The world of women’s sports has erupted over the past 2 years and the spotlight for female athletes and their respective sports is long overdue. One of the most pivotal milestones that have thrust women’s sports directly in the limelight was the college basketball national championship game between LSU and Iowa in April of 2023.

The championship matchup included star players Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes and Angel Reese of the LSU Tigers. The game was a marvel of elite play and intense competition between the two teams, and culminated with an LSU victory over Iowa and Reese taunting Clark at the conclusion by pointing to her finger suggesting LSU were the champs.

The 2023 Women’s College Basketball National Championship broke ESPN viewership records for both the women’s and men’s tournament with 9.9 million viewers, and what ensued immediately afterwards was a media, cultural, and social media frenzy with race at its core. A rivalry between Reese and Clark was stoked and forced upon the ladies, and has linked them for what seems like forever, including the following college season of 2024 and their journeys into the WNBA.

March Madness of 2024 unfolded with Clark and Iowa securing redemption after a 94-87 victory over Reese and LSU.

During the post-game presser, Angel Reese became emotional when speaking about the downside of the previous year’s championship and the challenges that she had subsequently faced after being verbally attacked and receiving death threats.

After the tournament ended, Clark was drafted by the Indiana Fever and Reese by the Chicago Sky. The draft was on April 15th, two weeks after the LSU-Iowa rematch.

Less than a year later, on February 9th, 2025, during Super Bowl LIX between the Eagles and Chiefs, Nike ran a commercial for its new “So Win” campaign featuring multiple female superstar athletes, including Caitlin Clark. In the same month, Nike continued its campaign as two billboards were seen, one over top of the other in Downtown Chicago, just over 3 miles and minutes away from the Chicago Sky home of Wintrust Arena.

Social Media erupted again, with Clark fans and others reveling in what they perceived as a slight to Reese with the billboard placement in the Chicago Sky’s backyard. Memes began circulating, with many utilizing the popularized image of Reese emotional at the LSU post-game press conference after the loss to Iowa and Caitlin Clark in the 2024 rematch. The image was already a favorite for memes of Reese.

The sentiments suggest that Reese is furious about the billboard in her city and the proximity to the Chicago Sky home. Reese and Clark have always been respectful, and neither has ever displayed disdain for the other. No one knows if Nike intentionally used the billboard placements as a strategy. There also are new images of Nike’s “So Win” campaign on billboards in Chicago with WNBA star A’ja Wilson. The billboard placement makes us curious, and like many things that Nike does, that curiosity allows it to work well.

The world of women’s sports has erupted over the past 2 years and the spotlight for female athletes and their respective sports is long overdue. One of the most pivotal milestones that have thrust women’s sports directly in the limelight was the college basketball national championship game between LSU and Iowa in April of 2023.

The championship matchup included star players Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes and Angel Reese of the LSU Tigers. The game was a marvel of elite play and intense competition between the two teams, and culminated with an LSU victory over Iowa and Reese taunting Clark at the conclusion by pointing to her finger suggesting LSU were the champs.

The 2023 Women’s College Basketball National Championship broke ESPN viewership records for both the women’s and men’s tournament with 9.9 million viewers, and what ensued immediately afterwards was a media, cultural, and social media frenzy with race at its core. A rivalry between Reese and Clark was stoked and forced upon the ladies, and has linked them for what seems like forever, including the following college season of 2024 and their journeys into the WNBA.

March Madness of 2024 unfolded with Clark and Iowa securing redemption after a 94-87 victory over Reese and LSU.

During the post-game presser, Angel Reese became emotional when speaking about the downside of the previous year’s championship and the challenges that she had subsequently faced after being verbally attacked and receiving death threats.

After the tournament ended, Clark was drafted by the Indiana Fever and Reese by the Chicago Sky. The draft was on April 15th, two weeks after the LSU-Iowa rematch.

Less than a year later, on February 9th, 2025, during Super Bowl LIX between the Eagles and Chiefs, Nike ran a commercial for its new “So Win” campaign featuring multiple female superstar athletes, including Caitlin Clark. In the same month, Nike continued its campaign as two billboards were seen, one over top of the other in Downtown Chicago, just over 3 miles and minutes away from the Chicago Sky home of Wintrust Arena.

Social Media erupted again, with Clark fans and others reveling in what they perceived as a slight to Reese with the billboard placement in the Chicago Sky’s backyard. Memes began circulating, with many utilizing the popularized image of Reese emotional at the LSU post-game press conference after the loss to Iowa and Caitlin Clark in the 2024 rematch. The image was already a favorite for memes of Reese.

The sentiments suggest that Reese is furious about the billboard in her city and the proximity to the Chicago Sky home. Reese and Clark have always been respectful, and neither has ever displayed disdain for the other. No one knows if Nike intentionally used the billboard placements as a strategy. There also are new images of Nike’s “So Win” campaign on billboards in Chicago with WNBA star A’ja Wilson. The billboard placement makes us curious, and like many things that Nike does, that curiosity allows it to work well.

