Women's World Cup

[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*

[dykeumentary]

I am Thrilled for Japan!
It is sad, though, that one team has to lose when both sides were such champions.

[Mister Bent]

What a well played game! I saw only one noticeably bad call by a ref, but I admit I napped through part of the first half (not by intent, rough weekend!).

After the goal by Morgan at the 69 minute mark, it looked to me like the US team wasn't playing as tight, whereas Japan kept the pressure on. They did what the US typically does, and brought the game to us, and hard. Their relatively new goal tender really came through for them, especially during the shoot out at the end. She was exactly where we needed to be. Maybe the US team has more financial support, better training, but (to me) in the end it was the determination ("heart") that brought the win to the Japanese team. I'm disappointed for the US team, but really thrilled for the Japanese, who's country really could use something uplifting like this World Cup.

I thought both teams showed great conditioning, skill and heart, and played with grace. In addition, Hope Solo got the Golden Glove for being the top keeper in the tournament (as well as the bronze ball in the best player category) and Abby Wambach got the silver ball and the bronze boot for most goals scored. Japan's Sawa got the gold ball as the tournament's best player, as well as the gold boot for most goals scored. Silver went to Brazil's Marta.

[EnderD_503]

Wow...now that was a World Cup final! Both sides played a great game. Japan in many respects did what they have often done in these championships. Similar to the win against Germany in particular, though on a much larger scale. This Japanese team is so patient, disciplined and technical and I think that's really what got them through this match. They've the ability to slow the play down and regroup in their own zone when the US came on strong. In a way, I think that aspect of the Japanese play frustrated the US. The Us often gave away the ball too easily throughout these championships, and with the Japanese who are so good in close quarters and with accurate passes, it wasn't the best team to give up the ball to. Even if Japan did not go on the attack as frequently and powerfully as the US, they've got tremendous patience and the initiative to capitalise the second an opponent makes a mistake. Hence the first Japanese goal that brought them back in the game. I'm sure Rampone is kick herself for giving up the ball that led to Miyama's goal. That has to suck in your last World Cup appearance.

It was so great to see Japan win this, though, and especially Sawa before she retires.

At the same time, I really like Abby Wambach and she deserves to win a World Cup. I hope she doesn't retire before the next one even though she'll be 36 by then. Soubeyrand was 37 this year when she led France into the World Cup, so I certainly hope to see Wambach here in Canada in 2015. She's always the player to breathe life back into her team when they're starting to slip; from giving the US the lead/rekindling hope, to trying to bring them back during the shootouts after two straight failed attempts. She's definitely not passed her peek yet (still one of the most athletic strikers in the game, imo), so fingers crossed she'll continue for another four years.

Overall, such an awesome game. Both teams should be proud to have participated in what was definitely the most exciting women's World Cup final ever, and one of the most exciting World Cup finals ever.