Kathleen scores! Oh, she gets it. My opinion of Kathleen Nelson just jumped up a notch. Of all the articles I've read on de WOOSA's demise, that's my favorite. What does her being female have to do with it? Perhaps it's you who's missing the tone of the article. (I really hope it won't require surgery to get Kathleen's tongue out of her cheek) MLS does play pre-season exhibitions here, between two teams we would love to hate if we had a team. Shoot, we can hate them even if we don't have a team.
If we are calling a spade a spade, then the idea of the US as a 'Soccer Nation' is a flawed one. Soccer will never be anything more than a 4th tier sport in terms of capturing mainstream interest (see Ice Hockey) in the US. It appears that the US can be a dominant power in a small pond (Women's Nat) and an average to respectable squad in a big pond (Men's Nat). I didn't watch many WUSA games but that was a personal choice. I don't think that women's soccer should be dismissed out of hand. It should be marketed as a regional event only, similar to Women's Pro Beach Volleyball or Women's Professional Softball.
Even as a 4th tier sport in a country like ours, we can be amongst the best eventually. Remember, we have a large enough population and financial resources that we have a large advantage over other countries.. I agree, who was dismissing it?
Women's sports will never succeed as a business. Not to take away anything from the players, but it is not exciting outside of the international context. Why do soccer organizations in the USA expect fans to support all forms of soccer? I am a huge supporter of football (soccer), but i want to see the best. Champions league, Premiership, La Liga, and Internationals. I could care less for the Costa Rican league or the Albanian league anymore than the average American b-ball fan wants to watch Filipino league B-ball. WUSA died because it wasnt a worthy product.
". It should be marketed as a regional event only, similar to Women's Pro Beach Volleyball or Women's Professional Softball" Regional? What region then?
Oi. Surprised everyone let this one go... What's your favorite MLS team? Exactly. Even as a fourth tier sport, hockey still attracts many (some would argue most) of the world's best players. Sure, some dudes stay in Sweden and Russia -- but the best want to come to the NHL. Now, I'm not saying MLS is anywhere close to achieving this type of status... But by simply growing the league and building a nice foundation, we can eventually see a nice solid league on home soil. 1) So what? Have you monitored the front page of CNN everyday since 1996? I don't doubt that MLS hasn't been on the front page, I guess, but you saying so doesn't exactly clinch the deal. b) This isn't apples and oranges, this apples and deconstructionist theory as it relates to Elizabethan novellas. It's WWC, which was a huge story 4 years ago, combined with the failure of a league in which many of the WWC participants ply their trade, on the EVE of the friggin tourney.