Women's World Cup

[EnderD_503]

Yep, I'm a huge football fan (started another general thread a while back if anyone is ever interested in talking football regardless of competition/team/league etc.) and I've been following nearly every game.

France really need to deal with their goaltender situation, and just goes to show how a goaltender can either save a team's ass (as was the case with Hope Solo and the US) or screw them over (Sapowicz and Deville for France). France outplayed the US for the majority of the game, spent most of the game attacking the American net and quite frankly if it weren't for Hope Solo (and Abby Wambachs rediscovered heroics at the end of the game...though without Solo they wouldn't have had a chance by that point to begin with) the Americans would have been screwed. I really don't understand what Bini was thinking when he put Sapowicz as a starting keeper with Deville as back up. He should have just stole a keeper from Olympique Lyonnais considering over half the players play there anyway and as damn successful, too. It's frustrating given how far this team could have gone. Along with Japan they are the best passing team in these championships, among the most athletic and technical. To have that screwed up by a poor goalkeeping decision is rather annoying. Anyways, hopefully they can solve that problem by the time the Olympics role around because that team was one of the most entertaining to watch.

On that note, congrats to Sweden today. Hammerström's goal was quite possibly the goal of the tournament, imo. Schelin played great football as usual against her Lyon teammates. But again, France really need to solve those goaltending issues. Quick fast.

Will watch tomorrow's game as well...but I have to say I really hate the way North American media covers Asian teams in any sporting event. They seem compelled to always go on about the "heart" of North American teams/athletes as a winning factor (in this case the US), and always portray any other teams (particularly Asian) as lacking "heart." Japan have done something no other Japanese team has done before, and they've done it only shortly after disaster struck their entire nation. To say they lack "heart," to me, is an insult to their skill, but of course North American media always seem dead set on portraying Asian national teams/athletes as robotic carbon copies of one another, programmed from an early age. Anyways, I've really enjoyed seeing the rise of Japan in these games. Along with France they've been the best as far as technique, but unlike France they don't have a weak link in goal or anywhere else. Their passes are right on, they don't panic and give up the ball easily under pressure, they can finish well and they've got great athleticism. I'd also love to see Sawa win a World Cup.

[AtLast]

I am very excited! Not as well versed as so many others with this sport- but I am learing a lot during this competition. Of course I am going to root for the USA team- but if Japan wins that is OK by me. Might be a boost for japan after all that the country has been going through.

Sometimes I think a whole lot has changed for women athletes and support for their sports.... then... reality sets in.

[AtLast]

Whoops! I thought the US was playing Japan- it is Germany!

[EnderD_503]

Originally Posted by AtLastHome

Sometimes I think a whole lot has changed for women athletes and support for their sports.... then... reality sets in.

A lot has changed, though. While things aren't entirely as they should be, it's definitely gotten a whole lot better than it was in the beginning. At least today you have women's professional leagues in some nations like Germany, France, England and the US where women can train and play for a living. Of course, you still have other countries where many players still have to hold full-time jobs to get by, where they don't get to train or play frequently, where they don't have the opportunity to play in professional leagues. That's where the real gap between teams like Germany and Equatorial Guinea or even New Zealand was pretty visible, for example. Even for Canada, our system here is a huge problem for players. Female players are still not as highly paid as professional male players, but this World Cup has gathered a real boost in popularity for women's football. The German public responded really well to the competitions, and stadiums holding 70,000+ people were completely sold out on many nights, which was a first for women's World Cup competitions. I'm not sure how many inroads have been made here in North America, though. Not many have discussed the World Cup here in Toronto, despite that there is always a huge interest in the men's World Cup given how multicultural Toronto is. It's too bad.

In the professional leagues interest a different story. Actually, some critics have said that that's the reason why Germany did not perform at their usual level is because they broke under the pressure of crowd sizes/being the home team. Usually professional women's games in Germany only really attract 800 or 900 people, and so some suggest they may have suffered a bit of "stage fright" when they came out to 70,000+ supporters on home turf. Though Prinz did also mention that she and her teammates were having some psychological issues during these competitions.

