When sports start back, let the women go first
April 8, 2020 1:24 PM Subscribe
Instead, predictably, the pandemic is being used as an excuse to cancel a women's event.
posted by tonycpsu at 1:43 PM on April 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by tonycpsu at 1:43 PM on April 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
I enjoy soccer, and I enjoy women’s soccer the most. I would 100% support this. I wonder if the NWSL didn’t get invited because Trump is pissed off at the national team....
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:49 PM on April 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:49 PM on April 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
Scroll down to the bottom for a lovely clip of Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird singing "Lean on Me".
posted by suelac at 2:57 PM on April 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by suelac at 2:57 PM on April 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
My Yuuki Nagasato jersey got here just a month ago. I was all ready for the huge NWSL opener. Then...the virus. I've already convinced a handful of my gentleman co-workers that, yes, soccer is good, and women's soccer is really good! With Olympics and the new hosting and streaming deals, 2020 was All Set to be the most incredible year at least for the NWSL, if not for the women's game overall.
But now, I'm scrolling past articles about teams and players, because I'm kinda afraid to read them. I'm avoiding soccer twitter, because it's just sad to think about. And this is just for the pro teams, what of the non-pro and rec teams? Our metro area women's soccer club is postponed at least until May 3rd, and they haven't shared much more than that.
All that to say, if I'm missing sports this much, then people who are all about sports are certainly feeling it much harder. Wouldn't it be an amazing gift to them, to open them up to a whole additional sector of sport they probably haven't considered? It's like magic, any time I get someone to sit down and watch an NWSL or National team game, they just immediately get it. I imagine that happening for the huge, primarily men's-sport-watching world, and it's a really exciting thought.
posted by spbb at 7:16 PM on April 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
But now, I'm scrolling past articles about teams and players, because I'm kinda afraid to read them. I'm avoiding soccer twitter, because it's just sad to think about. And this is just for the pro teams, what of the non-pro and rec teams? Our metro area women's soccer club is postponed at least until May 3rd, and they haven't shared much more than that.
All that to say, if I'm missing sports this much, then people who are all about sports are certainly feeling it much harder. Wouldn't it be an amazing gift to them, to open them up to a whole additional sector of sport they probably haven't considered? It's like magic, any time I get someone to sit down and watch an NWSL or National team game, they just immediately get it. I imagine that happening for the huge, primarily men's-sport-watching world, and it's a really exciting thought.
posted by spbb at 7:16 PM on April 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
We are way into "well, what portion of our season can we salvage??" mode for all the leagues as it is. Telling the professional sports leagues (there are more than you think there are. No, there are more than that. Nope, even more than that) to just hold off an extra month is just never, ever, ever going to happen.I had a long rant written up, but it really doesn't matter since this just insane reasoning that will never come to pass.
I give approximately none fucks about sports outside of the Olympics but my god am I 100% sold on this idea.
That's the thing, there are billions of dollars behind the people who give approximately all the fucks about sports.
The Feds would need to come to the table with just a giant check. Even then, we're looking at a large number of teams never recovering. Many of them are doomed just from the quarantine, to say nothing of this fanciful month.
I will say that killing the MLS/USL/NISA seasons so that the NWSL and it's 9 teams can have the entire spotlight of professional soccer in the US would be so counter productive that the NWSL might as well just fold right now. And I say that as someone who has $10K per season worth of seats for LAFC, and will have those same seats (likely not for anywhere near $10K per season, but we'll see) whenever Mia Hamm brings in a NWSL team to the Banc of California Stadium.
posted by sideshow at 8:01 PM on April 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
I give approximately none fucks about sports outside of the Olympics but my god am I 100% sold on this idea.
That's the thing, there are billions of dollars behind the people who give approximately all the fucks about sports.
The Feds would need to come to the table with just a giant check. Even then, we're looking at a large number of teams never recovering. Many of them are doomed just from the quarantine, to say nothing of this fanciful month.
I will say that killing the MLS/USL/NISA seasons so that the NWSL and it's 9 teams can have the entire spotlight of professional soccer in the US would be so counter productive that the NWSL might as well just fold right now. And I say that as someone who has $10K per season worth of seats for LAFC, and will have those same seats (likely not for anywhere near $10K per season, but we'll see) whenever Mia Hamm brings in a NWSL team to the Banc of California Stadium.
posted by sideshow at 8:01 PM on April 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
In Australia the national women's Aussie Rules competition (the AFLW) has been running for a few years and has benefitted massively by (a) being run before the traditional men's season and (b) having teams that are part of the same club as the existing men's teams.
Having the AFLW operating in February-March (with the men's season staying in its usual March-September) has meant it gets a lot of attention as part of the traditional build up to the winter-long season. Spectators who are fanging for the AFL to start are watching the AFLW.
And having the AFLW made up of teams that are part of the existing clubs has made for instant fans and loyalty. People who have followed their AFL clubs for years and decades are immediately and instantly attached to the AFLW and are showing up to games and following the results.
posted by jjderooy at 10:58 PM on April 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
Having the AFLW operating in February-March (with the men's season staying in its usual March-September) has meant it gets a lot of attention as part of the traditional build up to the winter-long season. Spectators who are fanging for the AFL to start are watching the AFLW.
