I’ll come clean.
I am a huge fan of University of Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark.
I’m also a huge fan of Taylor Swift for some of the same reasons.
Add Patrick Mahomes of NFL fame to the list.
I’m also a fan of UConn’s Paige Bueckers.
Let’s start with the Hawkeyes’ Clark.
The 22-year-old basketball star has been labeled as a brat, spoiled, selfish, entitled, and conceited.
Maybe.
Maybe not.
I’ll go with probably not.
What I see is a young woman with a competitive spirit that is second only to KC Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes.
Her father has had to shout at her from the stands to quiet down when she starts barking at officials.
Her coach has whistled her for technical fouls during practice.
People who speak their mind often get whistled by others.
Especially by our parents and mentors.
In my mind’s set, the one statistic that proves my point that Clark is not selfish is her assist total. In four years, she offered 1,144 assists. This young lady knows how to pass a basketball.
My admiration of Clark stems from her competitiveness which includes a talent that helps make the other players on the floor – both for Iowa and the opposition – better.
Clark’s willingness to give of her time to others, especially children, is beyond admirable. She will take as much time as she can spare to sign autographs and have her photo taken with her admirers.
She reminds young people, “if I can do it, so can you.”
Taylor Swift follows suit. This incredibly talented lady spends as much time with young people as she can.
She is an excellent role model in how she carries herself – which includes incredible generosity.
Plus, she is gorgeous and is the girlfriend of KC Chiefs all-everything tight end Travis Kelce.
And, in case you hadn’t heard, I am a lifelong Chiefs fan.
Patrick Mahomes is the greatest competitor participating in today’s sports world. The three-time Super Bowl champion brought his team from behind to claim victory in Super Bowl’s 54, 57, and 58.
What else to Caitlin Clark and Patrick Mahomes have in common?
Each won a critical high-profile game aided by an official’s call late in a game’s waning seconds.
Mahomes did so in Super Bowl 57 vs. Philadelphia.
With the game tied, 35-35, late in the fourth quarter, a completed pass for no gain brought up third-and-8. Mahomes threw an incomplete pass on the next play, but Kansas City earned a first down after Eagle defender James Bradberry was penalized for holding — a call that was criticized by some, but was supported by others, including by Bradberry himself who would admit after the game that he DID hold JuJu Smith-Schuster, and was hoping that the officials would not make the call.
The ref made a split-second decision and the defendant pleaded guilty.
The same scenario occurred in last Friday night’s Iowa v. UConn women’s game.
Iowa was leading with four seconds to play when an offensive foul for setting an illegal screen was whistled on UConn. Iowa held on to win, 71-69.
Another split-second decision.
Following the game, UConn star player Paige Bueckers was asked about the referee’s call.
Her classy response.
“Everybody can make a big deal of that one single play, but not one single play wins a basketball game or loses a basketball game. I feel there were a lot of mistakes that I made that could have prevented that play from even being that big or causing the official to be placed in that position.”
In the grand scheme of things, officials making split-second decisions in far down the totem pole.
There are doctors, fireman, police, EMTs, and military personnel that make split-second decisions – some of them concerning life and death.
A split-second decision by an official in a basketball game or football game – that features superstar players like Caitlin Clark and Patrick Mahomes – ought not be scrutinized by folks, like me, who are holding a TV remote in one hand and a beer in the other.
Especially if we never have had to offer a split-second decision while wearing a referee’s uniform or that of a firefighter, police officer, EMT, medical professional or that a member of the U.S. Military.