Caitlin Clark rose to national prominence as an Iowa Hawkeyes point guard before becoming a WNBA star for the Indiana Fever. Clark surpassed legendary LSU Tigers standout Pete Maravich to become the NCAA’s all-time top scorer during her four years of college, from 2020 to 2024. Additionally, she guided Iowa to consecutive trips to the national championship. Another important factor in Iowa’s recent success was Gabbie Marshall. But after graduating from college, the 24-year-old from Cincinnati, Ohio, made the decision to give up basketball. In Week 5 of the 2024 NFL season, Marshall returned home to watch the Cincinnati Bengals fall to the Baltimore Ravens 41-38 in overtime.
Clark noticed that the Bengals had uploaded a picture of Marshall tailgating outside of Paycor Stadium to their Instagram account and messaged her former teammate.
Clark wrote, “Spirit animal,” as the caption for her Instagram story. “Go Chiefs.” Marshall retaliated with the chant from her own team. “WHO DEY!!!!!” Marshall composed a letter.
Between 2019 and 2024, Marshall participated in 166 Iowa games, starting 137 of them. She averaged 6.6 points on 40.6% shooting, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 27.7 minutes per game. Marshall may have chosen to attend the best NFL game of the season, despite the fact that her team lost. Before the Ravens were able to equal the score in the last 5:24 of the game, Cincinnati had a 10-point advantage in the fourth quarter. Lamar Jackson, the quarterback for the Ravens, fumbled in overtime, giving the Bengals excellent field position and the opportunity to win. On a 53-yard try, though, the kicker missed it because the holder mishandled the snap. On their next possession, the Ravens scored and prevailed.
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