Athletes "playing their sport" is "what the legacy of this Women's World Cup and this U.S. women's soccer team is all about," according to Ann Killion of SI.com. Killion: "That's the breakthrough. That's their legacy. And it's enough." The U.S. lost the World Cup Final to Japan yesterday on penalty kicks, and the U.S. team members were "not required to be pioneers or social activists or saviors." Instead, they were "simply athletes playing in a thoroughly compelling, exceptionally watchable sporting event." Killion: "That's progress. ... In the past, women's teams were expected to do more than just play. They had to build a movement, change their culture, make history. This team is liberated from that" (SI.com, 7/17). USA TODAY's Christine Brennan writes the positives about yesterday's game "for the U.S. team and the worldwide game they represent so well will eventually bubble to the surface, and there are many." Brennan: "The raw, awe-inspiring athletic moments from this tournament will not soon be forgotten, and will bring more girls to the game around the world. That's a given" (USA TODAY, 7/18). In L.A., Grahame Jones writes women's soccer is "still in its relative infancy," but it already has a "rich and colorful history, with a glorious chapter now added." The "most encouraging thing ... was the quality of play in the tournament." But there "almost certainly will be ... a dip in the quality next time around" due to FIFA deciding to "make the Women's World Cup a 24-team event, diluting the field in the process" (L.A. TIMES, 7/18).
CAPTURING PEOPLE'S HEARTS AND MINDS: In DC, Sally Jenkins writes with the U.S. team's "stirring comeback against Brazil" in the quarterfinals, they "engaged a U.S. audience that had largely ignored them." Jenkins: "Instead of whining about lack of coverage, they seized the previously apathetic nation's attention with their heart and theatrics, and held it" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/18). In Louisville, Eric Crawford writes the tournament "marked another step forward for women's sports in this country -- even without the Brandi Chastain-esque celebration." Crawford: "I'm not saying women's sports are challenging or even catching up to men's in popularity. But when given the exposure they are increasingly proving capable of delivering an audience" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 7/18). In Columbus, Michael Arace writes under the header, "United States Lost, But Soccer Was Big Winner" (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 7/18).
WILL THERE BE A LASTING IMPACT? In K.C., Sam Mellinger wrote, "Do we really care? Are we really into this? Will we care tomorrow, remember Pia Sundhage's name next week, or invest another second's worth of time in any of these women next year unless Hope Solo does a Maxim photo shoot?" (K.C. STAR, 7/17). ESPN’s Bomani Jones before the Japan-U.S. match said, “The interest level in soccer for the masses in this country is about winning, and if they don’t win, ‘Oh well.’ For the people who really care about the U.S. women’s soccer team, they’ll be disappointed if they lost. But let’s be honest, how many people are we talking about?” ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 7/15). ESPN’s Tommy Smyth said, "There’s a lot of young girls that are going to be out there kicking a ball today, and a lot of girls who want to be Abby Wambach or somebody like that, so there’s a lot more interest in it. But, you know, when the Olympics fade ... track and field fades for a while with it too. A good run at the World Cup, it creates a lot of interest, it certainly creates a lot of interest amongst non-soccer folks, but I’m not sure it makes all that much change on the soccer horizon” (“Mike & Mike in the Morning,” ESPN Radio, 7/18).
