Women's World Cup Thread

[Roy H.]

I'm confused, why do they have to sing the anthem? Isn't standing quietly at attention sufficient?

Megyn Kelly, Jesse Waters, etc. are pumping the airwaves with anti-American messages. Protesting is not anti-American. I'm wary of those that try to limit speech and tell us where the "appropriate venues" for protest are. There's a difference between boycotting the USWNT and actively rooting against them.

Sure, but since when is singing a requirement.  They are standing quietly.  That has always been sufficient

I've got to admit, I was misinformed.  I had thought the team was refusing to stand for the anthem, as they have in the past.  That's not true, as US Soccer passed a rule awhile back that they have to at least stand.  I find it personally distasteful that so many of the players are looking angry, not putting their hands on their hearts, bowing their heads or looking at the flag, but that's not as blatantly disrespectful as kneeling and protesting outwardly.  Similarly, apparently there's a tradition among various national teams to sing the anthem, but I'm not holding the squad to that standard.

So, I'll now root against the team because the same players who knelt in the past are still on the team, and because the team is still overtly political and anti-patriotic.  But, at least Hope Solo is no longer on the team, and Rapinoe seems to be on her way out.

 

[RJ87]

It looks like the U.S. could beat Sweden, Japan, Spain, and England to win the World Cup. This looks like a tougher climb than in the past. Spain and England have equal odds with the U.S. One game a time, however. Those group stage results were less than inspiring. I think this squad can rally when the challenge gets heavier.

Not to be too reductive, but England appear to have a handle on scoring the ball this tournament, which would seem to favour them over the US as far as metrics of victory are concerned.

England's definitely benefited from Lauren James' dominance on offense. I'm still not sure what to make of them as a team.

[green_bballers13]

I'm confused, why do they have to sing the anthem? Isn't standing quietly at attention sufficient?

Megyn Kelly, Jesse Waters, etc. are pumping the airwaves with anti-American messages. Protesting is not anti-American. I'm wary of those that try to limit speech and tell us where the "appropriate venues" for protest are. There's a difference between boycotting the USWNT and actively rooting against them.

Sure, but since when is singing a requirement.  They are standing quietly.  That has always been sufficient

I've got to admit, I was misinformed.  I had thought the team was refusing to stand for the anthem, as they have in the past.  That's not true, as US Soccer passed a rule awhile back that they have to at least stand.  I find it personally distasteful that so many of the players are looking angry, not putting their hands on their hearts, bowing their heads or looking at the flag, but that's not as blatantly disrespectful as kneeling and protesting outwardly.  Similarly, apparently there's a tradition among various national teams to sing the anthem, but I'm not holding the squad to that standard.

So, I'll now root against the team (USA) because the same players who knelt in the past are still on the team, and because the team is still overtly political and anti-patriotic.  But, at least Hope Solo is no longer on the team, and Rapinoe seems to be on her way out.

 

The irony in this statement is breathtaking. Almost deserves a World Cup trophy.

I don't really watch too much soccer (mens or womens), and I don't watch many of the Olympic sports. These international competitions are great ways to unite and not divide. Jesse Owens was criticized for overtly political motives, and is considered to be a national treasure 100 years later. I imagine that the vocal women on USWNT (not all of them have been vocal) will also be looked at favorably through time. I'll tell my grandkids of the women fighting for equality, which made some root for Japan.

[Kernewek]

It looks like the U.S. could beat Sweden, Japan, Spain, and England to win the World Cup. This looks like a tougher climb than in the past. Spain and England have equal odds with the U.S. One game a time, however. Those group stage results were less than inspiring. I think this squad can rally when the challenge gets heavier.

Not to be too reductive, but England appear to have a handle on scoring the ball this tournament, which would seem to favour them over the US as far as metrics of victory are concerned.

England's definitely benefited from Lauren James' dominance on offense. I'm still not sure what to make of them as a team.

I think the big takeaway is that Lauren James is very good at football. And she seems very fun to root for, or at least she has been fun to watch so far.

That's more or less all I can gleam from it, anyway.

