Jason Sudeikis has given Ted Lasso fans another reason to dream about the future after showing his support for Caitlin Clark during the Indiana Fever‘s meeting with the Chicago Sky.
Sudeikis, who plays the relentlessly optimistic football coach at the heart of Apple’s hit comedy, was in attendance as Clark produced one of the best performances of her young WNBA career.
Caitlin Clark and Robert Lewandowski cross paths in an unexpected night
The Fever cruised to a 113-90 victory on Sunday, with Clark exploding for 37 points and 10 assists.
She also knocked down a career-best eight three-pointers, helping Indiana set a franchise record with 18 made threes. The performance came at the end of a demanding five-game road trip and gave the Fever a much-needed response after consecutive defeats.
Sudeikis’ presence naturally caught the attention of fans, particularly because of the timing. The fourth season of Ted Lasso recently returned to Apple TV+, and the show has undergone a significant change for its latest chapter.
Rather than concentrating solely on the men’s team at AFC Richmond, the new season follows Ted as he takes charge of a second-division women’s football team. Apple confirmed that the season premiered on August 5, with new episodes arriving weekly through October 7.
That change in direction made Sudeikis’ appearance at a WNBA game particularly amusing for supporters.
The idea of Clark somehow becoming part of the Ted Lasso universe quickly became an attractive fantasy for fans.
While there is no indication that Sudeikis or Apple TV are actually attempting to recruit Clark for the series, his enthusiastic support created plenty of speculation about what a collaboration between the two stars could look like.
Could Caitlin Clark really become part of the Ted Lasso universe?
The obvious obstacle is that Ted Lasso remains a football show. Clark is one of basketball’s biggest stars, and there is no suggestion that she is preparing to trade the Fever for AFC Richmond.
But the timing makes the fan speculation easy to understand.
Season four is already exploring women’s sport through the fictional Lady Greyhounds. The storyline allows the show to examine the different pressures faced by female athletes while retaining the optimism and humour that made the original series popular.
Reuters described the new season as an exploration of women’s sport, including issues involving resources, facilities and expectations placed on female athletes.
Clark would therefore fit naturally into the show’s broader cultural conversation about women’s athletics, even if she never appears as a player.
And there is certainly no shortage of star power surrounding the Fever guard.
Against Chicago, Clark became only the fifth player in WNBA history to record a game with at least 30 points and 10 assists for the fifth time in her career.
The Fever also noted that she has produced four such games this season alone, more than the rest of the league combined.
Her performance also helped produce another milestone for Indiana. Clark and Kelsey Mitchell each scored at least 30 points, making them the first teammates in WNBA history to accomplish that feat three times.
Mitchell finished with 30 points while Clark’s 37 marked the third-highest scoring performance in Fever history.
So, while there is no evidence that Ted Lasso is actually preparing a basketball recruitment pitch for Clark, the joke practically writes itself.
Sudeikis has already embraced the world of women’s sport through the fourth season, while Clark continues to become one of the most recognizable athletes in America.
If the Ted Lasso universe ever decides to venture beyond football, fans clearly already know which superstar they would like to see receive the call.
For now, though, Clark has a different job: helping the Fever turn Sunday’s spectacular victory into momentum for the playoffs. And after watching her produce 37 points and 10 assists, Sudeikis certainly picked an entertaining game to attend.