When Michael Che introduced Caitlin Clark in his “Weekend Update” segment of “Saturday Night Live” with Colin Jost, viewers expected a fellow comedian wearing a long, dark wig to slide into the frame.
Instead, the true owner of the all-time NCAA record in men’s and women’s basketball emerged.
Clark joined Che on the desk — the segment’s set — to talk about the WNBA draft, for which the presumed No. 1 pick was in New York, with the draft taking place Monday night at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Clark received a good 20-second ovation from the audience that would have continued had she not interrupted the audience to start the segment.
“Hey Michael, thanks for having me,” Clark said.
“By the way, I’m a fan of Caitlin,” Che said.
“Really Michael, because I heard that little apron joke you made…” Clark said lightly about a joke Che had made a few minutes before, in which Che had said before introducing Clark that Iowa would have its No. 22 jersey retired “and replaced with an apron.” »
The crowd was quick to “ooh” at Che’s joke, but applauded Clark, who joked and criticized Che for making numerous jokes to the detriment of women’s sports in the past. Unlike those jokes, Clark said she has written “good” jokes about women’s sports. Che then read them aloud.
“This year Caitlin Clark broke the record for three-pointers made in a single season and I have three points for Michael Che,” Che said while reading the joke. “One: Be. Two: Funnier. Three: Dumba…”
The crowd – already fascinated by the Caitlin Clark effect – loved it.
Caitlin Clark@CaitlinClark22) stopped by Weekend Update! pic.twitter.com/SSmbUcIOJl
– Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) April 14, 2024
To close the clip, Clark thanked the “great players” before her for “laying the foundation” for the WNBA. One of them, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, recently called Clark “one of the GOATs of our game” after a year in women’s basketball that saw Clark win numerous records, thus helping to popularize the game.
The Iowa-South Carolina title game attracted a record 18.9 million viewers, peaking at 24.1 million, making it the most-watched basketball game (men’s or women’s, college or professional) since 2019, according to ESPN. Ticket sales also skyrocketed, with every ticket for Iowa’s first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament at Carver-Hawkeye Arena selling out in just 30 minutes. Tickets for the Women’s Final Four, with service fees, had an entry price of approximately $965.
Clark graduated from college with more than 3,900 points to her name and a number that would never again be worn by an Iowa women’s basketball player. But she starts fresh on Monday when Clark hears her name for the first time as a pro.
“I’m sure (my rookie year in the WNBA) will be a big first step for me,” Clark said. “But it’s just one step for the WNBA, thanks to all the great players like Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie, Cynthia Cooper, the great Dawn Staley and my basketball hero, Maya Moore. These are the women who broke down the door so I could enter.
Clark then presented Che with a signed apron. She won’t need it: it’s not the required attire for the place where Clark cooks.
Required reading
(Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images)