WUSA folds (Women's Pro Soccer ) (1 Viewer)

[Andy_Bu]

I have Fox Southwest and have yet to see any soccer game from the Dallas Burn or anyother MLS team.

I am not familiar with the area but the Burn games are on a channel called KFWD according to their web site.

Here is some random information on local channel coverage of MLS

Revs = Fox Sports New England
Metrostars = MSG
United = CSN
Fire = Fox Sports Net Chicago
Burn = KFWD
Galaxy = KCAL
Wizards = Metro Sports
Rapids = Fox Sports Net

Andy

 

[Andy_Bu]

Not all women's sports leagues suffer. Women's pro tennis is huge and in my opinion far more interesting to watch than the men. The LPGA is also very popular and growing.

I agree but we are talking about womens team sports here, not individual sports like golf and tennis.

Also, you are comparing apples and oranges when comparing individual sports with team sports. The dynamic needed to support team sports where the team plays in the same city numerous times a year is completely different from the touring sports, which never play in the same place twice.

If you have to compare, then look at the US Womens National team, which operates on a touring basis. It is orders of magnitude more popular than WUSA as a whole and yet every player on the US Womens National Team played in WUSA.

Andy

 

[Philip Hamm]

Not all women's sports leagues suffer. Women's pro tennis is huge and in my opinion far more interesting to watch than the men. The LPGA is also very popular and growing.

We're talking about women's team sports here. Individual women's sports seem to be doing just fine, as you have stated.

Anybody who thinks the MLS is not big needs to understand that there is a large Spanish speaking latin american community in the United States. Go to a town with a large latin population and you'll find a large soccer fanbase. Here in Northern VA I see DC United stickers on cars all over the place. Tune to the spanish speaking network news and see what kind of coverage MLS gets. Hint: HUGE.

Though the women's league has suspended operations, I'm sure that people will still ask me if I'm related to Mia Hamm.

 

[Dave Poehlman]

You mean we wont be seeing Brandi Chastain taking her shirt off again? Perhaps if they would allow that more often.. the sport would be doing better.

Seriously, that was just 4 years ago when that happened.. I remember even watching the end of that World Cup game and seeing them win it. A few of the girls got endorsements out of it and I remember every commentary saying that Women's soccer is finally catching on. And now they've gone belly-up. Amazing.

I don't think soccer is catching on in the US for the same reason the WLAF didn't take off in Europe... I think it's a cultural thing.

Plus the fact that scoring is so slow in soccer... Americans don't seem to have the attention span for it.

It's sad, really. I was in Europe in '96 when Czech and Germany were battling in the European championship and was lucky to visit both countries during that time. The mood was electrifying to say the least. Germany won it and the streets were blaring with car horns and complete strangers were congratulating each other.. Americans just aren't that passionate about any sport... even football. Sure the Superbowl is a big event, but for a small percentage of the population, no one really cares about the outcome.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Germany won it and the streets were blaring with car horns and complete strangers were congratulating each other.. Americans just aren't that passionate about any sport...

Well, to be fair, if you took Germany-sized chunks of America, you'd see that kind of passion - baseball in the Northeast, high-school football in Texas, hockey in Michigan, etc. That's also a national team you're talking about. American pro leagues by their structure tend to make creating a good national team difficult. When it does happen, though, it is a big deal. The ratings for the Women's World Cup that led to WUSA's creation were very good indeed, for instance, and the Olympic Basketball Dream Team was huge, and would have been even huger if there were something resembling competition for them.

 

[Chris_Morris]

Plus the fact that scoring is so slow in soccer... Americans don't seem to have the attention span for it.

I thought this at one time too, but it seemed that alot of people I knew who hated soccer also loved baseball (can there be a slower, more boring game?), or golf (ok, so maybe there can). I think it's more of a I-don't-understand-what's-happening-because-they-are-constantly-moving problem. I tell people, "Yes scoring can be low, but how many 3+ hour baseball games have ended in a 1-0 or 2-1 score?". They usually then go with the typical J6P-can't-retort answer of "Well, it's just a stupid game" :rolleyes

As for the WUSA and WNBA, alot of the blame can lie with media outlets. There just is not the coverage and exposure like there is with men's teams. The first sign that the WUSA was headed for disaster? The fact that the games were on PAX only.


