The Women's World Cup begins tomorrow with two matches
at Giants Stadium and two matches at Spartan Stadium in San
Jose. More than 460,000 tickets have been sold to the event
and more than 74,000 are expected at Giants Stadium tomorrow
for the U.S. women's opener against Denmark (THE DAILY).
WWC organizers "expect that all 79,000 seats will be sold"
for Saturday's opener, which would make it the "largest
attendance ever for a women's sporting event" (BOSTON GLOBE,
6/17). WWC President Marla Messing: "We have a rare
opportunity, a chance to capture the imagination of the
American public" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 6/18). In Boston,
John Powers writes that the "global magnitude" of the event
is "undeniable," and it is the "definitive coming-out party
for women's soccer" (BOSTON GLOBE, 6/18). USA TODAY's Gary
Mihoces writes in a Sports cover story that the "measure for
the women will be whether they win back the Cup in the Rose
Bowl final July 10." A U.S. victory "will fuel hopes for a
U.S. women's pro league and help TV ratings, and although
ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 did not pay rights fees, they assumed
about $3M in production costs (USA TODAY, 6/18). In NJ,
Colin Stephenson writes that there is "talk that a
successful World Cup could forge a new women's professional
league in 2001, and if the U.S. makes the final, a new
attendance record would be set for women's soccer and for a
women's sporting event" (STAR-LEDGER, 6/18). Mia Hamm, on
a new league: "A lot of people are excited and want to get
involved. I think U.S. Soccer is limited in how much they
are going to be involved. They've developed a committee to
oversee whether a tournament is viable, but obviously, they
can't run a league for us" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 6/15).
GREAT EXPECTATIONS: ESPN MAGAZINE profiles the U.S.
team under the header, "Anything Short Of A World Cup Will
Be Crushing For The Mighty U.S. Women" (ESPN MAGAZINE, 6/28
issue). In DC, Michelle Smith profiled the Chinese squad
and wrote that the WWC "may not be a coronation for the U.S.
team, despite what the shoe commercials, billboards and
magazines imply" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/17). In Sacramento,
Don Bosley: "Entire corporate agendas will collapse if the
United States fails to make the" final (SACRAMENTO BEE,
6/16). In Hartford, Jerry Trecker: "Failure by the
Americans at any stage would condemn the tournament to a
'who cares?' attitude. Even American success may not change
that point of view" (HARTFORD COURANT, 6/18). Messing: "If
they didn't advance out of the first round, which I think is
highly unlikely, that probably would be devastating. If
they were to lose in the semifinal, you're still talking
about the championship game, and I think there would still
be interest in it" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/18).
PAYOUT: Each member of the U.S. women's team will earn
a $12,500 bonus from the USSF if it wins the tournament.
The 20 players each received $2,500 for making the team.
Meanwhile, men's team members would have earned "at least" a
$38,000 bonus from the USSF if it had won the '98 event and
made $20,000 for making the team (WASHINGTON POST, 6/16).
THE STARS: Mia Hamm has dominated most of the player
profiles previewing the tournament. In Cleveland, Liz
Robbins called Hamm "Jordanesque in worldwide recognition"
(PLAIN DEALER, 6/16). In Dallas, Steve Davis: "Expect the
HamMania to shift into another gear when the tournament
starts" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 6/16). ABC's Robin Roberts
profiled Hamm on "World News Tonight" and said she has "the
rare opportunity, some might even say the responsibility, to
not only advance soccer, but to change the face of women's
sports" (ABC, 6/17).....SI's Grant Wahl profiles Julie
Foudy, who "has thought about starting an organization that
would help women pro athletes in selecting an agent, hiring
a lawyer and dealing with club management" (SI, 6/21 issue).
ANY IMPACT ON MLS? MLS has been promoting the WWC with
signboards and print ads in game programs. MLS Commissioner
Doug Logan: "I don't see [the WWC] necessarily eroding
anything, certainly not our attendance" (USA TODAY, 6/17).
CORPORATE SUPPORT: In L.A., Greg Johnson writes that
WWC official sponsors paid between $1-4M, while marketing
"partners" are paying between $500,000-1M. Johnson writes
to "keep your eyes on the battle" between WWC sponsor adidas
and U.S. team sponsor Nike "for the hearts and pocketbooks
of female soccer players." Meanwhile, the WWC will "finish
second" at event sponsor McDonald's, as it has tied its main
summer promo around "Tarzan," which is also starting this
weekend (L.A. TIMES, 6/18). IMG Canada Marketing Dir Kevin
Albrecht, on the demographics around the WWC: "The soccer
family demographics are phenomenal. The soccer mom is now a
demographic of her own. She's between 25 and 44 years old,
she makes most of the household purchases and she usually
owns a mini-van or sport utility vehicle to drive the kids
to and from soccer practice" (OTTAWA CITIZEN 6/15).
