You did not really say this did you???? _________ Guess what...that women (with a college degree) is going to choose to go get a real job or go live with her fiance _____________ Or go live with her fiance???? Believe it or not, most women can support themselves. I have two daughters who own their own homes. We men are not the saviors to the more attractive sex.
Hmmm...I guess you're assuming that I'm a man. Wrong again! If you are "in the know," you'd know that a number of players (see San Diego) have chosen to hang up their cleats as opposed to live in a locale away from their loved one (fiance, husband or same sex partner). Your attempt to make me a sexist is a failed attempt. Believe it or not, there are not many bigger supporters of women and women's sports. I'm just annoyed at how Floudy and the Flounders have Failed the Fledgling Footballers and Fouled things up For Future Females!
Yellercard2. Your posts are most intriguing. I think we agree on many points about Ms. Foudy. I would add one more for consideration. When you invest in a new enterprise, you are really investing in the people. Their dedication is paramount. It is hard enough to succeed if you are supremely dedicated. It is almost impossible to succeed if you are not. With all due respect to Ms. Foudy, prospective WUSA investors might be concerned about this issue. In 1991, the USWNT won the first women's World Cup. I believe 4 teams participated in the tournament. In 1995, the USWNT had a 4 month camp prior to the finals. Since the USWNT had generated almost no revenue up to that time, the immense costs of a 4 month camp were subsidized by the USSF and or sponsors. Ms. Foudy was named to the team and participated in the camp. However, she left the team and missed the 1995 World Cup for her wedding and honeymoon. The U.S. came in third. Weddings and honeymoons are important, and I wish her and her husband (her coach at Stanford) the best. But isn't it reasonable to criticize this? Why couldn't they have gotten married 2 or 3 weeks later, after the Cup? Plenty of couples take honeymoons months after the wedding date due to work and school calendars. If a man did this, he would be off the team. Forget about being named captain. His career would be over. This, as well as the Founders guaranteeing top salaries even as the WUSA faced severe difficulties, shows dedication to self rather than the USWNT or the good of the WUSA. Just my opinions.
Foudy played in the 1995 World Cup (check www.rsssf.org). The 1991 World Cup featured 12 teams, not 4.
Ron, a number of sources say otherwise. womensoccer.com reports: "Married Ian Sawyers in July 1995 and did not compete in the U.S. Women's World Cup `95 as she was on her honeymoon" http://www.womensoccer.com/biogs/foudy.html Also keep in mind that she was not on the USWNT during the recent tournamentn in China, missing the only chance the team will have to play there before the World Cup. I believe she was occupied with political commitments.
She was a member of the Bush appointed council to look at Title IX - let's not get into that debate here - which was issuing its findings around that time. But to be fair, Heinrichs left several "old guard" players off of the China trip in order to expose some of the younger players to the environment they'll face in a World Cup. One of the few coaching decisions I fully agree with that April has done.
Which is just bad writing. I suspect they mean the 95 US Women's Cup. The article does mention her involvement in the 1995 World Cup. There was no such thing as the "U.S. Women's World Cup '95" - so I it's easy to believe that she didn't participate.
Actually several of the big name players took time off..not just Foudy. I believe Mia (Nomar committments) and Lilly (Labrador Retriever committments) were gone also. In addition to not playing in the Four Nations Tourney, those three also didn't play in the Japan match in San Diego at the beginning of the year. I don't think taking a month off from the team is a signal of a lack of committment by any of those players. A lil' rest and relaxation ain't gonna hurt in the long run (like I should be talking...when was the last time I took a freaking vacation?! ). Another prominent NT'er that took some badly needed time off was Millie after the 2002 WUSA season. Just a lil' RnR. Nothing more and nothing less.
