Peyton Manning sent an awesome message to Caitlin Clark ahead of the Indiana Fever’s home game Monday night. ESPNW shared a video of Manning recounting Clark’s trip to Indianapolis.
“With you coming in, the excitement here is off the charts,” Manning said in the video. “Welcome to Indiana and your new playground. The entire state has Caitlin Clark fever.
Manning has deep ties to Indianapolis as he played for the Colts from 1998 to 2011. During his time with the Colts, Manning led the team to two Super Bowl appearances and one Super Bowl victory. Fever fans are hoping Clark can do the same thing by leading the Iowa Hawkeyes to back-to-back national championship appearances.
Clark is off to a good start to her WNBA career. In three games, the 22-year-old averaged 17 points and 5.7 assists per game. She is shooting 40 percent from the floor and 32 percent from the three-point line. Clark injured his ankle in the first half of Monday’s game, but was cleared to return before halftime.
Peyton Manning shows Caitlin Clark more love
Manning is happy to see Clark in Indiana, but there’s one thing about her that slightly bothers the two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback. “It’s great and, like I said, I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Caitlin even more,” Manning said in a recent interview shared by Indiana Fever. “Throughout this series, she was a guest on our show, the Monday night show, last year. She’s a Chiefs fan – I forgive her – but she said she grew up watching me play and she was going to love Indianapolis. I gave her all my contacts at the airport, in St. Elmo… and it’s a great place for her to play, I can’t wait to watch her.
Clark understands there’s a lot of pressure on her to be the face of the WNBA. “I definitely know there’s pressure there,” Clark said before the season started. “This has been my whole career. But for me, I’m just having fun playing basketball. I know it’s a team sport, it’s not just me, it’s not all I have to do. When I was able to understand that, it allowed me to play my best, I think.
“I think it’s just about using your resources, asking questions, knowing that everything isn’t going to be perfect and giving myself a little grace. I’m definitely a perfectionist, but I’m at my best when I allow myself a little grace and don’t expect everything to turn out exactly as it should, but at the same time, it’s what allowed me to be so great.
