I suppose given her marriage to an NFL player she can probably do whatever she feels like and not worry about the money at this point. Maybe the NWSL doesn't have a carrot or stick relevant to her right now.
Former NFL player who last played in 2010. He might be set for life or he might be one week away from bankruptcy. Hope, of course, is certainly marketable elsewhere, but that means no Florida and probably no Seattle (as least as a paid player).
Well the argument could be made that a goalie with a starting job to lose needs the league less than a position player. Still, if the league is gonna sort out the other two WWC goalies ud think she'd want to have a presence there.
We're supposed to feel our emotions, and rationalize with our thoughts. Hope seems to get that backwards too often. She rationalizes with her emotions, and feels her thoughts. She'd make a horrible day trader. But she's one heck of a goalkeeper on the field.
The first aspect of goal keeping is making decisions quickly. The second is making the right decision, as even the correct choice, if implemented too slowly, is worthless. Solo makes all her decisions quickly and whether it was the right decision, well, that's secondary.
My company moved me to Seattle from Chicago around April of this year, just in time to get into the Women Sounders "craze" starting to build. I went to pretty much all the Sounders women home games last summer at Starfire when they had the "USWNT stars" and had a blast at the games. By first hire do you mean Amy Carnell, the former GM of Sounders Women? I found Amy Carnell very nice and approachable. After I met her she would always come say hi to me when she saw me at the games and give me a hard time when I wore my Chicago Red Stars hat. I liked her from the get-go.
Hope is not only one who expressed uncertainty towards the future league it seems. Alex Morgan, too. http://www.soccerbyives.net/2012/12/uswnt-stars-undecided-about-joining-new-womens-league.html
Ok so Hope Solo and Alex Morgan played for FREE for the Sounders women last season but they don't want to play in the new league and get paid. What kind of logic is that? Do they all think they can get Lindsay Horan money now in Europe? Do they not want to play for the new ownership group in Seattle? Do they think that the level of soccer will be better in Europe then in the US? I think their logic is horsesh_t! I may expect that out of Solo but Morgan I'm disappointed in.
Yes, they played last year for free, but they continued to receive their USSF salaries. They didn't have a real opportunity to pursue paying opportunities because of the timing of the fall of the WPS. I think it's been safely reported here that Horan might be making about $60k in salary. If they play in the WPSL, they will make about as much as they made in 2012 (at least on the salary part). I'm pretty sure each of them could make much more in Europe. There will be some defections and those are the 2 I think are most likely to follow the money/adventure/change of pace/challenge.
I thought it was reported as slightly less than 6 figure euros per year. That should mean much closer to 100k USD.
I guess my point is that here are 8 owners who are willing to step up an spend their hard earned money to invest in pro soccer for the benefit of them, these players, and future women players. I myself am thinking, that if I stay in Seattle throughout the summer, I may buy season tickets for both the Red Stars and Seattle women's team. That money does not fall from a tree and I'm not made of it. But I as a male soccer junkie I am thinking about supporting the women's game by putting my money where my mouth is (like I have for many years). Yet, these same players, who will be paid with my money, other paying fans money and these owner's money and who are crying about not having a pro league, will not invest themselves. All we as fans ask is their playing time. That's it. Then I and other season ticket holders, fans and owners should say, the hell with you Hope Solo and Alex Morgan, if you are not willing to dedicate yourself to playing like I am with spending my money then forget it. I won't spend a dime and then you really won't have a domestic league to play in. If you think you are too good for us (US fans), then go to Europe. Let's see how many screeming little girls await you in Germany after each game compared to the kids here at home. The Arrogance!!
The post is pretty arrogant itself. People do this because yes, they want to support women's soccer now and for the future, but everyone makes their own choice. I don't understand your willingness to suddenly refuse to support women's soccer because a couple woso players, whoever they may be, may not be interested. Are you a woso fan? Or are you a woso fan only because of HS and AM? If some choose to head to Europe to hone their own game, then so be it, but the league will benefit many other woso players. (I think it's nice if players wish to support their domestic league, but I'm not adamant about it. Maybe they think it's better to go to Europe or elsewhere to expand their horizons, get different training. It's their choice and life. I'll enjoy following their Europe adventures and watch and support the US league too.)
