BRANDWEEK's Rod Taylor previews next year's inaugural
Women's World Cup under the header "The Girls Of Next
Summer," and writes that "history ... dictates" that the
event "will be astonishingly popular." Taylor writes that
the women's soccer team "suggests mass appeal. ... For
starters, they're smart. Every member has a college degree
or is a full-time student. They're young, with an average
age of 24.7 years. They're also, dare we say it, damned
attractive. Then there's the simple fact that when it comes
to women's soccer, we kick ass." WWC sponsors include
adidas and Coca-Cola, none of which are "viewed primarily as
a female-targeted brand." Taylor adds that companies which
align themselves with the event "will be associated with
outstanding soccer played by positive role models and
something else one doesn't see too often in soccer: a U.S.
team winning the World Championship" (BRANDWEEK, 8/10).
EVENT NOTES: A record 119,688 attended last week's du
Maurier men's Canadian tennis Open in Toronto, besting the
event's previous high attendance by "more than" 9,000
(OTTAWA CITIZEN, 8/10)....A "move is afoot" to offer Atlanta
as a "serious candidate" to host the 2005 Goodwill Games
(ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 8/9)....MLB will host its sixth
annual Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) World Series
at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando (MLB).
