Women's World Cup Thread

[Moranis]

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

[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.

[Celtics2021]

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.

1) They aren’t paid by the United States.  US Soccer is a c3 that receives no federal funding.

2) The US men’s team is subsidized by the successful and popular national teams of other countries.  Let’s not kid ourself that FIFA is raking in money for anything that the US Men’s National team has done.

[RJ87]

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.

This is actually a thread about the Women's World Cup which is more than just the USWNT. You've made that the focus.

[RJ87]

South Africa scores in the 90+2 minute to beat Italy 3-2 and advance to the knock out stage.  Amazing.  As expected, Sweden won the group and will face the US.

South Africa has been pretty fun to watch so far.

Brazil getting knocked out is probably the biggest surprise for me. Didn't expect them to get far, but at least passed the group stage. Terrible end for Marta's last Cup.

[green_bballers13]

Any intel on Sweden's team? I'm looking forward to Sunday morning's 5am (EST) game.

[Roy H.]

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.

This is actually a thread about the Women's World Cup which is more than just the USWNT. You've made that the focus.

Well, we're overwhelmingly American on this blog.  The USWNT was the focus of many of the prior posts.

Anyway, the person taking this thread off-topic is you, by criticizing me rather than commenting on the teams, competition, etc.  Seems like you have a grudge, which you need to bury.

[green_bballers13]

Censorship isn't the answer. Americans don't have the right to tell people what they can/can't say. We can state our opinions of someone else's opinion. Restricting, censoring, or telling people that they need to do anything doesn't sit right with me in a free society. It's a byproduct of having a bully lead the country.

I'll watch with stars and stripes. These women deserve support- it's part of their complaint. They were making less money than the US men when the men missed the World Cup and they won the whole thing. The men aren't paid for merit. The women don't appear to be paid for anything, including dominating the world in soccer.

Back to the Women's World Cup Thread-

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.

[Moranis]

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

[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

Logic need not apply when we're talking about people and their emotions. People in power have often found faults (logical/illogical) with those that are trying to get a seat at the table. This is thousands of years old.

[Roy H.]

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.

Let's go Japan.  Not that I follow the sport, but in the little I've seen I like their style.

[RJ87]

Any intel on Sweden's team? I'm looking forward to Sunday morning's 5am (EST) game.

I haven't seen much of Sweden this tournament, but historically they're a defensively minded team that looks to score on counterattacks. We've struggled against them in the past (the last 2 Olympics come to mind), so I'm not sure what to expect on Sunday especially since we're missing a key player in Lavelle.

[Moranis]

I think it is interesting that Japan beat Spain 4-0 but Spain has much better betting odds to win.  +900 for Japan at DraftKings, seems like a decent bet.

[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.

[Moranis]

Aside from getting Sweden instead of South Africa, the real travesty of the US not winning the group is instead of playing Saturday at 10pm, the game is Sunday at 5am.  I am not setting my alarm to watch and I'm sure I will hear the result before I get a chance to watch, so I won't even see it.