The U.S. women's soccer team's WWC win is "about
parents and their kids, getting hooked on a group of
appealing athletes who were well marketed, then turned out
to be even better than advertised," according to Terry Pluto
of the AKRON BEACON JOURNAL. Pluto: It wasn't about the
liberation of women, the sexist attitude of men or the
overthrow of any world order. It was sports, and in some
ways, sports at their best" (AKRON BEACON JOURNAL, 7/14).
NEWSDAY's Shaun Powell: "Hey, the [WWC] was nice. But,
please. It's time to be realistic, at the risk of sounding
chauvinistic. The whole event was overhype at its best, or
worst, whichever your prefer. ... For all the wonderful
advances they've made over the years, soccer and women are
not about to take over this country the way they seemed to
do for two-plus weeks. ... Two years after a massive PR push
from NBA and NBC, the WNBA shows falling attendance and no
evidence of tapping into another demographic" (NEWSDAY,
7/14). But in CA, Bob Keisser writes, "Women's soccer has a
chance to prosper for several reasons. For starters, there
is plenty of talent available. ... Secondly, a U.S. league
could be arranged around national team demands." More
Keisser: "There appears to be an audience out there" (LONG
BEACH PRESS-TELEGRAM, 7/14). A WASHINGTON POST editorial
today states, "Women's sports will continue to flourish in
the venues where they teach the important lessons -- in
schools, rec clubs and other everyday places -- regardless
of how it goes with the pros" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/14)