[RJ87]

It looks like the U.S. could beat Sweden, Japan, Spain, and England to win the World Cup. This looks like a tougher climb than in the past. Spain and England have equal odds with the U.S. One game a time, however. Those group stage results were less than inspiring. I think this squad can rally when the challenge gets heavier.

Not to be too reductive, but England appear to have a handle on scoring the ball this tournament, which would seem to favour them over the US as far as metrics of victory are concerned.

England's definitely benefited from Lauren James' dominance on offense. I'm still not sure what to make of them as a team.

I think the big takeaway is that Lauren James is very good at football. And she seems very fun to root for, or at least she has been fun to watch so far.

That's more or less all I can gleam from it, anyway.

Oh yeah, she's been fantastic and she's so young. We could be seeing the start of a very good career. But it's always hard to gauge how good a team is when it's reliant on a single player creating offense. They've scored 8 goals in the tournament so far and she's scored or assisted 6 of them.

[celticsclay]

Imagine thinking that being part of a country meant that you had to submit to the notion that the country was beyond reproach - except, not really, because a lot of people who complain about the complainers are themselves complaining about the state of the country, it's just that acceptable complaining appears to be uni-directional. That is to say, backwards.

Ah, but of course: It's all those nefarious wokes with their nefarious agenda of nefariously treating people with decency and respect isn't it? Such gall. Such absolute audacity. The country's going to the dogs. Athletes, like children, should be seen and not heard.

Well, the "people who complain about the complainers" aren't literally representing the United States, being paid by the United States, etc.  That's the difference.  If Rapinoe, et. al., want to protest on their own time -- taking advantage of the platform they have -- fine.  But when they've got the United States uniform on, they should stand for the anthem while collecting large paychecks they didn't earn, subsidized by the men's team.

But regardless, to each their own.  The USWNT isn't a particularly large part of my life.  I'm just rooting against them, and I hope that some women who appreciate the country that allows them to become tremendously wealthy and famous take over the team leadership structure.

Why have you made this a political thread? This didn't need to happen. You don't seem to add much to the conversation. Any thoughts on the team or the three games? Other people are actually waking up to watch these games.

I think they will figure it out, but the team does seem disjointed. I'm looking forward to the rest of this Cup.

edit: Also, I root for the U.S. People are able to root for whatever country that they want.

It's a thread about the USWNT.  I explained why I'm rooting against them.  People are able to discuss why they're rooting for them, about their performance, or a whole host of things relevant to the team.  This isn't a "political thread".  If you're upset that politics are inextricably tied to the team, blame team leadership.

Roy I don’t even necessarily disagree with everything you are saying but is it possible to have a different thread about the culture politics aspects of the team? I feel like this is now drowning out all discussion of the actual games and tourney in this thread. Does become a bit tedious to go through 6 posts about the anthem to find one thread about england or our matchup.

[celticsclay]

It looks like the U.S. could beat Sweden, Japan, Spain, and England to win the World Cup. This looks like a tougher climb than in the past. Spain and England have equal odds with the U.S. One game a time, however. Those group stage results were less than inspiring. I think this squad can rally when the challenge gets heavier.

Not to be too reductive, but England appear to have a handle on scoring the ball this tournament, which would seem to favour them over the US as far as metrics of victory are concerned.

England's definitely benefited from Lauren James' dominance on offense. I'm still not sure what to make of them as a team.

I think the big takeaway is that Lauren James is very good at football. And she seems very fun to root for, or at least she has been fun to watch so far.

That's more or less all I can gleam from it, anyway.

It is hard to imagine us getting past england with our struggles scoring but crazy things can happen in soccer

[Roy H.]

I'm confused, why do they have to sing the anthem? Isn't standing quietly at attention sufficient?

Megyn Kelly, Jesse Waters, etc. are pumping the airwaves with anti-American messages. Protesting is not anti-American. I'm wary of those that try to limit speech and tell us where the "appropriate venues" for protest are. There's a difference between boycotting the USWNT and actively rooting against them.

Sure, but since when is singing a requirement.  They are standing quietly.  That has always been sufficient

I've got to admit, I was misinformed.  I had thought the team was refusing to stand for the anthem, as they have in the past.  That's not true, as US Soccer passed a rule awhile back that they have to at least stand.  I find it personally distasteful that so many of the players are looking angry, not putting their hands on their hearts, bowing their heads or looking at the flag, but that's not as blatantly disrespectful as kneeling and protesting outwardly.  Similarly, apparently there's a tradition among various national teams to sing the anthem, but I'm not holding the squad to that standard.

