Caitlin Clark Booed by Home Crowd During College GameDay Appearance

Caitlin Clark, the WNBA superstar, was met with boos from the home crowd during her appearance as a guest picker on ESPN's College GameDay on Saturday. The reception came just two days after her professional team, the Indiana Fever, were eliminated from the WNBA playoffs by the Las Vegas Aces.

College GameDay was held in Iowa City, the home of Clark's former college team, the Iowa Hawkeyes. The atmosphere, expected to be welcoming for the former Hawkeye star, turned frosty when Clark made her picks for the day's football games.

Her most controversial selection involved the matchup between West Virginia and Iowa State. The Iowa State Cyclones are a fierce rival of the Iowa Hawkeyes, competing in the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series. Many in the audience expected Clark to pick against the Cyclones, given the intense rivalry and her past affiliation with the Hawkeyes.

However, Clark surprised viewers by selecting Iowa State, a decision that led to a chorus of boos from the Hawkeye faithful in attendance. Despite this setback, Clark later redeemed herself in the eyes of some fans by picking her former college team, the Hawkeyes, to win their game against Ohio State, in contrast to other analysts who favored the Buckeyes.

The Iowa Hawkeyes are currently ranked 14th in the college football rankings and hold a 4-0 record in the Big Ten conference.

Clark's appearance on GameDay followed a difficult end to her rookie WNBA season. The Indiana Fever suffered a playoff exit in the opening round, losing to the Las Vegas Aces with a score of 94-83. Clark herself sustained an injury during the game, which saw her left bloodied, but she was unable to lead her team to victory against the seasoned Aces, who are coached by Becky Hammon and have won three championships in the last four seasons.