Ninety Minutes of Unbridled Female Excellence
October 18, 2018 11:26 PM   Subscribe

As we head the 2019 Women's World Cup, let's take a look at the state of American women's professional soccer.

The National Women's Soccer League wrapped up its 2018 season last month, with the North Carolina Courage cruising to a 3-0 victory in a re-match with the Portland Thorns. "The capacity crowd of 21,144...was a record for a women’s professional league final in the United States" as pre-selected host venue Providence Park "lived up to the hype." The close of the league's seventh season was already remarkable, as no other women's professional soccer organization had made it past the third season. The 2018 season saw average attendance at games bypass 6,000 for the first time, and in 2017 the Thorns "drew an average of 17,653 fans — more than 15 N.B.A. teams, 13 N.H.L. teams and one Major League Baseball team." And why not, when "unlike top mens’ leagues, Twitter, the news, prestige TV, the White House, most workplaces, and general public life, NWSL games are utterly devoid of overpaid adult men throwing full-on pissbaby tantrums to get their way (as long as you don't count Thorns coach Mark Parsons and his dirty handshake)." In fact, "now might be the time to buy a professional women's sports team".

It's not all roses, though. A year and a half after the league's commissioner suddenly stepped down, it's no closer to naming a successor. Maybe the lack of leadership is what kept the league insisting that the Courage-Red Star semi-final game would go forward in the path of hurricane Florence until just three days before the game and one day before the storm made landfall. And while New Jersey's Sky Blue struggled through a nearly win-less season, the bigger issue is that "the team plays and works in unsafe, unsanitary, unprofessional conditions—and club owners, league officials and the U.S. Soccer Federation are overlooking or excusing what has become an inexcusable situation" that continues despite "promised solutions." Meanwhile, the players have "founded the NWSL Player’s Association, a network of professional women soccer players in clubs across the country who are advocating for a seat at the table and improved conditions. But previous experience watching first the Women’s United Soccer Association and then the Women’s Professional Soccer leagues fold informs the moves the NWSL Player’s Association makes and how hard they want to push."

Lest we end on a downer, enjoy some examples of excellence:
2018 NWSL Most Valuable Player: Lindsey Horan, Portland Thorns FC
2018 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year: Adrianna Franch, Portland Thorns FC
2018 NWSL Defender of the Year: Abby Erceg, North Carolina Courage
2018 NWSL Rookie of the Year: Imani Dorsey, Sky Blue FC
posted by Tentacle of Trust (10 comments total) 19 users marked this as a favorite
 
The UK is slowly catching up, but there is still a definite feeling that all the money in women's football is over in the US. You see this really dramatically in Bend It Like Beckham, but it's still the case.

The Littlest Hobo plays keeper for a local girls' club, and one of the mid-field positions at school. She's the daughter of two Yanks without televisions who never followed sport, barring the 2012 Olympics. So it came time to pick a team, and we kind of couldn't help her.

She had to pick a team. She didn't get one from us, and all her cohort talked about teams like religions. Sadiq Khan still supports Liverpool, even while Mayor of London. This stuff is supposed to soak into the bone, here.

She chose Manchester City, not least because both their boys' team and the women's team are strong. We've been taking her up on long weekends to see home games at the academy stadium, and scratched our heads over rail timetables to work out how to get to the horrible podunk fields that even top-tier clubs like Chelsea chuck their women's matches out to.

So it definitely still feels like the UK only takes the boys seriously, no matter the wins the women get.

The one thing I love about the Man City Women's matches are the cheerleaders. For those of you in the US, forget what you think that is. For these matches, it's a guy who looks like me (bald dad type with a beer gut) who has a good sense of rhythm and bangs a drum to keep the supporters going in sync. It's a lot like the wurlitzers at baseball games, rather than the acrobatic dance routines at American Football games. And the songs are all great filking of the players' names into common tunes. So they'll chant "Mel Lawley" to the tune of "Volare". The Chelsea cheers are all pre-recorded tracks on the tannoy, and it just doesn't bring the same spirit.

