You Owe It To Yourself to Watch Women's Soccer & The World Cup

This post was originally published in Nate’s newsletter on July 21

 Trinity Rodman is a player to keep your eye on this tournament

Jet lag is real.

At some point yesterday, I looked at Hope and realized I had no idea what day (or day of the week) it was. Our road to Auckland was silly (Seattle to Dubai to Singapore to Sydney to Auckland) but was necessitated by life circumstances and the packing/clothing  requirements of going from northern hemisphere summer to southern hemisphere winter. Tonight when we go to sleep will be the first time we’ve spent back-to-back nights in a bed since June 15. I am far too old for all these red eye flights.

But we made it—I’m stoked for our third World Cup.  

Our seats in BC Place in Vancouver for the group stages in 2015

Last night, we were in Eden Park for the tournament's opening match. The hosts, the twenty-sixth ranked, New Zealand knocked off twelfth ranked Norway, 1-nil. Tomorrow we’ll return to Eden Park for the opening match for the US versus Vietnam (if you have access to a sportsbook, I suggest you bet the over, +/-6.5 goals). 

As often is the case in my life, plans came together one night at a pub. While talking with some friends, we decided we should head up to Vancouver when Canada hosted the World Cup in 2015. We caught a few matches and really enjoyed the atmosphere. We decided on the drive back to Tacoma to make this our thing. 

In 2019, the tournament was in France. We followed the US through the knockout rounds. The atmosphere at PSG’s Parc des Princes in the quarterfinal was electric, as tense as any football match I’ve ever attended. I have never heard anything as loud as the French crowd’s eruption when Wendie Renard scored in the 81st minute. The match result was in doubt deep into the match. We went to watch the US defeat England in the semi and the Netherlands in Lyon in the final. 

Hope and I in Lyon before the 2019 final

In some ways, high-level women’s soccer is the best sporting experience in the world. 

Players are accessible. I can’t imagine ever sitting down with Messi for an hour long chit-chat. But I interviewed arguably the best WOSO player in the world, Megan Rapinoe for an episode of Nerd Farmer. Several players from OL Reign (Seattle’s team in the NWSL, the professional WOSO league in the US) lived at Point Ruston before the team relocated to Seattle; a few players still live there. 

The matches are  affordable. Our tickets to last night’s opener were 30 Australian Dollars or about 20 USD ($20.29, if you’re nosey)—you can’t get in to see the Mariners lose for that much. 

The US women are dominant. If you like winning, the United States is the Argentina + Brazil + Germany of WOSO. They enter the tournament seeking their third consecutive World Cup title. Meanwhile, the American men haven’t gotten out of the round of sixteen since 2002.  

The game is at a really special point. It’s like the old baseball Negro Leagues or the ABA in the 1970s—arguably a better product—with less hype or recognition. 

This can’t last. 

In the book The Ball is Round: A Global History of Soccer by David Goldblat, he argues sports go through a transition from amateurism to professionalization to commercialization. WOSO in the US is professionalized. Players get paid (not enough, obviously). They play in professional facilities (I hated when OL Reign left Tacoma but they deserve to play on the same pitch as the region’s men’s team). They have a national TV deal with CBS/Paramount and are increasingly drawing larger audiences. There’s work to be done but with these structures in place, players have the chance to showcase their talent on grand stages. 

But commercialization is coming. 

The players deserve it but it will degrade the accessibility and affordability fans currently enjoy. Picture Alexi Lalas (bleck) bellowing “we’re coming to you live from the Subway Fresh Take Studios, here alongside the Raytheon Pitch at Facebook Stadium.” All the gross capitalistic trappings that have consumed European football and the big three US sports leagues are coming, but the barbarians aren’t quite there yet. 

The US women kickoff tomorrow against Vietnam at 1pm from Eden Park here in Auckland. I’ll be there and you should be watching. 

So Wait, a "Homerun" Counts the Same as a "Touchdown"?

We both love live sports--the din of the crowd, the energy, the feeling of seeing athletes up-close and personal. It doesn’t matter if we have no clue who any of the athletes are. It’s the thrill of the game and the joy of the experience.

Brazil fans represent at #BrazilWorldTour in Abu Dhabi, UAE

Brazil fans represent at #BrazilWorldTour in Abu Dhabi, UAE

The Familiar

On Tuesday evening we went to Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium for an international soccer friendly. It was Brazil versus South Korea. We didn’t expect both teams to bring full-rosters, but were pleasantly surprised by the lineups: Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Coutinho (Bayern), Firmino, Fabinho, and Allison (all from Liverpool), all balled out of their minds. The crowd heavily tilted towards Brazil -- the match was part of their #BrazilWorldTour, but every South Korean person in the city seemingly came out and they made a ton of noise all match. Coutinho hit one of the nastiest free kicks you’ll ever see. He basically had a window the size of a cereal box and beat the keeper to the near post from 20+ yards out. Our seats were directly behind where he struck the ball so we could see the nasty spin he put on it. 

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Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium Entrance

Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium Entrance

The Unfamiliar

We don’t know cricket -- not even a little bit. But on the car-ride to the Sheikh Zayed Cricket stadium we brushed up on essential knowledge we needed to enjoy a match in the Emirates T-10 league

We still don’t really understand everything we saw, but we liked it. Alot.

Reading the scoreboard was like solving a puzzle…

Reading the scoreboard was like solving a puzzle…

T-10 is a modified version of the game where matches are basically ninety minutes, rather than the five-day (marathon) test matches you may have read about. If I understand correctly, in a test match players tend to try to avoid getting out, but T-10 is like late 90s baseball, dudes were stroking long-balls (or sixers as we learned they’re called). My friend Big Dave compared it to a baseball Homerun Derby. 

Fans trying to catch selfies with an apparently famous cricketer

Fans trying to catch selfies with an apparently famous cricketer

Beyond the game, the stadium atmosphere was lit.

Cricket, like soccer, was born in England and exported to their colonies. Hence, South Asians are wild for the game. No, like it’s their jam. It’s like how a certain brand of white women™ love PSLs and Ugg Boots... but worse.

There were cheerleaders, mascots, a DJ/MC/Hypeman/Host starting chants and bumping Bollywood music. At numerous points throughout the day, the DJ roll called.

Bangladesh, make some noise… ROAR

Afghanistan, make some noise… ROAR

Pakistan, make some noise… ROOOOOOAR

India… he didn’t even get to finish… the ground just shook.

The Food

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One of our favorite on-going jokes is to compare the food experiences at sporting events in different countries: the Corona Big Gulp & nacho cheese gun at Estadio Azteca, the baguette delivery at the 2019 World Cup Final in Lyon, the seemingly bottomless well of 3 Euro beers consumed at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorf. 

Having experienced 3 different football matches in completely different stadiums (BYO snacks at one, no-snacks, applesauce sized cups of water served at another) we had no idea what to expect at a cricket match. 

There were three cricket matches played, back-to-back-to-back. The fan zone offered a half-dozen food trucks bursting with samosas, halo-halo, and shawarma. Inside the stadium, the concession dudes made it rain chicken sandwiches and personal pizzas. There were Baskin-Robbins pushers and even a chaiwala! 

What’s Next?

Who knows? This is a year to try new things.

We’re headed to Kenya on Tuesday to chaperone a student service project. We’ll see what kind of sports shenanigans we get into there.