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A New Start for Women’s Soccer

2009 March 30
by George

I am so excited to hear that there will be a new women’s soccer league in the U.S.! The Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league is expected to be more realistically prepared for the amount of fans they will have and the sort of salaries the players will earn than the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) which only existed from 2000 to 2003. When WUSA had folded in 2003, I was disappointed. I couldn’t understand why no one would want to watch a sport just because the players were women. This happens for almost every female professional league, such as the WNBA and the LPGA. Then of course there are the sports that simply don’t have enough “following” for a professional women’s league to even be created.

http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0903/womens_pro_soccer_0327.jpg Stuart Ramson / AP

http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2009/0903/womens_pro_soccer_0327.jpg Stuart Ramson / AP

That’s why I was ecstatic to see this NY Times article by Sean Gregory (even if the title is a bit snooty) “Is Women’s Pro Soccer Really Coming Back Now?” Gregory is implying that perhaps it would not be a wise decision to start a new sports team during a recession. I also think that he feels that the WPS is overambitious, attempting to open season during a really busy sports period with March Madness, NHL playoffs, the opening of baseball season, etc.

Whatever, it is the cheapest sport to attend and with other sports failing to lower their prices reasonably considering the recession this will actually be a great way to spend time outdoors with friends and/or family. I think that this league will struggle as much as the next new sport, but I believe that it has potential for success. I’ll end this with Olympic champion Kristine Lilly’s promotion of the WPS, “It’s not going to make or break you, and it’s probably cheaper than going to have coffee with someone. Be a critic after you’ve come see a game, don’t make a judgment beforehand. If you attend a game, you’ll see people working their asses off.”

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