There have also been some great inroads made in areas of the world where women's sports or women's football was completely unknown until recently. Places like Iran, Palestine, Qatar etc, and some games which have drawn fairly big crowds. I think the support is growing for sure.

I've also noticed a big difference in the commentating over the years. In the past, there was a huge difference in the way commentators spoke about female football players vs. male football players. Word choice would often exclude aggressive words to describe a particular play, players referred to by first names instead of last names, sexualizing players, and limitations on physical ability implied. It's changed a lot, but sometimes the commentators still show this need to "feminize" (brackets to denote stereotypical femininity vs. the reality of female athletics, and femininity for that matter) the players by talking about fashion, or saying things like "lots of tired little legs out there" or "she got hit in the tummy" vs. "he got hit in the stomach." The general need diminish from adult human to small, childish, frail. Of course, there were some great stereotype breaking moments as well (referring to Garefrakes as a "bulldozer," talking about the great physical strength of players like Melanie Behringer who is nicknamed "the Hulk" by her teammates etc.)

And then there is the homophobia that plagues all sports, really. There have been persistent rumours over the years that Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe are gay which have neither been confirmed nor denied by either player, as well as that Wambach is in a relationship with Sarah Huffman (they live together, have a dog, people go on about Huffman's twitter comments about the two of them etc.)...and well, you can imagine some of the idiotic comments That's really something that has to change in all sports, and I've been happy to see players like Mario Gomez from FC Bayern begin to talk about how more players should come out in professional football etc.

Lots to change, but much has changed for the better to date and there is certainly hope for the future.

The whole "feminization"(again referring to stereotypical views, rather than femininity as at odds with athletics, which it isn't. Athletics are not gendered, imo)/sexualization of players by fans and media is probably what continues to bug me the most, though. Athletes are athletes. But what can you expect when our culture continues to tell us that women must constantly have sex appeal. Want to go to the gym? Better not put on too much muscle mass, you might not look "sexy" by contemporary standards...because, you know, a woman that can actually defend herself or acts aggressively is such a horrific notion... [/sarcasm] This fear of losing sex appeal, or that it even fucking matters (no matter what a person finds "hot" or not) is bullshit. What the fuck do sports have to do with sex appeal? Respect athletes for their abilities, sex appeal shouldn't even enter into the equation...ever. Sorry for the ramble, it just pisses me off immensely and I just read some disrespectful comments about Wambach elsewhere that made me nauseous and perhaps set off this little rant.

That's truly what I hope changes as far as women's football (and society as a whole) in the future.

Originally Posted by AtLastHome

Whoops! I thought the US was playing Japan- it is Germany!

Yep, they are playing Japan. The competitions are in Germany Germany were expected to be in the finals, but were beaten in extra time by Japan in the quarters.

As with every World Cup, the final game is both awesome and sad...because then the excitement and anticipation is all over And then it's time for the summer Olympics countdown!

[UofMfan]

Originally Posted by AtLastHome

Whoops! I thought the US was playing Japan- it is Germany!

No, the US is playing Japan.

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by UofMfan

No, the US is playing Japan.

Yeah- I see this! have the match on right now. Mega brain-mess-up!!!

I am so impressed with women soccer players- look at them! This just has to be one of the most exciting times for these women- all teams from all countries. What an experience! I wish that this sport would have been more a part of my "time" in women's athletics. amazing skill going on out there!

[cane]

Yeah, watching Japan and US now, where are the goals? The US are obviously better than Japan in technique and strength...

[Holly.88]

*hangs and slowly shakes head*

[Dominique]

Originally Posted by AtLastHome

but if Japan wins that is OK by me. Might be a boost for japan after all that the country has been going through.

Sometimes I think a whole lot has changed for women athletes and support for their sports.... then... reality sets in.

This is a victory for all athletic women! (no matter who wins) You certainly gave me food for thought on the Japan thought.

You and I (and alot of the planeteers) are pre title nine. Sports has changed dramatically since those days. It may not be where we'd like it to be......but the glass ceiling still exists, why would sports be any different?
I'm glad the young people have the opportunities afforded to them that they do, we certainly didn't.

I'd love to stop working and have someone pay me to train so I can compete in an Ironman in Kona someday. Doubt that!

Go Women!