Nan - thanks for posting this.
I do think there are three kinds of new 'fans':
1. A fan who has suddenly been drawn into actually watching and enjoying a 'new' sport and if they can find a handle on someone/thing other than Clark to keep them engaged will grow into a lifetime fan.
2. A 'nerd' who having been exposed and hooked will actual research and read and learn the history.
3. Someone following the next great social craze who will maybe watch a couple WNBA games but when Clark isn't the story, moves on to whatever (and not whoever) is NEXT.
Both 1 and 2 are great, and give hope for a continued expansion of the audience for WCBB from this surge. The third group which I fear may be the majority of the current noise, will disappear again. As they have with previous moments - Rebecca, Diana, Candace, Maya, Sabrina, Pat v Geno, etc. We often have posters here on the boneyard that attribute their interest in the sport to a specific player or moment, and the amount of participation here has grown significantly since 1995 and the first NC, as the participation on other fan sites has grown based on a 'home team' finding a national profile or a 'star'.
And this isn't unique to WCBB, we see it everywhere in sports, and in every aspect of our life. Business are always looking for whats is NEXT in their field and who is NEXT to promote it.
The difference with WCBB is these moments are more noticeable because the baseline is relatively small. The KC Chiefs had a surge of new fans driven by a pop star, but we will not note their eventual disappearance because they are a minor blip in the total fan base. The surge in interest in the NHL around the Great One, was much more noticeable, but it too has faded.