From ball boy for the Indiana Fever to beat reporter for the team, Scott Agness has come a long way. He never would have imagined, at the age of 14, that he would be sitting in the press box at a historic sporting event.
Agness, who used to work for The Athletic, is now self-employed. For Fieldhouse Files on Substack, the 35-year-old covers the Indiana Pacers and the Indiana Fever. This indicates that he has written about Caitlin Clark ever since she made her WNBA debut.
Women’s professional basketball has never had more attention, attendance, or ratings thanks to Clark’s entrance. She assisted in guiding the Fever to their first postseason trip since 2016. Furthermore, the Caitlin Clark phenomena might only be beginning, despite the Connecticut Sun’s elimination of Indiana in the first round last week. Agness and I recently spoke to each other about Fever and Clark.
Awful Announcing: What was it like covering the Fever this year?
Scott Agness: ‘Unlike anything I’ve ever covered before. It was intense, exhilarating, and fun. It also had challenges. But more than anything, it’s been a blast because people care. Caitlin Clark has made the Fever relevant for the first time since 2016 when Tamika Catchings retired. After all their struggles and several coaches and different players, they landed a franchise player in December when they landed the top pick (in the draft lottery). Ever since then, nothing has been the same. Every metric is as high as possible, from sponsorships, ticket sales, attendance, and TV ratings. It seems like everything Caitlin does is newsworthy. Everybody has benefited because of her entrance into the league.”
Could you provide more instances of her influence off the court?
“There were eight cameras and 33 reporters for the first preseason game. Last year on the day of the exit interview, two reporters. Thus, things have drastically changed. Every event sells out. I’ve spoken with spectators who pay more than $1,000 to watch a single game from the courtside. Supporters who fly in from Australia, Germany, and Switzerland merely to catch a Caitlin Clark game and learn more about this phenomenon.
