See video of an Iowa girl getting surprised with Caitlin Clark Nikes

Jennifer and Ryan Schaefer of Blue Grass, Iowa, try to be as honest as possible with their kids.

LJ, the couple’s third of four children, had been pestering her parents for months since the announcement of Caitlin Clark‘s first signature shoe with Nike. But with the hype surrounding the WNBA’s biggest star, along with bots and resellers snatching up inventory, her parents warned that, like her favorite player’s logo threes, getting a pair would be a long shot.

Even so, Jennifer logged into her Nike account at 8:45 a.m. on Oct. 1 and refreshed the page every few seconds until the shoes released at 9 a.m.

"She doesn’t ask for much, and the last thing a parent wants to do is disappoint their child," Jennifer said in a message to the Register. "Within 26 seconds of the launch, I was waitlisted and convinced I wasn’t going to get a pair."

About five minutes later, Nike confirmed her purchase. Relief, right? Not quite, as the anxiety then set in that the shoes might never make it to her doorstep.

"Would Nike package them inconspicuously, to avoid sticky fingers during transit? Would the UPS truck be a victim of a hostile takeover, similar to what bandits did to wagons & trains in the 1800s?" She wrote in a spirited Facebook post. "To try and settle my irrational thoughts that were triggered solely by anxiety and fear of disappointing a 10-year-old girl. (Yes, I know how all of this sounds) I relentlessly refreshed UPS’s tracking number MULTIPLE times a day. And honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if my account is flagged."

Less than a week later, Jennifer’s worries were put to rest when she received a notification that the shoes had been delivered. The next morning, the family decided to surprise LJ with the Caitlin 1s, which were wrapped in a pumpkin blanket.

Iowa girl’s Caitlin 1 unboxing video goes viral

"These feel like shoes," LJ said curiously while untangling the blanket.

After spotting the blue shoe box and Clark’s logo on the lid, the realization hit. LJ opened the box and pulled back the tissue paper to find her pair of the Caitlin 1s in the "Caitlin Blue" colorway.

"You got them?!" LJ said before rushing over to hug her mother. "Thank you," she said with tears in her eyes.

The heartfelt moment was captured by Jennifer, who shared the video on TikTok. Within days, it amassed more than 125,000 views and 10,000 likes, including a response from Nike’s official account calling it an "understandable reaction."

More: See photos of pop-up shop in Iowa City for Caitlin Clark’s shoe release

"I don’t post much on TikTok, so we weren’t expecting her video to go viral," Jennifer said. "We also didn’t tell LJ she went viral until after Nike responded, because that’s when we knew it was legit."

Jennifer said LJ will occasionally ask how many views the video has, but is more interested in whether Clark herself has responded.

"We understand with the volume of tags and mentions she receives daily, it would be a long shot," Jennifer said. "While it would be amazing for Caitlin to reply, LJ is just excited to finally wear the shoes she’s been patiently waiting for."

With volleyball in season and basketball around the corner, Jennifer said LJ will get plenty of use out of her Caitlin 1s, but plans to put them back in the box once the seasons are over.

"Caitlin’s success has shown LJ that even for a 10-year-old girl from Iowa, with hard work and perseverance, anything in life is possible," she said.

How to buy the Nike Caitlin 1

The Nike Caitlin 1 retails for $140 for adults, $115 for big kids and $105 for little kids.

Fans who missed the launch won’t have to wait long for another shot, with Nike set to release additional colorways through the end of the year, including "Halloween," "Venom," "Ice Cold" and "Cave Stone" editions.

Shop Caitlin Clark’s shoe collection with Nike

Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: See video of an Iowa girl getting surprised with Caitlin Clark Nikes

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