Caitlin Clark and the most exciting warmup routine in sports - ESPN

THE INDIANA FEVER crowd is frantic by the time Debbie Elson walks into Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Elson has one of the best tickets in sports, hovering a few feet above the home tunnel on the floor of the arena, right in the face of Caitlin Clark and her teammates as they run in and out. That view is why her section fills with hundreds of fans hoping to get Clark's autograph.

Fans without tickets to Section 2 begin lining up hours before doors open at 5:30 p.m., roughly 90 minutes before tipoff. When the gates open, they sprint toward the section, but security allows only about 20 extra fans to join the crowd. Everyone else is turned away.

As she moves through the arena, Elson knows she'll see heartbreak from young fans who thought they would meet Clark. Those 20 — and everyone already seated — are fighting for Clark's attention. Most of them are about to learn that even being an arm's length away still isn't close enough.

But Elson, a night nurse in the Indianapolis area, has become an autograph angel at the arena over the years. When she approaches her seat, she scans the crowd for a fan she can help. «I try to spot the saddest kid,» Elson says. «And I invite them to stand with me at my seat.»

In July 2025, it's the three Kimball girls from West Texas who win the Fever lottery. Elson escorts the family down to her seat. Now Part 2 of the miracle must happen.

Will Clark stop by to see them?

A GREAT WAY to separate the stars of sports from the rock stars who do sports is how the world reacts to their pregame rituals. Think Aaron Judge's batting practice, Patrick Mahomes' pregame throws, Steph Curry's 50-footers from the tunnel and now just about everything Caitlin Clark does in the lead-up to Fever games.

Few athletes are