Chris

 

[Greg_R]

I thought this at one time too, but it seemed that alot of people I knew who hated soccer also loved baseball (can there be a slower, more boring game?), or golf (ok, so maybe there can).

Agreed. I think one element missing from U.S. soccer is the atmosphere / excitement that can be found in other stadiums around the world. Although things are improving, I think the people running the stadium don't know how to excite the crowd. Soccer action is continuous (not spurts of action like baseball or football) so they have problems figuring out when they can play "who let the dogs out" or the "oh-oh-oh-oh-oh" cheer. Hint: never. They need to study how things are done in countries where soccer is popular and implement a similar system.

 

[Andy_Bu]

Agreed. I think one element missing from U.S. soccer is the atmosphere / excitement that can be found in other stadiums around the world. Although things are improving, I think the people running the stadium don't know how to excite the crowd.

If you have the chance, try and take in a game at the palace they now call The Home Depot Center in LA.

It is the best atmosphere I have ever been in for an MLS game.

US National Team games, especially World Cup Quals, have always had a very nice atmosphere. LA now seems to have captured some of that atmosphere for league games.

The more stadiums we get like LA's, the better the atmosphere will be. Soccer does not belong in the huge football stadiums. If MLS can continue to build 25,000 size stadiums, the atmosphere will pick up all over, to varying degrees.

Andy

 

[Chris_Morris]

They need to study how things are done in countries where soccer is popular and implement a similar system.

Maybe they could import some hooligans from the UK. Talk about changing the atmosphere...



Chris

 

[Greg_R]

US National Team games, especially World Cup Quals, have always had a very nice atmosphere. LA now seems to have captured some of that atmosphere for league games.

Agreed, that's why I said things are improving. I haven't been to the LA arena yet but here in Portland the World Cup quals are always well attended and exciting. Get your tickets for next month's (women's world cup) playoffs now!

 

[Bill Griffith]

I really enjoyed watching the womens national team play on the world level. Probably because they win. Never got involved with watching the WUSA, and really can't bring myself to get involved with the MLS. I watch the Premier League and European league games more than I watch the MLS. Soccer in this country is just not very interesting. I guess if I was in Germany I and like basketball, I would watch US basketball before I ever watched German Basketball, if there is such a thing.

Soccer games overseas have the ebst atmosphere in any true sport there is. What other sport can say the following,

1. a true world sport
2. extremely loyal fan base, fanatical even, possibly homicidal in some cases
3. constant action and movement, no resting
4. If your a ref and you make a mistake you have to be escorted out by the police so you don't get killed. (Rare but happens)

Soccer is the best sport in the world.

 

[Jason Seaver]

2. extremely loyal fan base, fanatical even, possibly homicidal in some cases
4. If your a ref and you make a mistake you have to be escorted out by the police so you don't get killed. (Rare but happens)

Soccer is the best sport in the world.

Interesting criteria.

 

[Andy_Bu]

Its ironic that just after this horrible news for the WUSA, womens soccer gets a nice media boost from Mia grabbing the cover of Sports Illustrated this week.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_...2003/0922.html

Our media seems more than willing to cover soccer (both mens and womens) at the national team level, but like Bill said, the interest in the club level is lower so the media coverage is likewise lower.

Andy

 

[Chris_Morris]

from Mia grabbing the cover of Sports Illustrated this week

I guess this means more lost subscriptions for SI. ***


Chris


*** During the last WC, SI got many nasty letters from J6Ps who were going to cancel their subs because SI had 'disgraced' the cover with pictures of the US soccer football team, never mind the fact that the team was doing better than ever in the Cup. :rolleyes