Soccer: Weak turnout for U.S.-China not a good sign
By Nick Green, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/15/2008 11:45:55 PM PST
http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/ci_11241945
To understand how interest in American women's soccer has declined since the heyday of photogenic Mia Hamm and sports bra-flashing Brandi Chastain, look no further than Saturday's U.S.-China game at Carson's Home Depot Center.
On a chilly Saturday evening, just 3,619 hardy souls bothered to show up to see the Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. play one of the world's best women's teams.
To put that in perspective, the last time China played against the U.S. in Southern California, 90,185 - at the time a record attendance for any women's athletic event - packed the Rose Bowl to watch Hamm and Co. win the 1999 Women's World Cup.
And the last time an Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. women's team played at the Home Depot Center, 15,589 attended in December 2004 to see Hamm, Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett one final time before their respective retirements.
To be sure, what we are seeing now is probably an accurate reflection of the interest in the women's game. Only twice this year have more than 10,000 people attended a U.S. women's game in this country.
The team that starred Hamm and Chastain did more than simply capture the imagination of the sporting public on a par with hockey's Miracle on Ice. It was a cultural touchstone that transcended sports, a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon that captured lightning in a bottle the likes of which we are unlikely to experience again.
So in a sense, it is unfair to compare the ability of the current team to draw at the box office with their storied predecessor of almost a decade ago.
And yet, the question remains: where did those 90,000 people go?
Weren't at least some of those soccer moms and their screaming little daughters supposed to turn into fans of the game itself 10 years later rather than just respond to the media frenzy that swirled around Hamm and the others at the time?
Women's soccer at least does not share the burden the men's game does in this country of competing with superior leagues and better players on a global level.
This is as good as it gets, folks. Yes, a case could be made the Germans are technically better, the Brazilians more flashy and exciting to watch, but it was the U.S. that brought home the gold medal.
OK, so it's women's soccer.
It's a slower, more technical, less powerful version of the men's game. But as we saw in 1999, it can still generate enough sparks to make an entire nation take notice.
I understand the economy is in the toilet, that people are distracted just before the holidays, there are lots of other entertainment options and that it was a pretty cold night for thin-blooded Southern Californians.
But still.
I understand there are no particularly outstanding personalities on the team good for a compelling quote a la Foudy or a player like Hamm who was not only good on the ball, but easy on the eyes, too (although those who subscribe to that notion might want to check out www.heathermitts.com).
But come on.
And yeah, the team is still suffering from the fan backlash that developed in the wake of the Hope Solo debacle at the 2007 World Cup.
But nevertheless, a national team that once appeared on the covers of general news magazines now can't attract more people than see a typical high school game in a city the size of L.A.?
There are signs of hope.
If it's wins fans want, then it was encouraging to see Coach Pia Sundhage - who led the U.S. to a record number of wins in a calendar year in 2008 - sign on for another four years as U.S. Soccer announced Monday.
If fans want attractive young ladies who also happen to play a pretty good game, then to see the likes of U.S. under-20 national team stars like Sydney Leroux and Alex Morgan on the horizon is another positive.
And if familiarity can breed respect, then it's a welcome sign to see that Women's Professional Soccer begins March 29, when the L.A. Sol will play the league's inaugural game against the Washington Freedom at Home Depot Center. Fans will soon be able to see not only top U.S. players in person on a regular basis (how many readers could pick Aly Wagner, a veteran of more than 100 U.S. games, out of a police lineup, I wonder), but also world-class foreign players like Brazil's Marta, who has been allocated to the Sol.
Almost 10 years after the U.S. women were the talk not just of the soccer world, but an entire nation, people have moved on.
Does American women's soccer have the ability to get them back?
By Nick Green, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/15/2008 11:45:55 PM PST
http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/ci_11241945
To understand how interest in American women's soccer has declined since the heyday of photogenic Mia Hamm and sports bra-flashing Brandi Chastain, look no further than Saturday's U.S.-China game at Carson's Home Depot Center.
On a chilly Saturday evening, just 3,619 hardy souls bothered to show up to see the Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. play one of the world's best women's teams.
To put that in perspective, the last time China played against the U.S. in Southern California, 90,185 - at the time a record attendance for any women's athletic event - packed the Rose Bowl to watch Hamm and Co. win the 1999 Women's World Cup.
And the last time an Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. women's team played at the Home Depot Center, 15,589 attended in December 2004 to see Hamm, Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett one final time before their respective retirements.
To be sure, what we are seeing now is probably an accurate reflection of the interest in the women's game. Only twice this year have more than 10,000 people attended a U.S. women's game in this country.
The team that starred Hamm and Chastain did more than simply capture the imagination of the sporting public on a par with hockey's Miracle on Ice. It was a cultural touchstone that transcended sports, a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon that captured lightning in a bottle the likes of which we are unlikely to experience again.
So in a sense, it is unfair to compare the ability of the current team to draw at the box office with their storied predecessor of almost a decade ago.
And yet, the question remains: where did those 90,000 people go?
Weren't at least some of those soccer moms and their screaming little daughters supposed to turn into fans of the game itself 10 years later rather than just respond to the media frenzy that swirled around Hamm and the others at the time?
Women's soccer at least does not share the burden the men's game does in this country of competing with superior leagues and better players on a global level.
This is as good as it gets, folks. Yes, a case could be made the Germans are technically better, the Brazilians more flashy and exciting to watch, but it was the U.S. that brought home the gold medal.
OK, so it's women's soccer.
It's a slower, more technical, less powerful version of the men's game. But as we saw in 1999, it can still generate enough sparks to make an entire nation take notice.
I understand the economy is in the toilet, that people are distracted just before the holidays, there are lots of other entertainment options and that it was a pretty cold night for thin-blooded Southern Californians.
But still.
I understand there are no particularly outstanding personalities on the team good for a compelling quote a la Foudy or a player like Hamm who was not only good on the ball, but easy on the eyes, too (although those who subscribe to that notion might want to check out www.heathermitts.com).
But come on.
And yeah, the team is still suffering from the fan backlash that developed in the wake of the Hope Solo debacle at the 2007 World Cup.
But nevertheless, a national team that once appeared on the covers of general news magazines now can't attract more people than see a typical high school game in a city the size of L.A.?
There are signs of hope.
If it's wins fans want, then it was encouraging to see Coach Pia Sundhage - who led the U.S. to a record number of wins in a calendar year in 2008 - sign on for another four years as U.S. Soccer announced Monday.
If fans want attractive young ladies who also happen to play a pretty good game, then to see the likes of U.S. under-20 national team stars like Sydney Leroux and Alex Morgan on the horizon is another positive.
And if familiarity can breed respect, then it's a welcome sign to see that Women's Professional Soccer begins March 29, when the L.A. Sol will play the league's inaugural game against the Washington Freedom at Home Depot Center. Fans will soon be able to see not only top U.S. players in person on a regular basis (how many readers could pick Aly Wagner, a veteran of more than 100 U.S. games, out of a police lineup, I wonder), but also world-class foreign players like Brazil's Marta, who has been allocated to the Sol.
Almost 10 years after the U.S. women were the talk not just of the soccer world, but an entire nation, people have moved on.
Does American women's soccer have the ability to get them back?
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