The world of women’s sports has erupted over the past 2 years and the spotlight for female athletes and their respective sports is long overdue. One of the most pivotal milestones that have thrust women’s sports directly in the limelight was the college basketball national championship game between LSU and Iowa in April of 2023.

The championship matchup included star players Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes and Angel Reese of the LSU Tigers. The game was a marvel of elite play and intense competition between the two teams, and culminated with an LSU victory over Iowa and Reese taunting Clark at the conclusion by pointing to her finger suggesting LSU were the champs.

The 2023 Women’s College Basketball National Championship broke ESPN viewership records for both the women’s and men’s tournament with 9.9 million viewers, and what ensued immediately afterwards was a media, cultural, and social media frenzy with race at its core. A rivalry between Reese and Clark was stoked and forced upon the ladies, and has linked them for what seems like forever, including the following college season of 2024 and their journeys into the WNBA.

March Madness of 2024 unfolded with Clark and Iowa securing redemption after a 94-87 victory over Reese and LSU.

During the post-game presser, Angel Reese became emotional when speaking about the downside of the previous year’s championship and the challenges that she had subsequently faced after being verbally attacked and receiving death threats.

After the tournament ended, Clark was drafted by the Indiana Fever and Reese by the Chicago Sky. The draft was on April 15th, two weeks after the LSU-Iowa rematch.

Less than a year later, on February 9th, 2025, during Super Bowl LIX between the Eagles and Chiefs, Nike ran a commercial for its new “So Win” campaign featuring multiple female superstar athletes, including Caitlin Clark. In the same month, Nike continued its campaign as two billboards were seen, one over top of the other in Downtown Chicago, just over 3 miles and minutes away from the Chicago Sky home of Wintrust Arena.

Social Media erupted again, with Clark fans and others reveling in what they perceived as a slight to Reese with the billboard placement in the Chicago Sky’s backyard. Memes began circulating, with many utilizing the popularized image of Reese emotional at the LSU post-game press conference after the loss to Iowa and Caitlin Clark in the 2024 rematch. The image was already a favorite for memes of Reese.

The sentiments suggest that Reese is furious about the billboard in her city and the proximity to the Chicago Sky home. Reese and Clark have always been respectful, and neither has ever displayed disdain for the other. No one knows if Nike intentionally used the billboard placements as a strategy. There also are new images of Nike’s “So Win” campaign on billboards in Chicago with WNBA star A’ja Wilson. The billboard placement makes us curious, and like many things that Nike does, that curiosity allows it to work well.

The world of women’s sports has erupted over the past 2 years and the spotlight for female athletes and their respective sports is long overdue. One of the most pivotal milestones that have thrust women’s sports directly in the limelight was the college basketball national championship game between LSU and Iowa in April of 2023.

The championship matchup included star players Caitlin Clark of the Iowa Hawkeyes and Angel Reese of the LSU Tigers. The game was a marvel of elite play and intense competition between the two teams, and culminated with an LSU victory over Iowa and Reese taunting Clark at the conclusion by pointing to her finger suggesting LSU were the champs.

The 2023 Women’s College Basketball National Championship broke ESPN viewership records for both the women’s and men’s tournament with 9.9 million viewers, and what ensued immediately afterwards was a media, cultural, and social media frenzy with race at its core. A rivalry between Reese and Clark was stoked and forced upon the ladies, and has linked them for what seems like forever, including the following college season of 2024 and their journeys into the WNBA.

March Madness of 2024 unfolded with Clark and Iowa securing redemption after a 94-87 victory over Reese and LSU.

During the post-game presser, Angel Reese became emotional when speaking about the downside of the previous year’s championship and the challenges that she had subsequently faced after being verbally attacked and receiving death threats.

After the tournament ended, Clark was drafted by the Indiana Fever and Reese by the Chicago Sky. The draft was on April 15th, two weeks after the LSU-Iowa rematch.

Less than a year later, on February 9th, 2025, during Super Bowl LIX between the Eagles and Chiefs, Nike ran a commercial for its new “So Win” campaign featuring multiple female superstar athletes, including Caitlin Clark. In the same month, Nike continued its campaign as two billboards were seen, one over top of the other in Downtown Chicago, just over 3 miles and minutes away from the Chicago Sky home of Wintrust Arena.

Social Media erupted again, with Clark fans and others reveling in what they perceived as a slight to Reese with the billboard placement in the Chicago Sky’s backyard. Memes began circulating, with many utilizing the popularized image of Reese emotional at the LSU post-game press conference after the loss to Iowa and Caitlin Clark in the 2024 rematch. The image was already a favorite for memes of Reese.

The sentiments suggest that Reese is furious about the billboard in her city and the proximity to the Chicago Sky home. Reese and Clark have always been respectful, and neither has ever displayed disdain for the other. No one knows if Nike intentionally used the billboard placements as a strategy. There also are new images of Nike’s “So Win” campaign on billboards in Chicago with WNBA star A’ja Wilson. The billboard placement makes us curious, and like many things that Nike does, that curiosity allows it to work well.