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Goal.Commentary: Sell the Women’s Game to True Soccer Fans
The US Women’s National Team has long existed—and succeeded—as a kind of traveling show. But the women’s game is better than that, if only the true soccer fans and students of the game paid enough attention.
Dec 21, 2008 6:45:55 PM
By Cedrick Heraux
DETROIT, Mich.—The United States Women’s National Team played their final match of 2008 on Wednesday night in Detroit. They beat China for the second time in four days, ending the “Achieve Your Gold” tour on a high note. The 1-0 victory at Ford Field was the first time back in Detroit for the US Women since 1993, and hometown heroes Lindsay Tarpley and Kate Markgraf got a warm reception from the fans. Unfortunately for the rest of the team, that enthusiasm didn’t continue throughout the match.
People who are critical of women’s soccer, particularly those who flatly refuse to watch a match, often claim that the sport is not as good as the men’s game due to the lack of pace and poorer touch on the pitch. Yet these opinions prove unsubstantiated, if anyone cares to watch closely enough.
The talent on the top-ranked US team -- and, for that matter, the 12th-ranked (and perennial foe) Chinese team -- was clearly evident on Wednesday. Heather Mitts and Christie Rampone were dominant on defense, allowing China almost no space to pass or move with the ball. Shannon Boxx demonstrated the qualities of a dynamic midfielder, providing a solid defensive presence as well as creating offensive opportunities. She was bolstered by the more offensive midfield pressure of Heather O’Reilly. Lindsay Tarpley and Tina Ellertson proved to be an effective strike tandem as both eluded the Chinese defense for much of the match, eventually combining for the winning goal.
This was the beautiful game they played. But although the announced crowd of 11,933 was the largest ever to watch a women’s match in the state of Michigan, the night was characterized by long stretches of silence broken mostly by fans screaming at their own picture on the Jumbotron. Perhaps the crowd noise was diminished by the cavernous nature of Ford Field, with a capacity of 65,000. The entire upper tier and half of the lower tier were filled with empty seats, a strange and ungainly sight that didn’t square with the game itself.
For most of the match, the “thud” every time the ball was struck was clearly audible, and the directions from goalkeeper Hope Solo to her defense resonated all the way up to the luxury boxes.
Perhaps it was the nature of the crowd (i.e., mostly girls with their parents), but it seemed to this observer that most of the fans in attendance cheered from the excitement of seeing their heroes rather than for an appreciation of the action on the field. At what point will the US women’s soccer scene shift from this kind of hero-worship to actual fandom, when these pony-tailed girls and their parents are discussing Markgraf’s defensive positioning and O’Reilly’s passing vision instead of just cheering for an idol?
Ever since the 1999 World Cup, the USWNT has relied on star power to succeed, selling the likes of Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy as role models. Their celebrity was always backed by their talent and their gold-medal successes, but often that seemed like a pretext. Too often they were considered fodder for heart-warming TV features during the Olympics rather than merely exalted as brilliant athletes.
So while 11,933 fans is an impressive number of fans for a meaningless women’s soccer game, in order for women’s soccer to truly succeed in the United States, proponents of the women’s game need to consider more aggressive attempts to attract a different type of fan—the hardcore US soccerista. If these fans are asked to truly pay attention, they will quickly realize that the USWNT is certainly worthy of those efforts.
Wednesday’s game with China was the final chance for most people to watch the US women before a winter break. The squad then travels to Portugal in TK month to defend their title in the annual Algarve Cup. And then in late March comes the debut of the new Women’s Professional Soccer league. How will the WPS succeed where the WUSA failed? First and foremost, it must remind all the soccer fans in the US that these are the best players—not just stars—in the world.
Cedrick Heraux is a special contributor to Goal.com. He writes regularly for the Unprofessional Foul blog.
DETROIT, Mich.—The United States Women’s National Team played their final match of 2008 on Wednesday night in Detroit. They beat China for the second time in four days, ending the “Achieve Your Gold” tour on a high note. The 1-0 victory at Ford Field was the first time back in Detroit for the US Women since 1993, and hometown heroes Lindsay Tarpley and Kate Markgraf got a warm reception from the fans. Unfortunately for the rest of the team, that enthusiasm didn’t continue throughout the match.
People who are critical of women’s soccer, particularly those who flatly refuse to watch a match, often claim that the sport is not as good as the men’s game due to the lack of pace and poorer touch on the pitch. Yet these opinions prove unsubstantiated, if anyone cares to watch closely enough.
The talent on the top-ranked US team -- and, for that matter, the 12th-ranked (and perennial foe) Chinese team -- was clearly evident on Wednesday. Heather Mitts and Christie Rampone were dominant on defense, allowing China almost no space to pass or move with the ball. Shannon Boxx demonstrated the qualities of a dynamic midfielder, providing a solid defensive presence as well as creating offensive opportunities. She was bolstered by the more offensive midfield pressure of Heather O’Reilly. Lindsay Tarpley and Tina Ellertson proved to be an effective strike tandem as both eluded the Chinese defense for much of the match, eventually combining for the winning goal.
This was the beautiful game they played. But although the announced crowd of 11,933 was the largest ever to watch a women’s match in the state of Michigan, the night was characterized by long stretches of silence broken mostly by fans screaming at their own picture on the Jumbotron. Perhaps the crowd noise was diminished by the cavernous nature of Ford Field, with a capacity of 65,000. The entire upper tier and half of the lower tier were filled with empty seats, a strange and ungainly sight that didn’t square with the game itself.
For most of the match, the “thud” every time the ball was struck was clearly audible, and the directions from goalkeeper Hope Solo to her defense resonated all the way up to the luxury boxes.
Perhaps it was the nature of the crowd (i.e., mostly girls with their parents), but it seemed to this observer that most of the fans in attendance cheered from the excitement of seeing their heroes rather than for an appreciation of the action on the field. At what point will the US women’s soccer scene shift from this kind of hero-worship to actual fandom, when these pony-tailed girls and their parents are discussing Markgraf’s defensive positioning and O’Reilly’s passing vision instead of just cheering for an idol?
Ever since the 1999 World Cup, the USWNT has relied on star power to succeed, selling the likes of Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy as role models. Their celebrity was always backed by their talent and their gold-medal successes, but often that seemed like a pretext. Too often they were considered fodder for heart-warming TV features during the Olympics rather than merely exalted as brilliant athletes.
So while 11,933 fans is an impressive number of fans for a meaningless women’s soccer game, in order for women’s soccer to truly succeed in the United States, proponents of the women’s game need to consider more aggressive attempts to attract a different type of fan—the hardcore US soccerista. If these fans are asked to truly pay attention, they will quickly realize that the USWNT is certainly worthy of those efforts.
Wednesday’s game with China was the final chance for most people to watch the US women before a winter break. The squad then travels to Portugal in TK month to defend their title in the annual Algarve Cup. And then in late March comes the debut of the new Women’s Professional Soccer league. How will the WPS succeed where the WUSA failed? First and foremost, it must remind all the soccer fans in the US that these are the best players—not just stars—in the world.
Cedrick Heraux is a special contributor to Goal.com. He writes regularly for the Unprofessional Foul blog.
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