Mr. Flannigan does not sound like the typical Foudy-basher. He sounds like he got hold of some wrong information. I don't think there is any question of Foudy's dedication to both the WNT and to WUSA. As has already been pointed out, she played in the 1995 WWC. It was the US Women's Cup she missed because of her her honeymoon. She is the third-most capped player on the US squad--second only to Lilly and Hamm. I believe it was the recent CONCACAF tournament where she (along with Joy Faucett) played every minute of every match. It might have been that or the Algarve tournament. Or both. (As a digression--the nice thing about these boards is that if I make a factual error someone is sure to correct me--sometimes too gleefully.) I was trying to find the reports of these matches at US Soccer. I couldn't locate them, but I looked at her bio there. Every year she has the most minutes played that year, or the second most or the third most or...you get the idea. Mr. Flannigan, I don't want you to be unduly influenced by the Foudy-bashers on these boards. To some of us, she is a hero. If we can believe what we read, she was one of the leaders of the 1996 boycott against USSF because of their discriminatory practices against the women's team. Similarly, she apparently helped lead the 2000 boycott when USSF wouldn't sign a new contract and wanted to proceed under the old one. I'm sure she was not alone. From accounts I have read in the public media, Overbeck and Hamm--and maybe Chastain--were also involved. This remarkable group of women has won the gold medal at two World Cups and one Olympics. With luck and with their dedication, they'll win one more World Cup and one more Olympics. But they've stated publicly that they want their legacy to include a viable women's professional league. I see no reason to doubt their dedication to making WUSA a success.
These will have to suffice... 6/6/95: Played the entire match against China. 6/8: Same thing against Denmark. 6/10: She got subbed in for Cromwell and notched a goal against Australia. 6/13: Played the entire match against Japan. 6/15: Same thing against Norway. 6/17: Same thing against China.
Hey,what about the the res. and dev. I heard they are in the $8,000 to $12,000. (not respectfully). Now that's tough to make it on. Now they are not complaining. And this is truly for the love of the game. Especially going in knowing the league is teetering on the brink. I do appreciate all the founders have done, I don't think any of the posters are unappreciative. But the founders are getting a huge piece of the pie. While others are, no doubt aware of this, they are bound by the agreement made by the founders. It's causing some hard feelings W/ other players. Not because the founders make so much more, but that they are bound by the agreement to make so much less. If the founders are going to bargain for the players, let the players have some input. It's not beyond the relm of imagination that these women have indivduality and would like to assert their thoughts on the CBA. I really don't think it's to much of a hinderance to negotiations. Some might cosider it democratic to an extent Hey, if someone was looking out for you And had a share of the company would you want to give your opinion. RunBabyRun would you agree? It's kindof a rights issue is it not?
You know in all honesty I have not paid as much attention to all the details. My comment was just that injured or bust players still get paid in other leagues. The only thing I would add is that without Brand, Foudy and Mia there is no league. Meaning their name value and their sacrifices to the sport over the years created it. It could be argued that the reserves are making 8-12,000 more than they would be without the founders. Again, just some thoughts. My opinions here are not educated enough to argue against you.
You neglect to mention that that's a big jump over last year, when reserves made $1,000/month and only during the season. By my reckoning, their salaries have doubled. No doubt it's still a tough situation, but the pay increase was only possible because the Founders took cuts.
No, that's not necessarily true. The league is only in its third season. We don't know how 4th year or 5th year players are going to be paid. We don't know if there will be some kind of free agency eventually. The Founders' contracts were only guranteed at that amount for 5 years. Clearly there is going to be some change at that point, as was the plan all along.
Will there be a season #4 for WUSA? Not even John Langel, the "founding" players' attorney, is sure about this when he was quoted by the Philadelphia Inquirer on April 22: "At this point, we don't know whether (WUSA) can survive." By the time season #3 ends, the investors would have spent well over $100 million on WUSA (probably closer to $110 million or even $120 million). Total operating losses will definitely exceed $85 million (probably closer to $100 million). Also note that 3 franchises are for sale: Carolina, NY, and Philly. Comcast and Time Warner didn't get the local TV ratings Lee Berke promised them (Berke promised 1.0 to 2.0, and the teams are now getting 0.1 to 0.2), so they don't have any reason to own WUSA franchises anymore. WUSA wasn't been able to sell the Philly franchise to Phil Anschutz or Xu Ming for relocation to LA before Time Warner decided to sell their franchises. Having to sell 1 WUSA franchise is hard enough, having to sell 3 WUSA franchises will be nearly impossible. Bottom line: if Foudy wants to convince Hendricks, Hostetter, and COX to fund WUSA in 2004, even on the cheap (i.e. 4-6 teams instead of 8, bus travel, etc.), the USWNT must win WWC 2003. Period. Now THAT'S pressure.
