I have a hypothetical question for the forum to ponder. Suppose instead of the Brazil-USA game being held in Dresden being the quarter-finals of the 2011 WWC on July 10,2011, it was held in Frankfurt on July 17, 2011, as the final game. Suppose it was played exactly like the quarterfinals (controversial red card, retaken penalties, late header by Wambach) and the USA wins the WWC trophy. Would it be remembered as well as the 1999 WWC win by the USA? Would it top the sports stories of 2011? I would say that it would be remembered because of the way it played out and the feeling of the USA triumphant when it seems like the cards were stacked against them. At the very least it would be in people's memories longer than had the USWNT won against Nadeshiko Japan in the finals. I could see the win being the top sports story of 2011, as Nadeshiko Japan's win over the USWNT was the top sports story of 2011 in Japan.
I'm struggling with what is hypothetical about it. At the Olympics, there was one lead-in clip of the WWC they showed to hype the game, and that was the pass from Rapinoe to the Wambach header. I can't think of one show that didn't include that from the USA - Brasil match. I really can't remember them showing clips from 1999, can you?
No, it's still not the biggest sports story in America. If both teams played naked, the referee spontaneously combusted and there was a bigfoot sighting at halftime it still wouldnt have been the number one sports story here.
The poster is asking if the quarterfinals match was actually the finals (exact same match tho), would it be the biggest story of the year for all sports in America, as it was (winning the WC) in his or her country, Japan. yes, i think it would go down as the best women's match ever.
I am not Japanese but an American. I base the idea that Nadeshiko Japan win in the 2011 WWC on articles I read on the internet, especially one about having been awarded the top sports story of the year by a publication the name of which I can't remember.
I still have huge problems considering it a great match. I guess history, famous for glorifying the result but forgetting the details, would remember it as great. As Im sure Ive mentioned here before, the vaunted US offense managed only one goal in the match and took almost 122 minutes and brilliant play on both ends to get it. The red card was questionable at best. I know some people say on the reverse angle u can see Buehler tugging her shirt (big surprise) but the ref didnt have a reverse angle. The contact is mostly caused by Marta throwing herself at the ball attempting to magically make something out of nothing. It's hard to complain about the retake on the PK but file it right with the 6 second rule as an odd time to finally call it. The missed off sides on the 2nd Brazilian goal. Dianneh (sp) somehow getting both the own goal and the missed pk. And mostly, the incredibly annoying time wasting at the end. The fact that 95% of the crowd had turned on the winning team by the end says it all. It was just ugly.
And what I remember is that goal in the 122nd minute that causes me to tear up every time I watch it. The sweet sense of karmic justice.
I think the English (of whom I am one, originally) would consider it a great match - it has all the elements: injustice, real or perceived; our side down to 10 players but battling heroically on; tears a la Gazza in 1990. Only difference being, England wouldn't have won - but would consider it a finest hour anyway.
Oh I agree it was great theater and the most epic conclusion. Despite the Morgan heroics against Canada, they still have the shoot out if she missed. I think as a sports moment it's great. The call was so natural, Wambach saving the US by scoring "at the death". I think stand a player down was heroic. It was almost like a wrestling match where they choreograph the good guy vs the bad guy then stage an improbable victory. But still, for me a great match requires two great fighters battling it out. Almost nothing happened in the 1999 WWC final, but the struggle was epic. For me, give me Canada laying exhausted on the field rather than Brazil wasting time.
In the opening post of this thread I asked if the 2011 USWNT won the WWC would it be remembered as well as the 1999 USWNT WWC win. I would say it won't only because the 1999 win came first and any win after that would have this shadow over it. I think that there could only be one once-in-a-generation women's soccer event like the 1999 WWC win. Having said that the hypothetical 2011 USWNT WWC win could come close. There would be the perception of the USWNT winning over a team equal in quality. IMO a USWNT win over Nadeshiko Japan would not be so well remembered since it would be perceived to be a win over an "inferior" team, even if Nadeshiko Japan played well.
Let's not go on a tangent with this, but '99 did have what I believe was an epic event in all of women's sports. It was not the game result, but rather was Brandi discarding her shirt. For women's sports, that event had and has an irreversible significance.
I revisited the game tonight. I had forgotten that Lloyd nearly got tossed in the first half for a 2nd yellow card. Pia's nearly immediate reaction was to take out Cheney, leaving herself short in the middle and forced to play the now timid Lloyd for 123 minutes.