So, I'll now root against the team (USA) because the same players who knelt in the past are still on the team, and because the team is still overtly political and anti-patriotic.  But, at least Hope Solo is no longer on the team, and Rapinoe seems to be on her way out.

 

The irony in this statement is breathtaking. Almost deserves a World Cup trophy.

I don't really watch too much soccer (mens or womens), and I don't watch many of the Olympic sports. These international competitions are great ways to unite and not divide. Jesse Owens was criticized for overtly political motives, and is considered to be a national treasure 100 years later. I imagine that the vocal women on USWNT (not all of them have been vocal) will also be looked at favorably through time. I'll tell my grandkids of the women fighting for equality, which made some root for Japan.

I think I've said all I wanted to say, but I'll close with this:  the pampered, upper-class Megan Rapinoe who lives in 2023 America, had the opportunity to play on a "Pride" team throughout her amateur career, traveled internationally extensively, and that has the luxury of pontificating that biological males should compete against girls and women in sports, is in no way similar to Jesse Owens.

[green_bballers13]

I'm confused, why do they have to sing the anthem? Isn't standing quietly at attention sufficient?

Megyn Kelly, Jesse Waters, etc. are pumping the airwaves with anti-American messages. Protesting is not anti-American. I'm wary of those that try to limit speech and tell us where the "appropriate venues" for protest are. There's a difference between boycotting the USWNT and actively rooting against them.

Sure, but since when is singing a requirement.  They are standing quietly.  That has always been sufficient

I've got to admit, I was misinformed.  I had thought the team was refusing to stand for the anthem, as they have in the past.  That's not true, as US Soccer passed a rule awhile back that they have to at least stand.  I find it personally distasteful that so many of the players are looking angry, not putting their hands on their hearts, bowing their heads or looking at the flag, but that's not as blatantly disrespectful as kneeling and protesting outwardly.  Similarly, apparently there's a tradition among various national teams to sing the anthem, but I'm not holding the squad to that standard.

So, I'll now root against the team (USA) because the same players who knelt in the past are still on the team, and because the team is still overtly political and anti-patriotic.  But, at least Hope Solo is no longer on the team, and Rapinoe seems to be on her way out.

 

The irony in this statement is breathtaking. Almost deserves a World Cup trophy.

I don't really watch too much soccer (mens or womens), and I don't watch many of the Olympic sports. These international competitions are great ways to unite and not divide. Jesse Owens was criticized for overtly political motives, and is considered to be a national treasure 100 years later. I imagine that the vocal women on USWNT (not all of them have been vocal) will also be looked at favorably through time. I'll tell my grandkids of the women fighting for equality, which made some root for Japan.

I think I've said all I wanted to say, but I'll close with this:  the pampered, upper-class Megan Rapinoe who lives in 2023 America, had the opportunity to play on a "Pride" team throughout her amateur career, traveled internationally extensively, and that has the luxury of pontificating that biological males should compete against girls and women in sports, is in no way similar to Jesse Owens.

Completely disagree, esp. now that you're bringing your issues with trans people into this discussion of the World Cup.

There are people with NCE tags in here that want to talk about sports. You want to talk about TMZ sports. Why not create another thread and block out the people that disagree with you? I think that makes sense and lets people focus on what they wanted to discuss.

[Roy H.]

I'm confused, why do they have to sing the anthem? Isn't standing quietly at attention sufficient?

Megyn Kelly, Jesse Waters, etc. are pumping the airwaves with anti-American messages. Protesting is not anti-American. I'm wary of those that try to limit speech and tell us where the "appropriate venues" for protest are. There's a difference between boycotting the USWNT and actively rooting against them.