More quotes from aforementioned story on Soccer by Ives (http://www.soccerbyives.net/2012/12/uswnt-stars-undecided-about-joining-new-womens-league.html)
I agree. It's a job for them, a fun job, but a job nonetheless. They've gotta make a living. If they've got better opportunities elsewhere, I can totally respect that. Besides, there's plenty of US players itching to make national team that'd likely take their spot if the fed'll pay for em. The league's success or failure, I doubt it hinges on where HS and AM decide to play next year. They're important, but I don't think they're that critical. I mean, Leroux's in for sure at this point and she's almost as big a name as either of those two. If them not being in makes you not want to buy season tickets for games you can't go to, then sure, I think that's reasonable too. But none of this strikes me as grounds to be super mad.
Again Katreus you can say to me what you want, I don't give a sh_t. I have been supporting women's soccer for so long, I forgot when I started and have spent a LOT of money doing so. So I feel I can have a opinion here and there. I put my money where my mouth is. In order for this league to succeed it should be an ALL out effort by owners, fans, USSF and yes the players. I'm doing my part as a religious fan and I expect the players to do the same. Just my opinion.
Agreed. Disagree on this. I don't think Leroux's as big of a name as them right now. But I don't think HS or AM will make or break the league.
Katreus, if you want to tell me I'm wrong for how I'm thinking fine I have no problem with that, tell me why I'm wrong. I can discuss that. I'm a pasionate and sometimes emotional poster but arrogant, I am not. I know many people here on big soccer personally and I don't think anyone who has met me will say, I'm arrogant. At least I don't think so.
She's definitely got a lot of personality! (At least from her Twitter and USWNT videos.) Seems like a fun girl and it'll help her gain profile in the press when she starts accomplishing more. Right now, Morgan is just dominating headlines with her play. IMO (so take it with a grain of salt since you don't give a shit about it ), it's a little arrogant to accuse others of arrogance when it seems like you yourself are also demanding "more" from the league and its players and then threatening lack of support when said players don't meet your standard. I mean, it seems like one thing to just not want to support the league because of lack of interest in woso or even the league itself. That's just how it is. Dollars are short, economy isn't great, no interest is no interest, we all understand that and it's not like this stuff should be forced. But to me, it feels weird to harm others who will also be affected (i.e. the other woso players who will play in this league) in an effort to punish players who may not even be affected (i.e. those who leave for Europe) if one is interested in the league and domestic woso success. The league and domestic woso is bigger than one player or even several players (who go to Europe instead) and other woso players will appreciate the club spots, I'm sure. As TsovLoj said, there will be others who are hungry to make their mark and show off in the domestic league and at least for club play, we're trying to develop team (and league) fans and not just player fans, right? I, for one, can't wait to see who makes their mark in the new league and it could be exciting even if they aren't the usual names. And for the players that go elsewhere, yeah, it's hard to make a living on this. If they can, why not? And it'll help our USWNT too if they end up developing more in Europe or wherever. I think there's room for both. Anyway, I appreciate your passion about this even if our opinions may disagree!
Fair enough. I guess this part of the article kind of set me off: It's as professional as the players make it, IMO. Now if by "how professional the league really is" she means , "how much money am I going to be making", then she should say so..
It bothered me to see Hope Solo saying stuff like that about the new league. If the national team isn't going to support it, how do they expect it to become successful? Also what does Hope mean when she asked, "how professional is this professional women's league?". Is she indirectly asking for more money?
Most of her money making should be off of endorsements. And it's not like she doesn't know what money Europe is paying. That being said, there was a fair amount of questioning re: the WPS's professionalism at times, no? The way the league was run? How people had to find out trades and signings through twitter first instead of the league or being notified themselves, how the websites weren't all that updated, how the way the league acted at times, I don't think anyone can say magicJack's team sessions were all that professional, and so on. Not that Hope herself was all that professional at times on Twitter (although to be fair, from reported accounts, she's always been pretty nice to fans after games and professional about her GKing). From what I recall, she hates all the gimmick stuff and just wants it to be - well, professional. Serious practice, serious games, let the game be the showpiece. Unfortunately, I cannot recall if she said anything in particular about which ones.
I think it just as much means "how much Borislowian bullshit is involved" and "how economically stable and viable the league model is in the first place". Hope's going to get by financially regardless, so there's little point to her getting involved in something that could be a huge cluster******** of an organization.
I'm going to stop you right there and let you think about that for a bit. Like, Hope Solo said something that bothered someone? I'm shocked.