Nikki Haley Inexplicably Confuses Caitlin Clark With A CNN Anchor...While Campaigning In Iowa

If you're like me, your sports IQ is far higher than any sane person's should be. You can recite every Super Bowl winner since the year you were born, and even tell someone what your team's starting point guard eats for breakfast. You are a walking sports encyclopedia, and everyone knows it.

But sometimes, you might feel just a little self-conscious about all the random tidbits of information about your favorite teams that you dedicate significant mental space too. It doesn't make you a hit with the ladies (guilty), and it's hard to work your World Series knowledge into an typical conversation. Being an unofficial sports scholar is a lonely calling only the truly worthy can handle.

But take heart, my fellow fanatics. Nikki Haley just proved to every fan in America that possessing a strong level of sports knowledge is not useless. In fact, her lack thereof made her look like a fool - at the worst possible time.

The former South Carolina governor made a campaign stop in Coralville, Iowa on Saturday. While in town, Haley spoke with supporters about how excited she was to watch Caitlin Clark lead the hometown team against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

But she made a horrible, horrible blunder in the process.

Somehow, Haley messed up the pronunciation of the point guard’s name.

“What a team they are,” Haley said. “What a great coach. … Caitlin Collins is phenomenal.”

Do you hear that? It's the sound of all sports fans groaning in pain after witnessing the most out-of-touch comment of the month.

Mind you, this isn’t some random player on an obscure team. Even if you’re not a women’s college basketball fan, you know who Caitlin Clark is. She’s the most well-known women’s basketball player on the planet right now.

If there’s a “C’Mon Man”- like blooper reel for presidential candidates, this would undoubtedly be the worst of them all. 

Haley certainly has other non-sports things to pay attention to as a politician. But even so, she should have been able to get that right - especially in front of the people who might be voting for her. In a crowded field of conservative presidential candidates, Haley needs to make herself stand out. Committing that kind of a mistake in a state like Iowa - which is highly influential in the election cycles - won’t do her any favors.

The real Caitlyn Collins chimed in after seeing her name trend on X. Her humorous response - unlike Haley’s speech - was a slam dunk.

“I can assure you her free-throw percentage is much better than mine,” she wrote.

While that might be the case, it’s still better than Haley’s sports knowledge.

So the next time a girl gives you a blank stare when you start providing an in-depth analysis of the Rose Bowl (which is definitely a red flag), or if you feel shame for wanting to talk about the NHL at a family reunion, hold your head high. Your knowledge is valuable, regardless of what mere mortals may say. Haley provided foolproof evidence of that fact.