There's money going into football efforts for young girls now. Both TLH's teams have brand new kit this year, and it definitely seems like there's more attention on the women's teams in national media here this year. Getting prime-time TV coverage is still the best way to help a sport thrive, even in 2018. The Wheel Suckers podcast keeps talking about this when they have pro women cyclists on trying to make a career of it: the money won't be there until the audiences are, and the TV networks are still the gatekeepers for that.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 2:33 AM on October 19, 2018 [4 favorites]


In the CONCACAF, USWNT VS PANAMA
I was totally amazed by the skills of 17 year old Panama goalie, Yenith Bailey. Holy shit that gal is kick ass.
look out!
posted by quazichimp at 3:18 AM on October 19, 2018 [2 favorites]


I was at a Women's World Cup game 20 years ago when the USWNT played North Korea at Foxboro. It was amazing, the only sporting event I've been to that was primarily women, it was so much fun, and I lived, ate, and breathed USWNT soccer for the rest of the cup and the next few years.

Maybe two years ago, I saw the USWNT play Thailand. It happened to be the captain's final game, and they retired her jersey number (9). Mia Hamm was there (also being #9), and commentating, and I literally bumped into her when I was leaving the women's bathroom. I just sort of stopped and stared (awkward, because bathrooms), but I was amazed at how much sway she still has for me. I'm excited for this year's WWC, and I think it'll be great.
posted by ChuraChura at 5:49 AM on October 19, 2018 [1 favorite]


oh lord a woso thread don't get me started

Anyway, concerning diving : yeah, it happens. Just before the half in the NWSL finals, both Horan and Klingenberg went down easy, and Dunn was called for a foul. She didn't like it, and she let the ref know. After the game (which cemented North Carolina's place as the best US club side of the decade) you can guess how the team celebrated, in full view of Portland's fans.
posted by suckerpunch at 7:17 AM on October 19, 2018


The one thing I love about the Man City Women's matches are the cheerleaders.

Come to Portland, we've got you covered! Singing, chants, drumming, tifos! I still laugh when I remember one of the TV commentators during the 2017 championship game saying "that noise you hear behind us is the drumming from the Thorns fans, apparently they're going to keep doing that the whole game."
posted by Tentacle of Trust at 9:52 AM on October 19, 2018


There is also a bit of player exploitation between teams; trying to force Christen Press to play in Houston (I think?) being one example. And she is relatively high profile. I can't imagine what hoops they make lesser known players jump through. The league doesn't seem to have much power (or willpower) when dealing with team management.
posted by Brocktoon at 1:23 PM on October 19, 2018


Yes, Houston. Definitely a place in need of some proper leadership.
posted by Tentacle of Trust at 3:32 PM on October 19, 2018


Nothing gets me riled up more than what the Seattle Reign has to play in. The Reign should have the attendance like the Thorns have, but lack the relationship to the Sounders like the Thorns have to the Timbers. They're a great team and they should have a world class venue to play in, but they get something that even the Seattle School District, the owners of the stadium, have wanted to tear down since 2009.

It baffles me because this shouldn't be hard. There's olympians and World Cup winners on that team and they're treated like also-rans.

Anyways, go USNWT!
posted by gc at 12:03 AM on October 20, 2018 [2 favorites]


Next week the W-League kicks off (Thursday 19:30 AEDT). Australia's women's league will see a lot of our players back from the NWSL, and most teams will also have some American players.

You might be able to catch a couple of games even if you're not in Australia: Fans in more corners of the globe set to watch Australian football this season
posted by moody cow at 1:14 AM on October 20, 2018


Nothing gets me riled up more than what the Seattle Reign has to play in.

Same. My wife & I just bought our second set of season tickets and as much as we love the games and the team, Memorial is just not okay. Hell, I'm irritated the high schools are stuck using it for events, too, let alone a pro soccer team.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 2:31 PM on October 20, 2018


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