I was by the Team Store at the RioT today (we're in town for the day to celebrate my mother-in-law's 75th birthday) and hoped to get a Royals shirt of some sort. The Nike stuff hasn't arrived, and the team-printed stuff is sold out in larger sizes. The former is a bummer, the latter is at least a sign that folks want the gear.
Given Boston's sudden folding and KC's emergency sale to DLH, it's easy to see the NWSL can't do much about player pay yet. But there's plenty of room to set the team apart in terms of housing, transportation, training facilities, locker rooms, coaching, and staff support. It looks like Hansen has done most, if not all, of what the league will allow in these respects. However, I don't think it's just out of generosity. He expects the team to succeed, and expects the locals to buy tickets and merchandise. If the non-salary expenditures resemble RSL more than the Monarchs, he likely expects the revenue should do the same.
It almost looks like putting putting money where his mouth is in terms of equality of employment between genders. He can't do anything about the salaries, too much under the restrictions of the league. But, there is a lot he can do in terms of facilities, access, lifestyle and living conveniences that fall outside of salary and can be equal to what is done for the Division 1 men's league. In some ways, that stuff can mean more, because it shows thoughtfulness about everyday game preparation, comfort and decency. What did one of the players say, something like, "Robes! You don't even need a robe, but... maybe I DO need a robe!" It's a small touch, but a very thoughtful touch.
Preseason starts today. I wish it was open to the public because my current project is just around the corner from the academy.
That's what I like about all this. He knows he can't pay them more, but he's doing all he can to remove as many outside stresses as possible. That has to be nice as a player. Being able to focus more on your job, and less about everything else outside of it.
So pumped for the start of preseason! Just one more month until the season officially begins. Just a heads-up- every game not on Lifetime will be on go90 in the US. If you don't want to watch it on your phone, you can watch on go90.com, or if you have a TV that has HDMI capability, buy a Chromecast and stream it on your TV. There's a slight delay, but it's worth it.
First report from preseason. Several non-rostered trialists have been brought in, includeing several from the RSL Women's team. At least one of them was called in after the open tryout. https://www.rsl.com/post/2018/02/19/camp-notebook-first-training-utah-royals-fc-history
in one of the videos posted on twitter he says exactly that. to paraphrase "I can't do anything about the salary cap, but I can provide equal treatment in every other way". I will fight anyone who says this guy doesn't love this club. He's amazing.
It really does feel like this is more of a passion project than something to make money off of. He's got all the money he needs, it's nice to see him really put everything into these clubs to try and see them succeed.
this is why he got in the whole soccer business in the first part, right? His daughters played and he fell in love with the sport. RSL was just a means of getting to an NWSL club.
Home opener single game tickets went on sale on Friday. I picked up 5 for my family. Prices seem to be aligned with the row you are sitting on rather than sections so much like in RSL games. Also, at least for now, the upper level on the east side and some other areas aren't available. Hopefully that will change as word gets out, and tickets start being bought. I haven't been to a women's soccer game since a USWNT friendly at Rice Eccles before RSL came to town. It will be my 18 month old daughters first professional soccer game.
they blocked off the upper deck and a lot of sections (or half of the section) from being purchased as a season ticket.
Date Opponent Kickoff (Mountain) Sat., Mar. 24 @ Orlando Pride 5:30 Fri., Mar. 30 @ Houston Dash 6:00 Sat., Apr. 14 Chicago 1:30 Sat., Apr. 21 @ North Carolina 1:30 Sat., Apr. 28 Portland 7:00 Sat., May. 5 Washington 7:00 Wed., May. 9 Orlando 7:00 Sat., May. 19 Houston 1:30 Fri., May. 25 @ Portland Thorns 8:30 Sat., Jun. 2 @ Sky Blue FC 5:00 Sat., Jun. 16 @ North Carolina 5:00 Sat., Jun. 23 @ Chicago Red Stars 6:00 Wed., Jun. 27 Seattle 8:00 Sat., Jun. 30 Sky Blue FC 8:00 Fri., Jul. 6 @ Portland Thorns 9:00 Wed., Jul. 11 @ Seattle Reign FC 8:30 Sat., Jul. 14 Orlando 1:30 Fri., Jul. 20 North Carolina 8:00 Sun., Aug. 5 @ Houston Dash 6:30 Wed., Aug. 8 Washington 8:00 Sat., Aug. 11 Seattle 1:30 Sat., Aug. 18 @ Sky Blue FC 4:30 Wed., Aug. 22 @ Washington Spirit 5:30 Sat., Sep. 8 Chicago 1:30 Sat., Sep. 15 NWSL Semifinals TBD Sat., Sep. 22 NWSL Championship TBD Quite a few mid-day games there
Utah is one of the lucky ones with a higher-than-average number of appearances on the Lifetime Game of the Week, with six appearances in 20 games. Kickoffs are expected to be closer to 2pm MT, though the broadcasts start at 1:30. The lack of flexible TV scheduling is one of NWSL's growing pains... But it's better than a lack of a long-term TV deal.
The 4 game home stand followed by a 4 game road trip is brutal. I'm not educated enough on the perceived talent of the other teams (besides knowing Portland and NC should be good) to know if our schedule is front heavy, back heavy, or balanced. @BlueCrimson or @SiberianThunderT would you have an opinion?
The first 3 games look to be fairly manageable, as Orlando and Chicago will have some big players unavailable until May, and Houston is looking like the early favorite for the Wooden Spoon. Overall, though, I'd say the schedule is balanced in terms of strength of opposition. And I think this season is going to be the most competitive yet. There are 6 teams that I think will challenge for the playoffs- Chicago, North Carolina, Orlando, Portland, Seattle, and Utah. Washington has a lot of talent, but they're a little too inexperienced. SkyBlue hasn't done enough to fix their porous defense, and Houston's roster building is not inspiring confidence.
I would wager that Houston's roster building has been a bit better than Sky Blue's... It sounds like DePauw has really rallied the players around her plan, which apparently includes converting forwards into high-pressure backs. I'm not sure if Sky Blue has a plan at all. Anyway, to answer the original question, the schedule is front-heavy. While we may disagree as to how far back Washington, Sky Blue, and Houston are from the others, I would agree they're likely the bottom three, and they're 5 of the last 6 games for Utah. I certainly wouldn't assume Washington will be easy, though, and I would not be entirely surprised if the new coach and new plan let Houston get results in here and there (or maybe more).