Sports and pop culture collided on Wednesday night when global pop star Taylor Swift announced her 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl, on a new episode of her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s podcast New Heights. In that sense, WNBA star Caitlin Clark didn’t miss the chance to gush over the singer, whom she met last year.
The 23-year-old WNBA star, who is known for being a Swiftie, reacted with excitement to the announcement, leaving several comments and reactions throughout the day. After the release of the first teaser of the episode, Clark commented: “AHHHHHHH!!!!!! LFGGGGGG,” which stands for “Let’s f—ing go.”
On Twitter, Clark also voiced a valid concern regarding the premiere of the episode. “Are we sure YouTube isn’t going to crash tonight?” she wrote in a post, adding a nervous laughing emoji.
The comment turned out to be a prediction, as the livestream experienced a glitch. “Swifties so powerful we broke the Internet,” she wrote in response to the technical failure.
Clark and Swift’s friendship
After attending two stops on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in Indianapolis, Clark received an unexpected thank-you from the pop superstar: four bags filled with merchandise. The gesture cemented a budding friendship between the WNBA star and the Grammy winner.
That bond was on display in January, when Clark joined Swift to cheer on Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs during their playoff win over the Houston Texans. Speaking to ESPN afterward, Clark described Swift as “a good friend” who offers valuable advice about navigating life in the spotlight.
Clark recalled that she and Swift shared “real conversations” throughout the game. “I think what people don’t always realize about people with a certain spotlight, whether it’s her, whether it’s me, whether it’s another professional athlete or a pop star, we’re real people,” she told the outlet.
While Clark and the rest of the world wait for Swift’s new album (which will feature 12 songs about her “inner life” during the Eras Tour) the singer continues to make deeper inroads into sports culture.