And having the AFLW made up of teams that are part of the existing clubs has made for instant fans and loyalty. People who have followed their AFL clubs for years and decades are immediately and instantly attached to the AFLW and are showing up to games and following the results.
posted by jjderooy at 10:58 PM on April 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
I had a long rant written up, but it really doesn't matter since this just insane reasoning that will never come to pass.
Thank you for your contribution to this meeting of people who will definitely be making this decision. Excellent work making sure we're all aware that it is absolutely untenable for women's sports to get one single month back out of the 21-year head start that the PGA had over the LPGA, the 24-year head start that MLS had over the NWSL, the 50-year head start that the NBA had over the WNBA, the 98-year head start that the NHL had over the NWHL, or the 135-year head start that MLB had over NPF. Your efforts on behalf of Wanting Change Is Evidence Of A Mental Disorder, Inc. have been noted.
posted by Etrigan at 6:29 AM on April 9, 2020 [22 favorites]
Thank you for your contribution to this meeting of people who will definitely be making this decision. Excellent work making sure we're all aware that it is absolutely untenable for women's sports to get one single month back out of the 21-year head start that the PGA had over the LPGA, the 24-year head start that MLS had over the NWSL, the 50-year head start that the NBA had over the WNBA, the 98-year head start that the NHL had over the NWHL, or the 135-year head start that MLB had over NPF. Your efforts on behalf of Wanting Change Is Evidence Of A Mental Disorder, Inc. have been noted.
posted by Etrigan at 6:29 AM on April 9, 2020 [22 favorites]
Sometimes the truth hurts.
Also, you really discount the history of professional women’s soccer if you think it started last year (MLS’s 25 years of existence minus your “24 year head start”). You’re off by two years for just the NWSL, to say nothing of the earlier leagues.
Which is my entire point. People who only acknowledge profession women’s soccer once every four years because of the World Cup (well since 1999 anyway) come in with their hot takes, and it always comes down to that they don’t even know the history of what they are advocating for.
But, this is all moot. Thankfully we won’t have to worry about something stupid like this ruining professional women’s soccer in the US, requiring us (well, not “us”, I already do this) to wake up at like 4am to see FA WSL matches from England.
posted by sideshow at 1:06 PM on April 9, 2020
Also, you really discount the history of professional women’s soccer if you think it started last year (MLS’s 25 years of existence minus your “24 year head start”). You’re off by two years for just the NWSL, to say nothing of the earlier leagues.
Which is my entire point. People who only acknowledge profession women’s soccer once every four years because of the World Cup (well since 1999 anyway) come in with their hot takes, and it always comes down to that they don’t even know the history of what they are advocating for.
But, this is all moot. Thankfully we won’t have to worry about something stupid like this ruining professional women’s soccer in the US, requiring us (well, not “us”, I already do this) to wake up at like 4am to see FA WSL matches from England.
posted by sideshow at 1:06 PM on April 9, 2020
But, this is all moot.
Sadly, you're almost certainly right. Because people like you are always, always ready to come up with some reason that this particular idea just won't work, oh darn you're so sorry that reality doesn't work that way. Because it definitely, absolutely, 100 percent matters that I said "24 years" instead of "20". Because AR doesn't stand for "assault rifle". Because Lindsay Gibbs, whose career is covering women's sports, is patently too stupid to realize that she would "ruin professional women's soccer in the US".
And because people like you manage to reserve all of their fury, all this calling strangers on the internet "insane" and "stupid", all this acting like no one else realizes that sports is a huge industry, all of your snide dismissal, demanding that no, we can't even consider that maybe this could be a thing... you reserved that for a community weblog that doesn't even have a dedicated Sports section. No one forced you to be Mister Painful Truth-Teller in this conversation. You just saw a woman saying something and decided that a man had to tell her why she was wrong.
posted by Etrigan at 1:48 PM on April 9, 2020 [12 favorites]
Sadly, you're almost certainly right. Because people like you are always, always ready to come up with some reason that this particular idea just won't work, oh darn you're so sorry that reality doesn't work that way. Because it definitely, absolutely, 100 percent matters that I said "24 years" instead of "20". Because AR doesn't stand for "assault rifle". Because Lindsay Gibbs, whose career is covering women's sports, is patently too stupid to realize that she would "ruin professional women's soccer in the US".
And because people like you manage to reserve all of their fury, all this calling strangers on the internet "insane" and "stupid", all this acting like no one else realizes that sports is a huge industry, all of your snide dismissal, demanding that no, we can't even consider that maybe this could be a thing... you reserved that for a community weblog that doesn't even have a dedicated Sports section. No one forced you to be Mister Painful Truth-Teller in this conversation. You just saw a woman saying something and decided that a man had to tell her why she was wrong.
posted by Etrigan at 1:48 PM on April 9, 2020 [12 favorites]
Sometimes the truth hurts.
You're not being some brave truth-telling dude. You're being a "well, actually" dude.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 2:08 PM on April 9, 2020 [6 favorites]
You're not being some brave truth-telling dude. You're being a "well, actually" dude.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 2:08 PM on April 9, 2020 [6 favorites]
Chivalry lives!
posted by The Magic Wrench at 3:47 PM on April 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by The Magic Wrench at 3:47 PM on April 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
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posted by phunniemee at 1:42 PM on April 8, 2020 [2 favorites]