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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Arena Solo and the Gang - the Women's Soccer Thread

Discussion in 'Community' started by ApolloSmileGirl, Jun 28, 2011.

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  1. yankee8255

    yankee8255 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    May 31, 2005
    I went to bed at the end of regulation, watched the penalties a few days ago on you tube. I wouldn't want to use the word choke specifically, but the US's 1st three were about as badly taken as possible, 1 and 3 with decent power but terrible placement (and a good job by the keeper) the second worthy of a spot on the English men's team.

    The reason I went to bed at the end of regular time was that you could just see it coming. So many wasted chances in the first half, then blew the lead in the last 10 minutes. The US seemed spent (considerably slower pace already after half time), was surprised to see they took the lead in extra time.
     
  2. Darth McClain

    Darth McClain Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Feb 5, 2000
    Cool, thanks. :) Jemele Hill was one of those supporting the "choked" angle, which is an automatic clue to suspect the opposite. :p
     
  3. ApolloSmileGirl

    ApolloSmileGirl Jedi Knight star 8

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    Jun 18, 2004
    I've taken the stance that if women want to be treated equally when it comes to sport, than they have to learn to take the same criticisms that men have to endure, when they're heavily favored and don't produce.

    Congrats to the Japanese team for upsetting not only in this game, but the games leading up to it. :)
     
  4. Darth McClain

    Darth McClain Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Feb 5, 2000
    That's a perfectly reasonable stance, but it still doesn't really answer the question of whether they choked or not. You can loose as the favorite without choking. [face_peace] If a women's team choked (say a hypothetical 3-0 defeat to Japan, without ET or PKs), they'd surely deserve to be criticized somewhat harshly, just like a men's team.
     
  5. ApolloSmileGirl

    ApolloSmileGirl Jedi Knight star 8

    Registered:
    Jun 18, 2004
    Well, they were heavily favored and they lost. They missed out on several opportunities in the first half, couldn't maintain the lead when they gained it two different times in the game, and the penalty kick attempts were poorly executed. So, if there has to be a label put on the performance, than yes, I suppose it's fair to say that they choked. However, I think saying they lost it, as opposed to Japan winning it, takes something away from the Japanese team, don't you think?

    Either way, beyond losing the tournament, the US women's team is still ranked number one by FIFA. So, they are still the best team on paper.
     
  6. DarthIntegral

    DarthIntegral JCC Baseball Draft/SWC Draft Commish star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Jul 13, 2005
    Out of curiosity, has anyone checked out any WPS games? I've wanted to, but my schedule just hasn't allowed it yet.
     
  7. SoloKnight

    SoloKnight Jedi Master star 4

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    Feb 13, 2003
    Unfortunately I neither get FSC nor live on the East Coast, so my chances of seeing a WPS game live or recorded are limited. I wish FSC would stream the games like ESPN does with ESPN3.

    Related to the WPS though, I did come across this article today. Wambach will apparently now be coaching Magicjack.
     
  8. Darth McClain

    Darth McClain Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Feb 5, 2000
    I don't want to take anything away from Japan - they had a great tournament and were able to get it done in the final.


    I haven't sought out any WPS matches, but unless they're online or on the ESPN family, I won't be able to watch them. While I'd really love FSC, I'm just glad that my cable company provides Versus.
     
  9. DarthIntegral

    DarthIntegral JCC Baseball Draft/SWC Draft Commish star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA VIP - Game Host

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    Jul 13, 2005
    I wish WPS was more national. I have a real hard time just following east-coast teams.
     
  10. SoloKnight

    SoloKnight Jedi Master star 4

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    Feb 13, 2003
    Yeah, that's the major drawback to it. I did recently discover the WPSL, which has 60 some odd teams across the country. It's a step down from the WPS as it's an amateur/pro league and seems to mainly consist of college players, but a lot of our WNT spent their college breaks playing in this league.

    My hope is that one day the MLS enters into an relation with the WPS like the NBA has with the WNBA. As much as I love women's soccer, I don't see it being self sufficient anytime soon.
     
  11. Darth McClain

    Darth McClain Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Feb 5, 2000
    WPL used to have teams in the Central and Pacific time zones, but they folded for a variety of reasons. I wonder if they need to do something almost like the WNBA to stay afloat financially. WMLS? [face_thinking]

    MLS is a single-entity, so I don't know how the specifics would work, but it is something that should be considered.
     
  12. Spike2002

    Spike2002 Former FF-UK RSA and Arena Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Feb 4, 2002
    There was a World Cup? :confused:
     
  13. Darth McClain

    Darth McClain Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Feb 5, 2000
    Here's an article explaining some of the financial situation for the WPS from the NYT.


    Looks like the attendance boost is starting to slow down, which hurts the league. Just like MLS, they need a better tv deal. It also sounds like at least some of the players want a semi-pro league, instead of the professional model that they're using now.
     
  14. Darth McClain

    Darth McClain Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Feb 5, 2000
    WPS Title Jinx, via NYT's Goal blog.



    Guess who the leading scorer is on the Western New York Flash is, who have secured a spot on the championship match? Marta's almost gotta hope that her side doesn't win this time. :p



    ASG, would it be okay if we renamed this thread something along the lines of "Women's Soccer Discussion"? World Cup's been over for a bit now.
     
