around the arena at half time and thought about buying a Cam Brink jersey. I did not as it was $30 more expensive than it was on Fanatics.com (can you see how much Fanatics.com rules my world?). I went back to my seat and I don’t think I should have left because all of the good mojo of the Sparks first half disappeared.

Dearica Hamby’s ability to put the ball in the basket disappeared and so did Lexie Brown’s ability and Kia Nurse’s. And Cam Brink was tagged up with some questionable fouls that put her on the bench for the majority of the third and the beginning of the fourth.

In that time, the Fever went on quite the run, eventually pulling in front of the Sparks and eventually winning the game. Caitlin Clark did the MJ meme IRL and now that has been used for 82% of blogs and X posts featuring Caitlin since that night.

Depressed I went to the MetroRail and then back to Union Station where my Amtrak appeared to be on time – so far… I picked up a pack of Wetzel’s Pretzels BITZ and some Jalapeno Cheddar dip and a Pepsi and walked up to the platform. I boarded the train but was told that the train would be holding in the station for the forseeable future. Apparently there had been a fatality on the track just before Anaheim so the train would have to stay until the investigation was over.

It was sad but you know train passengers, they were concerned about when they were going to get home. I left my charger at home and my phone was ready to die. But the passenger across from me let me borrow hers. She also started to tell me that she was headed to San Diego to see her daughter but was reconsidering as she would have to be in LA the next evening to catch a plan back to wherever her permanent home was. I sympathized but explained that if they were going to cancel the train, they probably would not have let us on. Also, they will get the train moving at some point because the crew was from San Diego. I knew the former from all the Miles In Transit vlogs I had watched. I knew the latter because they had announced a few minutes prior. She did not have the same amount of confidence and frankly I was starting to worry as well.

I continued to eat my WP Bitz and stared out into the dark of Union Station. I quickly made a reservation at the Regal LA Live to watch a movie in case we got kicked off the train. They had some midnight showings and I figured I could crash there in a long movie and then make it back to the station for the first ride in the morning at 6AM. I was getting nervous.

After about an hour of sitting in the station, the woman across from me left. And yes, she wanted her charger back. I told her that she should stick it out for a few more minutes. You see, they just offered pretzels and water to the passengers at the cafe car. And I told her that means we would eventually be going for sure. Amtrak was not wasting precious food to keep passengers happy on a train that they might eventually CANCEL. She disagreed and left. But I knew it to be true because of, again, Miles In Transit vlogs.

Well, about 10 minutes later, the train announced that it would be moving. And it did. The woman did not return and we eventually made it back to San Diego at after 1AM. It was late. I was tired. But I did not regret getting the chance to see Caitlin Clark’s first win.