Carver North🖤💛

Born & Raised Iowan | UI Alum | Hawkeye 4Ever | A Newly Labeled “Corn Person”, I guess | …and I really like Ted Lasso

[Carver North🖤💛 @skipper_spring0]

Such a great rewatch going into tournament play next month! This! Home.💛🫶🖤@IowaWBB @TheIowaHawkeyes @uiowa @LisaBluder @goiowa #growingthegame #caitlinclarkfoundation

Growing the Game - Iowa Women's Basketball https://t.co/HCwMVj9898 via @YouTube

[Carver North🖤💛 @skipper_spring0]

CC is down on her court right now handing out merch! 🖤💛💙😎@CaitlinClark22 @Nike @uiowa @TheIowaHawkeyes @IowaWBB

[Carver North🖤💛 @skipper_spring0]

@IowaWBB @CaitlinClark22 Welcome home, CC! 🖤💛😎

[Carver North🖤💛 @skipper_spring0]

@TheIowaHawkeyes Yes!!! Yes!!! Yes!!! 🙌 👏🖤💛😎

[Carver North🖤💛 @skipper_spring0]

YASSSSSS!!! 👏👏👏👏🖤💛

[The Iowa Hawkeyes @TheIowaHawkeyes]

Nothing special to see here.*

*Just this weekend's guest picker.

[Carver North🖤💛 @skipper_spring0]

@CaitlinClark22 @hawks6968 @Nike Congrats CC! Look forward to the official debut! 🖤💛

[Hawkeye Football @HawkeyeFootball]

A celebration well earned.

[Hawkeye Football @HawkeyeFootball]

Led by legends.

[💛🖤 KINNICK NORTH🖤💛 @KinnickNorth23]

I think this is the part of Caitlin Clark fandom that people outside Iowa sometimes don't understand.

Iowa is a small state. No pro teams. You grow up there, you're a Hawkeye for life.

We don't expect national championships. Our players just become family.

And Caitlin?

She's FROM Iowa.

She could've gone anywhere in the country. She chose Iowa. And for four years, we watched this kid from West Des Moines do things we'd never seen before.

Logo threes. Insane passes. Scoring records. Kinnick. Carver losing its fucking mind. Two Final Fours. Two national championship games.

She made being an Iowa fan feel like being at the center of the sports universe.

Now she's in the WNBA.

And there's SO much noise.

MVP debates. GOAT debates. Championships. Hot takes. Social media drama. People who love her. People who seemingly wake up every morning looking for a reason to hate her.

And here's the thing:

A lot of us Iowa CC fans just don't give a shit. 😂

Never wins a WNBA MVP?

She's still the GOAT to us.

Never wins a WNBA championship?

She's still the GOAT to us.

Because we've already got four years of memories that nobody can ever take away.

Everything she's doing in the W now?

We're enjoying the hell out of it.

The rest is background noise.

We rode with our girl when she wore IOWA across her chest.

We'll ride with her wherever this thing goes.

The WNBA gets Caitlin Clark now.

Iowa gets her forever. 🖤💛

[💛🖤 KINNICK NORTH🖤💛 @KinnickNorth23]

I'm 48 years old. I have pictures of myself as a baby wearing Iowa Hawkeyes clothes. Being a Hawkeye fan wasn't something I chose—it was part of my life from the very beginning.

Some of my earliest memories are watching Hawkeye football with my grandma every Saturday. When my family was going through hard times and even living out of our car, weekends at Grandma's meant a warm meal, a bed to sleep in, and a Hawkeye game together. After she passed away, I kept her old Hawkeye coffee mug. It still sits proudly in my Hawk garage today.

That's what being a Hawkeye fan has always been to me. It's family. It's home. It's tradition.

People from larger states with multiple pro teams may not fully understand it. Iowa is different. The Hawkeyes belong to all of us. Drive through almost any town in the state and you'll see Tigerhawks on houses, barns, businesses, and vehicles. Win or lose, that pride never really fades.

So when Caitlin Clark chose to stay home and wear Iowa across her chest instead of going to a traditional powerhouse, she instantly became one of us in a way that's hard to explain. Before the rest of the world discovered her, we watched her dominate Iowa high school basketball and dreamed about what she could become in black and gold.

Then she became a global superstar.

Millions of people fell in love with Caitlin because of what she did on the court. We did too. But our connection didn't begin there.

To many fans, she's an incredible player.

To Iowa fans, she's part of our story.

So yes, many of us followed her to the WNBA. We may be new to that league, but we're not new to basketball, and we're certainly not "casual" about her. We've spent years cheering for her, celebrating her, and feeling proud that someone from our little corner of the country could captivate the entire sports world.

Maybe that's why criticism of her can feel so personal to Iowa fans. It isn't because we think she's perfect. It's because, in a way, she represents home.

If you've ever wondered why Iowa fans seem so fiercely loyal to Caitlin Clark, that's why.

It was never just about a basketball player.

[Carver North🖤💛 @skipper_spring0]

@goiowa @IndianaFever 💙🫶❤️

[Carver North🖤💛 @skipper_spring0]

@kenswift @IndianaFever @AmberLCox @John_G_Nolan @PatBoylanPacers 💙🫶❤️

[Carver North🖤💛 @skipper_spring0]

@Catchin24 @IndianaFever 💙🫶❤️

[Carver North🖤💛 @skipper_spring0]

@IndianaFever 💙🫶❤️

[Carver North🖤💛 @skipper_spring0]

@PatBoylanPacers 💙🫶❤️

[Carver North🖤💛 @skipper_spring0]

@CaitlinClark22 @IndianaFever

[Carver North🖤💛 @skipper_spring0]

@sophaller

[Carver North🖤💛 @skipper_spring0]

Elena Della Donne…

[Carver North🖤💛 @skipper_spring0]

Stephanie White…

[Alexa Philippou @alexaphilippou]

Stephanie White, in part, on Napheesa Collier's statement: "I have a lot of respect for Phee. ... . I'm thankful that we have strong women that are willing to say the things that matter and say the things that will move the needle for change."