Numerous media outlets continued to refer to the U.S.
women's team as the "Babes of Summer" in their game stories,
and last night on NBC's "Dateline," Keith Morrison reported
that the WWC was a success for "lots of reasons, of course,"
including "raw talent, great marketing, and the -- pardon me
-- 'babe factor.'" USA TODAY's Christine Brennan:
"Feminists might scream when I say something like this, but
if you can just have the word 'babe' trip off your tongue,
that means if you're Julie Foudy or Brandi Chastain or
Michelle Akers, that means the confidence is there and the
world is yours." Morrison said the sexuality issue gives
"this wholesome team a flirtatious flip-side," and he
referred to Chastain's photo in GEAR Magazine and a team
photo from "The Late Show" with David Letterman with the
tag, "Soccer Moms? Soccer Mamas!" Brennan added: "As a six-
foot-tall, 160 pound woman, I'm sitting here going, 'If
5'10", 150 is a babe, maybe I am, too. And I don't think my
size has ever been referred to as a babe before. Perhaps
that's real progress" (NBC, 7/11). TIME's Bill Saporito
writes in a cover story that the U.S. team "was good" and
"they were good looking" (TIME, 7/19). A sign of two male
fans at the Rose Bowl: "Boys Dig The Chicks That Kick The
Long Balls" (L.A. TIMES, 7/12). WWC President & CEO Marla
Messing: "So much has been written about sex appeal, but
there are beautiful women all over the place. If they were
not great athletes, nobody would care" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/12).
TEAM RESPONDS: In Chicago, Jay Mariotti called the team
"cool chicks." Mariotti: "Like it or not, bub, women's
sports have entered the mainstream. Deal with it,
[Chastain] seemed to tell the testosterone set Saturday as
her shirt flew off. ... And to think Chastain wants us to
believe her act was mere impulse. ... Don't believe her"
(CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/11). On ESPN's "The Sports
Reporters," Mitch Albom noted the U.S. women's team
promoting their sexuality: "They didn't just enjoy it. They
flaunted it and marketed it. This was a very well-thought
out event and somebody behind this said, 'This is the way
you get America's attention,' and they got America's
attention" (ESPN, 7/10). On the "Today" show, NBC's Katie
Couric asked both Chastain and Julie Foudy how they felt
about criticism that the selling of sex led to the team's
popularity. Chastain: "People take it how they want.
Really, when I did the photo for 'Gear,' my message was that
women can be athletic, strong and powerful and feel
confident about themselves. That they don't have to hide
behind anything to be strong. The message was not of
selling soccer with sex. It was being confident about
yourself and feeling confident about who you are." Foudy,
who posed in SI's swimsuit issue with her husband: "I think
it was sad that was the topic of debate. It's like, 'Come
on, aren't we past this?' Every question was like, 'Oh, is
it just because you were attractive?' And to say, 'Yes,
70,000 people are in the stands saying, 'Brandi Chastain's
hot!' I don't think that's the reason they're there. So, I
think it's blown out of proportion. I think the real reason
is they see us as a team that's successful, that wins, that
loves each other" ("Today," NBC, 7/12).
DOES SEX MATTER? In N.Y., Robert Lipsyte: "Sexuality
may be so intrinsic to sports that unless the audience is
sexually comfortable, the game just won't sell. That
doesn't mean that the players have to be sexually alluring.
It just means that they can't be threatening. A lovely
lesbian may be bad for business if you are pushing a
traditional family package." Lipsyte added that "there is a
wonderful midland Babbittry to the selling of the World Cup
team. The enthusiastic complicity of the players evokes the
car washes and bake sales ... The implications here are not
that the players are sexually available, but that they are
'normal,' that they are the proper role models for all the
girls who will buy shoes and gear (and eventually
cosmetics)" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/11). In Detroit, Joanne Gerstner
called the WWC a "unique event showcasing normal women."
The "players look just like us" (DETROIT NEWS, 7/11). In
Charleston (SC), Ken Burger called the team a "group of
cuties." Burger: "But that, of course, is being sexist and
we shouldn't let gender enter into this discussion. Even if
that's what all this is really all about" (POST & COURIER,
7/11). In N.Y., Andrea Peyser wrote that the women's team
should be appreciated for three reasons: 1) They "aren't the
abused baby-girl gymnasts." 2) They "aren't spoiled,
dysfunctional baby-girl tennis players." 3) They "aren't
the WNBA -- the Spice Girls of Sport." Peyser: "These
soccer chicks are the real deal" (N.Y. POST, 7/11).
