Sue Bird calls uswnt "generally cute little white girls"

Umm, yes. WNBA player make more money than NWSL in their domestic league salaries because it's more popular domestically. Domestic women's soccer can't even get a tv deal.

The WNT makes more money because their popularity does not stop at our boarders, because soccer is a world sport. Their jersey's, tv deals, image is sold across the world. Basketball isn't a world sport.

BTW:

4 of the top 10 highest paid female athletes in the world are black American women in 2019. (they also happen to be pretty tall and big!)

7 of the top 15 are black/mixed race.

 

Great, and I love the work the NBA and WNBA have done for BLM domestically.

But when can we discuss the NBA, players and owners, undermining democracies and human rights across the world for a paycheck from China?

 

Not sure what this part is for.

They completely outshine the status of a more popular sport here. The article asks "Why?" and offers some realistic possibilities.

The USWNT's popularity probably does stop at (y)our boarders, as the bulk of them support the country of their birth...

It's not like Thai women were in front of the TV during the WWC, thinking, "Oh, what a shining beacon of hope for what I can become!" while their team was getting hammered by cute little White girls. The world doesn't care about the USWNT, other than wishing they could beat 'em. They have their own national teams to support.

You can do that anywhere you like, but I'd advise another forum. This one is about things related to the US Women.

 

Big, Black American women make up half of highest paid athletes in the world. (mostly from endorsements too, because they are popular)

 

Sorry if this wasn't clear.
The NBA created the WNBA and is still invested in the league. They are financially connected.

So, when the NBA owners and players support regimes, such as China, that oppress human rights, they are doing it for $ and the WNBA are benefiting from that as well.

 

The issue is soccer v. another women's team sport.

They still fall far behind the USWNT in popularity and in being potential "Role models".

 

Sorry but you keep making excuses and changing the topic.

No, they said that the issue is women's basketball players, in their eyes, aren't as popular as soccer, because they are "big and Black".

But, big Black women athletes are very, very popular.

 

It's only tangential to the core of the discussion, but I don't think what you write is entirely true, and I say this as a non-American, seeing things from outside America. It's true that great successfull National Teams, in basically all sports, generate big nation-based rivalries (thus it's true that many hope to see USWNT beaten sometime), but in general it's equally true that they also generate a lot of unbiased support even outside of their nation and independent from national-allegiance. For instance, I am Italian but I support Nadeshiko Japan NT way more than I support my own National Team (to the point that I was cringing at the notion that Italy and Japan could have met in the quarter-finals of WWC 2019, because it would have been difficult for me to support my own country in that case): their WWC 2011 winning team did that and gained me as a fan.

I can tell you from direct experience that there are people here in Italy (and not only in the niche-world of women's soccer supporters, who are very few here), who expressed admiration for USWNT; it's true that it was probably more due to Rapinoe's political stances during the World Cup, than to the gameplay itself, but they were anyway quite popular for being a team from another country. Of course, in the event of an Italy-USA match, most people would have rooted for Italy, but I guess it's not exact to say that USWNT wasn't popular at all outside US borders.

And, since you were mentioning Thai girls, I know that there are many soccer players in these little countries who find role-models in the top champions of this sport from other countries (including USA) since they don't have world beaters to look at in theirs.Of course, they most likely weren't enjoying being pummeled because of that, but It's not so far-fetched to think that, outside of the direct clash, some of them could have looked at USWNT player with a lot of respect.

 

Of possible interest to you is the obscure fact that the first match of the US WNT was in Italy in 1985. Italy won. There's a wikipedia article about the tournament, the "1985 United States women's national soccer team." It's a heart-warming tale and, full disclosure, I wrote the wikipedia article.

 

Sorry for continuing the off-topic, but I have to thank you very much: your article was a very interesting reading!

I was a middle-school student in 1985 and I can totally relate with my countrymen chanting "Ooosa!" instead of the classic "U.S.A." everyone knows even here these days: feels so irresistibly "Italian '80s" to me!

Also, back then Italy was a real powerhouse in women's soccer and it's a shame we were some years short of the first official World Cup: it's incredibile to think that back then Italy had been able to beat an US side including Michelle Akers in its ranks. Also, reading a sentence like: "the Americans, accustomed to a polite women's game as it was then in the United States, were out-played by an experienced and physical Italian team and lost" made me actually laugh, thinking at how roles are basically reversed right now!

Finally, I always wanted to know some of those elusive Wikipedia writers! I am aware that I probably know many others, but it's quite rare that I witness a "coming out" from them.

 

With regard to your affection for Japan, I admit to half-wanting Japan to win the 2011 World Cup. Japan was the classic underdog, not considered likely to advance beyond the top 16; the country had gone through a tsunami and nuclear meltdown earlier in the year and even its participation in the WC was doubtful; and, finally, the play of Homere Sawa was just downright inspiring.

Given that the US team was given an enthusiastic welcome on its return -- as if it had won the WC -- I conclude that a lot of Americans were not unhappy that Japan won.

However, in 2015, I was very pleased to see the U.S. triumph.

 

Yes, that's the other sport I was referring to. I didn't change anything.

Yes, the article points out that cute little White girls get more ink than the champions of a sport that's waaay more popular than soccer is in this country.

It doesn't matter how many big, Black athletes are popular in other, individual sports.

 

Watch it SC......Christmas Cards go out early next month.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_United_States_women's_national_soccer_team

Move the H. over War and Peace. Great Job SC.

 

What?

 

basketball is not soccer. not even close.
Rugby, cricket is more similar to basketball on a world stage. lol

 

The "lol" sold me.

 

ping pong is more watched than basketball...
lol timon19, lol.

 

Assertion:

Question:

Response:

Already, the goalposts have shifted.

Further goalpost-relocation:

It's hard to have a conversation with that. "lol"-ing doesn't make it easier.