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She chased her down, and suddenly, it was 鈥淲restling at the Chase.鈥�

Sophie Cunningham viciously yanked Kacy Sheldon onto the hardwood.

Sheldon and a teammate both shoved Sophie, who grabbed the back of Sheldon鈥檚 hair and taunted: 鈥淒o something!鈥�

Players and officials quickly broke up the fight, and while Cunningham stood coolly and chomped on her gum, the crowd chanted: 鈥淪oph-ie! Soph-ie! Soph-ie!鈥�

The state of Missouri has produced pro wrestlers Randy Orton, Harley Race, Lou Thesz and more as well as the beloved TV program filmed at the Chase Park Plaza. And here鈥檚 the emergence of a new wrestling-like villain 鈥� and she has gone viral.

Missouri Tigers basketball legend Sophie Cunningham, dubbed 鈥淭he Mayor of Columbia,鈥� is now the WNBA鈥檚 most famous enforcer. Cunningham is Indiana Fever teammates with the world-famous Caitlin Clark. In a recent game, Sheldon poked Clark in the eye 鈥� and Sheldon鈥檚 teammate then knocked a wobbly Clark to the ground. Because officials didn鈥檛 properly penalize the players, Cunningham stood up for her teammate.

She took matters into her own hands.

Literally.

And what happened next was 鈥渢he most 2025鈥� thing: Sophie has become a brand. Fans loved what she did 鈥� and Clark has the most fans. Cunningham is now a social media star.

It鈥檚 been eye-popping, especially considering she鈥檚 not a starter and averages 5.6 points per game. Before the incident, Cunningham had 300,000 followers on TikTok 鈥� as of Sunday, she had 1.4 million followers. And this past weekend, she cracked the 1 million mark for Instagram followers (for comparison, here are the follower totals for the 2024 All-WNBA team: Clark (3.4 million), A鈥檍a Wilson (1.3 million), Breanna Stewart (476,000), Napheesa Collier (246,000) and Alyssa Thomas (77,000)).

Cunningham鈥檚 No. 8 Fever jersey reportedly sold out. And numerous websites have started to sell Sophie shirts.

鈥淪he now is known,鈥� Mizzou women鈥檚 basketball coach Kellie Harper said. 鈥淲e already knew Sophie, right? And now the whole world knows who Sophie is. ... You know, Sophie is not going to back down to anybody. And she鈥檚 just a tough competitor. She鈥檚 one of the most competitive people that I鈥檝e ever coached against (while the head coach at Tennessee). She wants to win, she loves it and she鈥檚 the kind of person that is going to do whatever she needs to do. ...

鈥淚 think she does love Mizzou and represents it well. She always cares about the program. What I love about her? I think she鈥檚 a great story. I think here鈥檚 a Missouri kid that went to Mizzou, and I鈥檓 telling you, she鈥檚 self-made. I mean, she worked her tail off. Ad her grit and toughness that defined her? That鈥檚 what made her. When she was in high school, I remember watching her 鈥� she wasn鈥檛 the best shooter back then, she wasn鈥檛 the most skilled, but she was going to find a way to win. And there鈥檚 such a value in that.鈥�

I covered Cunningham during her days at Mizzou 鈥� she was one of my favorite players to watch because of her rare combination of grit and grace. Her games were events. She scored a bunch and bruised a bunch of opponents. She would raise her arms to raise the arena noise level. And after the game, she would sign dozens of autographs for young girls.

In a 2017 column from Columbia, Cunningham鈥檚 sister, Lindsey, told me: 鈥淚 guess people obviously in the past have referred to (her physical play) as dirty, but I don鈥檛 think she ever plays dirty. And the perception on the court is totally the opposite of the person she is off the court, once people get to know her. Dirty doesn鈥檛 come into their minds 鈥� more goofy, dorky and all over the place. But it鈥檚 really cool how she鈥檚 able to flip that switch ... and turn into a total beast on the court.鈥�

Now, obviously, what Cunningham did to Kacy Sheldon was dirty. It was a flagrant foul. And Cunningham, 28, has racked up her share of tough fouls given in her previous seasons, all with the Phoenix Mercury. Along the way, Cunningham has evolved into a player who other players like to play with.

And she also knows how to play the game.

Even before the famous foul, Cunningham had more followers than many WNBA players, notable considering the 6-foot-1 guard has averaged just 7.6 points and 2.4 rebounds in her pro career. In her social media posts, Cunningham flashes a lot of personality and goofiness 鈥� she doesn鈥檛 take herself too seriously. Yet when she makes her game-day entrances at arenas, she takes it particularly seriously.

For those who don鈥檛 know, arena arrivals go viral. Teams record video of players who walk in wearing fashionable outfits 鈥� some over the top and showing a lot of skin.

Cunningham has fully embraced these pregame opportunities. There is money to be made with these impromptu fashion shows. And the businesswoman is a business, man.

It will be fun and fascinating to follow Cunningham through this WNBA season. The Fever entered the day 8-8 and third in the Eastern Conference 鈥� and an injured Clark has missed some of the season. Cunningham could very well be that X-factor that the Fever needs to storm through the postseason.

鈥淪he鈥檚 the kind of player that you hated to play against because she wanted to win so bad,鈥� Mizzou鈥檚 coach Harper told me earlier this summer.

鈥淚 know a lot of people here at Mizzou talk about the will to win. Sophie is the definition of that, and her teammates were better because of her.

鈥淚 mean, she rose that program, she rose that team to another level, and I鈥檝e always admired her.鈥