WPS! Please refrain from calling it the WPS in their first year. Use the full name...Womens Professional Soccer. My name for the Chicago Team is: the Chicago Sirens... I hope we kick a$$! I'll be there at every game.
Sounds like the last time around when they didn't want people to say "woosa" they wanted it pronounced W.U.S.A......... WPS is rather bland in any case, whether spelled out or abbreviated..... WoProSo...WhooPS.... I am sure someone more clever than I will come up with an appropriate nickname for the league....
It's a request put out by Women's Professional Soccer...to the media...for the first year only...to help with branding.
Women’s soccer lures 2 big names Print This Story By TRIPP MICKLE Staff writer Published February 04, 2008 : Page 01 Women’s Professional Soccer added Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash and former Yahoo! President Jeff Mallett as investors last week, giving the latest push for women’s pro soccer the marketing power of an NBA star and the business muscle of a new media visionary. Nash and Mallett’s agreement to invest in the league, which plans to launch with eight teams in 2009, is expected to be announced later this week. Terms of the deal were not available, but sources put the combined investment in the six figures. Both Mallett, who owns a piece of the San Francisco Giants, and Nash described their investments as a mix of cash and sweat equity. That mixture gives them a minority stake in the league and opportunities to invest more money. “It’s not just the capital investment but the cachet and the advisory role they’ll provide,” said WPS Commissioner Tonya Antonucci. “These guys are a wonderful asset and a big boost to the league.” Steve Nash, who has some skills of his own, is investing in the league.Mallett will work closely with Antonucci, a former colleague of his at Yahoo!. He said he will be “a shadow CEO” helping on everything from designing the league’s original charter to finding corporate sponsors and additional league owners. Nash said he plans to help in any way he’s asked. “I’m investing more blindly and on passion,” he said. “I want to watch the games and go out and support (the league).” Mallet’s investment is his second in a startup league. He invested in the now-defunct Canadian Baseball League earlier this decade. The failure of that venture makes him more confident Antonucci’s effort will succeed because she will be able to use the mistakes of the first women’s professional league, the WUSA, as a guide for WPS. The WUSA launched in 2001 with eight teams but folded after spending more than $40 million in one year. “Tonya’s taking a very pragmatic, thoughtful approach,” Mallet said. “She’s not just trying to ride in on the jet stream of Mia Hamm and others.” Both men have two daughters and said that, combined with their passion for soccer, compelled them to invest. “Whether I see a return on my investment or not, I’m excited to give it a go and see what impact it can have on young girls in inspiring them to reach for the best,” Nash said. Nash and Mallett are both from Victoria, British Columbia. Though Mallett is 10 years older than Nash, they’ve become friends because of their mutual affinity for soccer. Mallett played on the Canadian national soccer team, and Nash’s father played professional soccer in South Africa and England. In the last year, they have explored investing in professional soccer teams in the English Premier League and Europe, Mallett said. He added that they have looked at a half dozen opportunities overseas and will continue to look in the future. “We make an interesting combination,” Mallett said. “He has star and marketing power, and I’ve got business expertise. (Owning a team overseas) is still a dream.”
They are afraid some hooligan will insert an "M" between the P and the S and once again the investors will be left scratching their heads wondering who did the market research on that moniker ....
I hope for the sport and for the players that this happens. It won't happen for those of us who had season tickets every year for the Carolina Courage, though. I can't afford to go out of state to see games....
I just found on the WPS site (interview w/ Ian Sawyers) that the league is only allowing two US Nat team players per team. That's only 14 of our best players (hopefully 16, soon). I'm new to the soccer world, so I don't really understand how that makes sense. Could someone explain it, please?
Its that you automatically get 2 NT players. I'm assuming that means there will be a special draft or allocation of the top 14 USWNT players. Which would mean everyone else will be part of the normal draft, not that they wouldn't play.
How doesnt this make sense? One of the goals of the league is to provide exciting and close scoring battles. Too many NT players on one team would make for some lopsided games. I wouldnt want to watch that and I am certain the players wouldnt want to play in a game like that.
I understand the need for close matches. What confused me was the part "a roster that can include two United States national team players". I read it as meaning only 2 NTers. I'm very new to the business side of sports, so forgive my airheadedness. Thanks, A Fan, for the explanation.
Of course this implies a static top 16 USWNT players. I hope for the good of the women's game in this country that doesn't happen. I think that sort of rigidity and the attendant stratification immediately among just the US players helped contribute to the downfall of the first league.
I would guess that the distribution of USWNT players has as much to do with marketing as it does with parity. There are many good foreign players too, so it isn't like the USWNT players will even be among the best on the team. By spreading the NT players out, I think the idea is to build a synergy among the fan base, so that the club team fans will have more reason to follow the USWNT closely too.
<laugh> There wasnt any tone in my post....I didnt mean for you to take it like that. I think thats all they are allowing but am not certain if that means current and/or active NT players?
Im not sure I agree on this. I, for one, would not want to have another LA Galaxy type of situation where everyone comes out just to see that one team play. If you had one team stacked with NT players thats what you would get and the other games played would draw minimal fans.
I think that there are going to be a couple layers of drafts/allocations..... one of the issues is identifying how broad to define the term USWNT. There will be players in the pool who are on and off the roster over the months ahead before kick-off. I believe that players who were interested were or will be asked to indicate their preferences as where to play... the teams will be asked their preferences as to who they want.... they will try to match the two lists, at least for the first allocation, which may be well limited to 2 players each? There will probably be supplemental drafts/allocations later in the year or early next. I don't see the league arbitrarily limiting the number of USWNT players to roster, just putting in controls to keep it somewhere equitable and keep the players happy.
<laugh> I dont agree with my own post. I misunderstood Timon19s post when I replied originally. Timon - I agree now that I reread. (I think I should get into an argument with myself over this)
No worries. My skin's not that thin. I'm just easily confused. Has anyone heard anything new from the teams other than Jersey and Chicago?