Sure, but since when is singing a requirement.  They are standing quietly.  That has always been sufficient

I've got to admit, I was misinformed.  I had thought the team was refusing to stand for the anthem, as they have in the past.  That's not true, as US Soccer passed a rule awhile back that they have to at least stand.  I find it personally distasteful that so many of the players are looking angry, not putting their hands on their hearts, bowing their heads or looking at the flag, but that's not as blatantly disrespectful as kneeling and protesting outwardly.  Similarly, apparently there's a tradition among various national teams to sing the anthem, but I'm not holding the squad to that standard.

So, I'll now root against the team (USA) because the same players who knelt in the past are still on the team, and because the team is still overtly political and anti-patriotic.  But, at least Hope Solo is no longer on the team, and Rapinoe seems to be on her way out.

 

The irony in this statement is breathtaking. Almost deserves a World Cup trophy.

I don't really watch too much soccer (mens or womens), and I don't watch many of the Olympic sports. These international competitions are great ways to unite and not divide. Jesse Owens was criticized for overtly political motives, and is considered to be a national treasure 100 years later. I imagine that the vocal women on USWNT (not all of them have been vocal) will also be looked at favorably through time. I'll tell my grandkids of the women fighting for equality, which made some root for Japan.

I think I've said all I wanted to say, but I'll close with this:  the pampered, upper-class Megan Rapinoe who lives in 2023 America, had the opportunity to play on a "Pride" team throughout her amateur career, traveled internationally extensively, and that has the luxury of pontificating that biological males should compete against girls and women in sports, is in no way similar to Jesse Owens.

Completely disagree, esp. now that you're bringing your issues with trans people into this discussion of the World Cup.

There are people with NCE tags in here that want to talk about sports. You want to talk about TMZ sports. Why not create another thread and block out the people that disagree with you? I think that makes sense and lets people focus on what they wanted to discuss.

One more time:  I'm discussing the World Cup.  You're discussing your opinion of me and the appropriateness of my posting.  Only the second one is off-topic. 

[Roy H.]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/the-uswnts-problems-explained-161944708.html

Fair analysis? 

[RJ87]

So Germany, Canada, and Brazil all go out in the group stages. Wow.

Canada doesn't surprise me given everything that they've had going on with their federation, but going from an Olympic gold medal to this is a steep fall from grace.

Germany and Brazil are genuine shocks to me. I didn't think Brazil had a real shot at winning it all (hoped so though because it would've been nice to see Marta get a Cup). Pia just isn't as good of a coach as some thinks she is.

Germany had a strong showing in the UEFA Championship last year, so I thought they were ready to bounce back after a few underwhelming years. I was wrong.

[Kernewek]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/the-uswnts-problems-explained-161944708.html

Fair analysis?

Some of it is so broad that it could have been largely lifted and shifted from approximately million different columns about the 2004 Olympic basketball team. This stuff is just useless:

2. The Americans are gifted but not developed properly. Many are one-dimensional or incomplete. They can run, and dribble, and shoot... But they struggle to pass and move, or to read the game. In the sport’s more primitive days, their athleticism shrouded shortcomings; we incorrectly assumed that would happen again.

And, of course, we are existing in a world where the USWNT has not won the World Cup before. We're also existing in a world where they have looked pretty bad in tournaments prior to this one. I'm not sure this constitutes (or even indicates) an obvious systemic problem or acts as a harbinger to the end of a run of sustained dominance as so many want to declare.

[Moranis]

There are 14 first timers for the US, several of which are only there because of injury.  They've had very little time together. Thst said, some of the positional and substitution patterns used have been really strange. 

Also, they could beat Sweden and go on a run making it all moot.

[Amonkey]

So Germany, Canada, and Brazil all go out in the group stages. Wow.

Canada doesn't surprise me given everything that they've had going on with their federation, but going from an Olympic gold medal to this is a steep fall from grace.

Germany and Brazil are genuine shocks to me. I didn't think Brazil had a real shot at winning it all (hoped so though because it would've been nice to see Marta get a Cup). Pia just isn't as good of a coach as some thinks she is.

Germany had a strong showing in the UEFA Championship last year, so I thought they were ready to bounce back after a few underwhelming years. I was wrong.

As a Brazilian, very disappointed with their outing but happy to see 3 African countries advancing (Nigeria, South Africa and Morocco). I feel like this WC has had good parody with no clear cut winner. Even the worst countries have done well for themselves.