And what if there isn't a WWC due to the SARS epidemic? It's clear that China has forfeited the right to host the tournament when they didn't come fscking clean when they had to about this. They stonewalled for months about SARS and now the chickens are coming home to roost. Let's have a group prayer, shall we, that the thing is moved to Australia, OK? Paul
As a matter of curiosity, does anyone know how much MLS has lost in its 8 years? (I think it's 8.) Counting the cost of new stadia, etc. I understand they're not showing a profit yet.
MLS has lost more money than WUSA has, and MLS also has had investors bailing out (the DC group, Horowitz in Miami). MLS has folded 2 teams. MLS is still alive because Phil Anschutz and Lamar Hunt have invested over $500 million into the enterprise (the number $600 million is floating around) over the past 8 years. In contrast to MLS, investors of WUSA, especially corporate investors, put money to WUSA thinking that WUSA would get NBA-like TV ratings. WUSA was more of a TV programming series than a soccer league. When WUSA got 1/10 the TV ratings Lee Berke promised the investors in addition to blowing through at least $40 million 5 weeks into the first season, both Comcast and Time Warner would eventually decide that they can't afford to keep pouring money into a TV program that doesn't sell. Comcast and Time Warner have shareholders to worry about. Amos Hostetter is only spending the bare minimum on WUSA this season (no TV in Boston or San Jose) even though he has over $1 billion in cash in his bank account. His action speaks louder than words. COX (Lynn Morgan, under orders from her boss Jim Robbins, who takes orders from his boss Jim Kennedy) is putting the squeeze on Foudy and Co. with the contract guarantee waiver demand. We know exactly where COX stands with regards to WUSA. The only WUSA investor with a soft heart left is John Hendricks, who has already spend at least 5% of his net worth on WUSA (his stake in Discovery Communications is only 1.5%). He has to be feeling the pain and he can't afford to lose $5 million a year forever. WUSA's business plan, as written by Lee Berke, simply didn't work because the TV ratings promised by Berke made no sense. WUSA compounded its pain by spending money before the league started based on the assumption of the big TV ratings and sponsorship dollars that didn't materialize.
Thanks. This was going to be my next question. They surely - SURELY - had a good idea going into that first year what their expenses were going to be. But I guess their revenues didn't materialize as they expected. And that's TV ratings and thus sponsorships, is it? And they didn't have a fall-back plan soon enough.
Fallback plan? There is no way to fall, other than face first, when you've promised the following: You've promised players ridiculous wages. The initial wages and benefits provided WUSA players were ludicrous for an unproven start-up. Minor league revenues and big league costs! You've promised the few sponsors willing (or dumb enough) to sign multi-year deals and actually offer some cash a 2.0 rating. When the .002 (known in the biz as a "-") arrives you have a lifetime of make goods. Hyundai and J&J will stay around until a year 4, if there is one, just to get their make goods! The attendance numbers, based on a modest 6,500, come in way lower and impact your venue contracts and thus costs. Without the expected ticket sales, concessions and parking revenues suffer. Sliipery slope! The biggest mistake, perhaps the size of the Grand Canyon, was basing the business model on that created by MLS! Why would anyone utilize a business model that had resulted in millions and millions of losses - year after year?! The WUSA hired Mark Abott & Costello, MLS's supposed financial genius. Hmmm...financial genius? I guess HE is, as he has a phat paying job! Unless the WUSA finds at least 3 new owners, after they ditch the single entity model at year's end, they are Michelle French Toast! Thanks for your time.
Sorry for posting the incorrect link about Ms. Foudy. Fear M9, Ron and others are very reliable sources of information. You don't need to post a link. By the way, the 1995 World Cup story is all over the internet. I watched part of the Freedom-Beat game yesterday and the crowd looked much smaller than 5,000.
Here's a pretty accurate article on the state of the WUSA: http://www.ctnow.com/sports/hc-socsun0427.artapr27,0,5242864.story?coll=hc-headlines-sports
Its amazing how foudy still spouts how being seperate from MLS is the way to go. How stubborn could you be. The only time they play in any sort of a major league size crowd is when they team up with MLS. Its ashame because this league will probably not last due to poor decisions like this.