  15. MarcusP2

    MarcusP2 Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Jul 10, 2004
    The Sol didn't win the title, they just finished regular season with the most points. The Flash are already doomed. :p
     
  16. Darth McClain

    Darth McClain Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Feb 5, 2000
    It's the curse of Marta. That's all there is to it. :p
     
  17. Darth McClain

    Darth McClain Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Feb 5, 2000
    Here's an interesting article from SI about the Western New York Flash. They're one of the few teams that have kept their post-WWC new fans going to games. With great talents like Marta, Alex Morgan, and Christine Sinclair, it's easy to see why.
     
  18. DarthIntegral

    DarthIntegral JCC Baseball Draft/SWC Draft Commish star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA VIP - Game Host

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    Jul 13, 2005
    Did you all catch the story about the magicJack owner's e-mails to players?

    Can you imagine this in one of the big four?
     
  19. MarcusP2

    MarcusP2 Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Jul 10, 2004
    I can imagine Steinbrenner or Jones going on like that to the players, but not the obvious breaches of league rules and constant meltdowns.
     
  20. Darth McClain

    Darth McClain Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Feb 5, 2000
    Wow.


    I remember their being issues with Borislow, but that's just crazy.
     
  21. Darth McClain

    Darth McClain Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Feb 5, 2000
    Did anybody catch the WPS final a couple days ago? I saw most of extra time and the PKs after sorting through an unfamiliar cable system trying to find the match.


    It was pretty intense and well played. Grant Wahl posted histake on it a few days ago. Hopefully, WPS is able to continue on next year. They've also got to do something about the magicJack. With Abby, Hope, and Christie on the team, they could be a real draw if their ownership wasn't completely incompetent.
     
  22. Darth McClain

    Darth McClain Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Feb 5, 2000
  23. Darth McClain

    Darth McClain Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Feb 5, 2000
    I spoke to ASG about renaming this thread (since last time it didn't go over so well :p), and I came up with Solo and the Gang. Any objections? The Women's World Cup has been long over, so a new title was probably in order.


    And in a bit of (old) news, I ran across this article examining how Abby Wambach and Hope Solo have taken very different paths after the WWC.
     
  24. SoloKnight

    SoloKnight Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 13, 2003
    Dan Borislow was, by all accounts, an unprofessional jerk. The flip side of the coin though is that at this point in time, the WPS pretty much needs millionaires like him to invest if they want to stay afloat. Puma's dropped out as the kit supplier, Boston's till struggling to find an investor, and the much talked about expansion team in Connecticut is now a no-go.

    Sadly their just doesn't seem to be enough interest to keep the league afloat. The two years between the Olympics and the next WC are going to be tough I think. I'm a huge fan of our women's national team but even I find it difficult to get excited about the WPS.

    I live in CA so there's no team remotely close for me to go see live and FSC only broadcasts one game a week, so I can't even follow it on TV (speaking of broadcasting, what's up with no network picking up the rights to the US vs. Sweden game next week?.)

    I'd love to see a West Coast expansion league. Throw a few teams in CA, ones in OR,WA, and CO and then have them play amongst themselves until the final where they can play the winner of the East Coast league. There's been talk of something like this happening in 2013, and the WPS has a new CEO, but I'm not holding my breathe.

    As for the difference between Solo and Wambach in their endorsements, I'd day it all comes down to image.

    There are a ton of little girls across the country who adore the WNT and Wambach in particular if the per-pubescent shrieks of "ABBY! ABBY! ABBY!" at any given Magicjack game are any indication. I think Abby's kinda used to maintain that demographic. And it's easy to see why they'd use her. Besides being the face of the team, she's also the consummate professional in every way. She's gracious in every interview, is wonderful with fans, and just seems all around a really wonderful person.

    However, the focus of the league/any endorser right now is not on the little girl demographic but the straight male demographic. That's where Solo comes in. She's hot. She's outspoken. She always seems to be getting into trouble for some comment or another. Whereas Wambach publicly apologized to fans this year for being too upset to sign autographs after Magicjack lost in the playoffs, when Solo's team was knocked out of the playoffs by the Freedom in 2010, she took to Twitter and accused the league of fixing the game (and was then suspended, given community service, and fined somewhere around $2000.) Add in the '07 WC drama, and Solo's the closest thing women's soccer has to a bad girl.

    Plus, as the article mentioned, she's got an awesome name.

    My $.02 anyways.
     
  25. Darth McClain

    Darth McClain Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 5, 2000
    I'm very disappointed that no tv networks have picked up USA - Sweden. Doesn't even look like it'll be streamed on ESPN3. I get that it's going against college football (and potentially college basketball, too), but it would have been nice for NBC/Versus to pick it up since ESPN's likely booked.


    Yes - I think that you're absolutely correct. I don't think that the WPS is the way of the future for professional soccer in the US. You don't want to have to reinvent the wheel every few years, but the WPS model isn't working. A league either needs to be formed in conjunction with MLS (who can get AEG and some of their other wealthy investors involved), or or an east coast league and a west coast league who play against each other for a championship trophy. Or maybe the two ideas could be mixed.


    2013 and 2014 could be brutal to the women's club game in the US. I hope that it's not, but I've got a bad feeling about it.
     
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