"This is embarrassing": Caitlin Clark fans unleash fury over Team USA's gold medal game falls 8 million short in viewership 

The Caitlin Clark effect is still strong in the WNBA even if she's still in her rookie season. The Indiana Fever young star's popularity has polarized fans and those strong feelings were more visible after she was snubbed from the 2024 USA Basketball women's team.

After the Olympic basketball tournament ended, it was reported that this year's Team USA squad had the worst viewership for a gold medal game since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Moreover, Caitlin Clark alone played in three games college games that surpassed the 10.9 million viewers the Team USA vs France gold medal match had at some point.

The news sparked plenty of reactions from fans, especially Clark's, who did not hesitate to call out anybody who had something to do with the decision to leave her out of the 12-player roster.

A fan labeled the gold medal game's numbers as 'embarrassing.'

"this is embarassing 😭," one fan said.

More fans noted that regardless of the time slot of the game, many would've still watched it if Caitlin Clark was playing.

"I wonder how many would have watched if Caitlin Clark was playing. My guess is that it would have been a much better number," one fan wrote.

"Ppl talkin about the time lmao if CC was playing the time wouldn’t have mattered we would watch," another fan said.

Others added more context to Clark's college games and stated that her popularity is bigger than the Olympic team's.

"Yeah nobody cares about the Olympics when it comes to CC," one fan wrote.

Stephen A. Smith says Team USA missed an opportunity with Caitlin Clark

A lot of people criticized the decision to leave Caitlin Clark out of the 2024 USA Basketball women's team considering all the attention she received during and after her good performances in college. ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith said that not taking Clark to Paris was a mistake, as they did not market the sport as they should have.

"There were approximately 13,000-plus people that showed up for Team USA's games for the women," Smith said. "Box office matters. ... Now, you came home with the gold. You handled your business. ... But when you talk about marketing the sport, I think Team USA missed an opportunity to elevate the profile of women's excellence in the sport of basketball."

Clark did not criticize USA Basketball for her exclusion from the Olympic team. The Fever continues to be her No. 1 priority and now that the WNBA is about to resume, we could see an even better better version of her.