As I'm writing this I'm watching the Indiana Fever's season opener for the WNBA, watching for Caitlin Clark. Wednesday night I'll be watching the Chicago Sky play their season opener with our own newly minted hometown heroines, Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso.

From the WNBA's founding, I've been a supporter — admittedly, more in spirit than in person. But for me, and for many sports fans, this past season of college, and now pro, women's basketball marks a whole new era.

It only takes one. A Caitlin Clark who's remarkable athleticism, and sportsmanship, has ramped up aftermarket game ticket prices past $700 per, in some cases. Tiger Woods, who changed the game of golf. Serena, Michael, Tom, Novak, Megan, Secretariat — the pantheon of first-name-onlies who can convert casual viewers into lifelong devotees of the sport.

The thing is, that "one" element that changes the dynamic is not conferred only upon beautiful athletes. Whole markets are regularly created around the appearance of one product with the power to convert the casual consumer into a superfan. The iPhone is a recent, obvious choice, the modern version of the Model T, if you will.

And a steak? A type of chop or a new breed of poultry? Even if 97% of U.S. consumers eat meat regularly, no doubt the meat sector could use a shot of adrenaline in the PR arm. Something that will jazz consumers authentically in order to break through the persistent narrative that the meat industry is killing the planet and everyone on it. (It can be a messy business but it's hardly the root of all evil; meanwhile, it's human nature to pay far more attention to bad news than to good, such as the nutritional punch that animal protein packs.)

R&D efforts are perpetually ongoing, but are they aimed at an incremental option — something meant to plump up sales while shoring up the core product? Are your R&D folks encouraged to swing for the fences/serve an ace/beat the pack to the finish line by 31 lengths? I'm not imaginative enough to conceive of what that might be, but I know this industry has many creative professionals who could build such a product, if they were given the resources and encouragement to do so.

The iPhone might have been a once-in-a-generation invention, but that doesn't mean it has to be the only one.

All it takes is one

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