CARSON Calif., Sept. 21, 2003 -- Only days after the sudden demise
of the WUSA womens soccer league, the 2003 Women's World Cup had its West
Coast opener with more than 10,000 fans watching. And judging from the signs
many carried, the WUSA is definitely not forgotten.
'Save WUSA'
At the doubleheader match featuring China, Russia, Australia
and Ghana, there were as many fans carrying "Save WUSA" signs as those carrying
the usual banners and flags. And the talk on the grapevine -- and remember,
this is pure, unadulterated, but persistent rumor -- is that the WUSA, which
croaked last Monday, just six days ago, could be back sooner, rather than
later.
The rumor? “If this tournament produces a profit,"
claimed a fan who wished to remain anonymous, "FIFA will use it to help restart
the league."
Though FIFA rarely gets involved in running leagues,
a successful tournament is likely to rekindle interest in the league, the
ending of which more and more are starting to agree was a little premature.
It is impossible to watch this tournament without referring to the WUSA and
its contributions. Many still refuse to believe it. Even Heather Mitts, a
commentator on ABC's World Cup broadcasts -- but otherwise technically
unemployed with the demise of her Philadelphia Charge -- refers to the WUSA
in the current tense. And interestingly, the WUSA
website continues to update as if nothing had happened.
'If it were up to
me...'
Fans had a lot to say about how the league should be
run, given a new lease on life. I polled a few during the 45 minute break
between photographing the matches.
"The main problem with the league was the way it was
run, especially the wasteful spending," said fan who I will call Mr. Obvious.
This sentiment was repeated by each fan who cared to share an opinion. The
league was born with wasteful habits which would make the California government,
legendary for its deficit spending, green with envy. In fact, the $40 million
seed money meant to last the league through its first five years was gone
before the first season was over, and that was completely inexcusable.
Another blamed the companies -- the corporate sponsors
who fall all over themselves to pay as much as $40 million to one guy to
wear clothes, but fail to come up with a fraction of that to support a women's
league which inspires millions of players. Hyundai, and Johnson & Johnson,
to their eternal credit, stepped to the plate with cash, but not Nike*. Not
Pepsi. Not McDonalds*. And soccer savior Phil Anschutz, who runs Anschutz
Entertainment Group which is already in the hole for hundreds of millions
with the MLS, was unwilling or unable to chip in.
One pointed her finger squarely at mainstream sportswriters.
"You can always tell the ones who just got hired. They will viciously bash
soccer, just to get accepted by the established ones and make their reputation."
One fan blamed the whole WUSA setup - two clusters of
east coast and west coast teams, with nothing in the heartland.
These are all valid concerns. Let's hope they get a
chance to address them -- and soon.
| What you can do |
If losing the WUSA women's league is not an option for you, there are
all kinds of things you can do...
-
Tell someone. Make a WUSA sign, or wear your WUSA team jersey to a
World Cup game. Put up a web page devoted to your favorite player or team.
-
Support the sponsors. They go way out on a limb to support
a sport that is not NFL football or MLB baseball. Those are big companies,
but usually the decision to support soccer came from one or two executives.
Don't get them fired -- and make soccer look bad -- by accidentally buying
a competitor's product!
-
Get to games. It's not a bad idea to check out games, even ones where
Mia Hamm is not playing. Sooner or later there will be a new Mia Hamm and
it could be you, but only if there's a league!
|
