Have you ever wondered… about catch-22? I have. I think of it as a questionable bridge in logic. I think about 22 a lot, too. For many reasons. As of late, does your mind go where mine does offhand? The woman, the legend, the all-star – Caitlin Clark. She is one of the best shooters to play the sport. Does it matter, though, if your defense does not balance out? As they say, defense wins championships. Her first professional game in the WNBA did not go as she probably planned it out in her mind. Kind of like the college finals, too, but I will not unpack that one any further for now. Sure, she drained some sweet 3’s that I will never tire of seeing. She racked up twenty (20) points in her first career WNBA game. Unfortunately, she also tallied ten (10) turnovers. Therein lies the catch-22 for this example. What if the Sun scored on each of those turnovers? Twenty points best case – immediately washing out all of her points. Thirty points worst case – creating a ten-point deficit for her team. Maybe it is true, then, that defense does win championships.
I do not say these things to disparage her as a player or as a person. I think Caitlin is incredible. Like Nicolas Cage, I think she must grapple with the unbearable weight of massive talent. I only paint this picture because none of us are perfect. She is the all-time leading scorer in the NCAA; that feat spans both men and women’s college basketball. I honestly wonder if that record, in addition to others she has set, will ever be broken in the future. Maybe, but maybe not. Time will tell. Her bridge has been built higher than most, and it shows possible potential. The ESPN article that was published about her back in March was simply incredible. First, it is probably the longest ESPN article I have ever read. It took me multiple sittings over multiple days to fully cover and digest it all. That is how comprehensive and in-depth I feel it was. I am a slow processor and a slow learner. I like to take my time to make sure I understand things as well as I possibly can. Again, this article was fantastic. Honestly, I am a big fan of hers. Honestly again, I did not watch any of the men’s NCAA tournament this year. Yet, I watched each and every game that Iowa played in this tourney. WVU gave Iowa such a nail-biting challenge early on in the bracket. Talk about another catch-22 had they dropped out early due to defeat after all the build-up and hype behind Iowa’s storied tale. A final showdown was seemingly-destined again as far as I am concerned. Sure, people can balk at refereeing along the way, but I think people love to find anything and everything to complain about to try and justify their hand in life. They would rather throw stones at others on their bridges instead of focusing on building up their own. We cannot change the past. We can only learn from it in order to do better moving forward. Maybe that should be considered a catch-22, too too.
22 means a lot to me, even before I was a big Caitlin Clark fan. 22 means a lot more than only her. Like today’s date to state one of the most obvious. Like the donation amount for any donations that WiseDumbTime receives. Believe it or not, my justifications for that amount have many reasons, none of which has anything to do with sports or any athletes whatsoever. Maybe I will talk about those reasons someday. Maybe not. Time will tell. Stay wondrous, y’all.