While the U.S. women have more than enough firepower to win their eighth straight Olympic gold medal without Clark, the Indiana Fever rookie who became a national sensation during her record-breaking collegiate career at Iowa, they found it much harder to win hearts and minds in their opener. The manic fandom and intense media attention that Clark has generated in WNBA arenas were nowhere to be found during the U.S. women’s opener, which kicked off at 9 p.m. local time, about an hour north of Paris.

Indeed, the Americans played before a considerably smaller and less engaged crowd than the spectators who greeted France and Spain in women’s matches the previous two days. In the vast 27,000-seat arena, entire sections of the middle tier and upper bowl were empty for the United States-Japan match. There were plenty of open seats in the media gallery; only two dozen or so reporters lingered for postgame interviews. The fans in attendance favored Japan throughout — Japanese flags far outnumbered American ones — before scattered chants of “USA!” broke out late in the fourth quarter.

“I was rooting for Japan too,” joked U.S. guard Diana Taurasi, referring to the team’s energetic style and underdog status.

Wilson, who also took notice of the pro-Japan crowd, gave the American fans plenty to celebrate in a statement-making victory. The 27-year-old center scored eight of the United States’ first 10 points, including an end-to-end sequence in which she made a jumper, blocked a shot and then hit another jumper. Wilson finished with a team-high 24 points to go with 13 rebounds, four assists and four blocks, and looked every bit the best player on the planet.

Stewart had similar success, with 22 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Overall, the Americans outscored the Japanese 64-22 in the paint and dominated the rebounding battle 56-27.

Those wide margins helped the U.S. survive a 4-for-20 (20 percent) shooting night from outside, while Japan shot 15-for-39 (38.5 percent) from distance. U.S. guard Sabrina Ionescu said coach Cheryl Reeve instructed the players during halftime not to “get bored” with what was working inside.

“We tried to punish them,” Wilson said. “Points in the paint and controlling the paint is going to be huge for us going forward. If we can keep that going, we’ll be in good shape.”

With two days of competition now in the books, it’s become increasingly difficult to determine which international opponents can slow, let alone stop, Wilson and Stewart. China, Australia, Canada and Belgium lost their opening Olympic games despite being ranked in the top seven in the FIBA ​​world rankings. France looked very good when it swept Canada on Monday, but its talented core still looks severely outmatched by the U.S. women.

Perhaps that explains why Clark’s enormous presence continued to dominate the Olympics: the lack of excitement on the court pales in comparison to the outcry over USA Basketball’s announcement in June that she would not be among the 12 players selected.

While that decision sparked weeks of debate given Clark’s status as the game’s most popular player, Reeve has repeatedly stood by the selection committee’s choices. But South Carolina coach Dawn Staley, a member of the selection committee, said this week that Clark’s recent WNBA play could have changed their calculus.

“If we had to do it again, the way she plays, she would definitely be considered for a spot on the team because she is head and shoulders above a lot of the other players,” Staley said.

Clark, 22, and fellow rookie sensation Angel Reese got their chance against the U.S. women’s national team at the WNBA All-Star Game. When the newcomers emerged victorious, with Clark dishing out assist after assist, the veteran-dominated national team had to lick its wounds and quickly regroup before it could begin its Olympic journey.

Even after a transatlantic flight, the U.S. women couldn’t avoid Clark. A pair of German fans, Felicia and Judy, wore matching Iowa shirts with Clark’s name and number 22 to Monday’s game. Both said they had enjoyed themselves and were impressed with the U.S. team’s performance, but they lamented Clark’s absence and laughed at the suggestion that they could travel to Los Angeles to watch her at the 2028 Olympics.

“Of course we wanted to see her play,” Felicia said. “We’ve been following her since high school.”

The gap between the consistent greatness of the American players and the appreciation they receive remains wide. Media attention and fan attendance will increase once the tournament moves to Paris for the knockout round next week, but Staley shouldn’t be the only influential person with doubts.

The U.S. women’s team was just as dominant as the men’s, but received a fraction of the attention. Clark, an ascendant on the field and unmatched in fame, would certainly have made a difference.