Resuscitating Soccer

The soccer community mourned the loss of WUSA (Women’s United Soccer Association), but they seem to have mourned alone. It was a step backward for women’s sports in this country. Writing in the Providence Journal, Bill Reynolds noted how important women in sports are as role models: “Girls are coming of age in a time when every message seems to be mixed, sex sells everything, and pop culture is too often a reminder that if you're not cute and sexy, then you have no value …Women’s sports are one of the powerful antidotes to this.”

At the time, Reynolds believed that the demise of the WUSA was a “momentary stumbling block” in the progress of women’s sports. Five years later, Women’s Professional Soccer, a potential replacement for the WUSA, is in its early stages. There is also a women’s Olympic squad and an organized junior league with its own World Cup.

WPS remains without players, according to Lindsey Dolich of ESPN.com. Its logo incorporates a silhouette of the iconic Mia Hamm, whose prowess on the field led the women’s Olympic team to victory in 1996. Hamm was at the helm of a soccer renaissance and the inspiration for the WUSA’s “expedited launch.” Those behind WPS insist that there will be little “spontaneity” about this incarnation of women’s soccer—except for the logo. Better business practices will accompany the new organization, and it will follow on the heels of what could be another exciting Olympic journey for the women’s national team. WPS will officially launch in 2009.

The men’s professional league remains intact, but men’s soccer is not, nor has it even been, wildly popular in this country. The 20th century was peppered with opportunities for soccer to make a name for itself in the United States, but they haven’t always panned out. The Olympic Games can occasionally drum up American enthusiasm for soccer—but not at the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics, when many of the “strong soccer countries” refused to make the expensive journey to California.

Other events, such as the FIFA World Cup, have helped, at least temporarily, to raise soccer awareness. For example, when the United States beat England 1–0 in the 1950 World Cup, it was regarded as one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. View more milestones on U.S. Soccer’s timeline.

After Pele retired from Brazilian soccer in 1970s, the United States was quick to scoop him up in yet another effort to endear Americans to the sport. But the love affair was short-lived; Pele only played for the New York Cosmos for three seasons. His symbolic presence in the NASL (North American Soccer League) was analyzed in the documentary “Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos.”

The country still breeds scores of soccer players each year, but where do they end up? Development academies, junior squads, high school teams and college teams (who spend millions each year in recruiting efforts) would seem to offer many potential professional soccer prospects, if the fan base will only materialize. Women’s teams generally do not serve to spur interest in a sport, but one can only hope that soccer will prove the exception to the rule. Maybe the WPS will mark a return to Mia Hamm-style days of soccer glory, or at the very least, provide “entertainment by really physically fit, really competitive women with a ton of old-school heart and sports courage who could probably outrun you and still look great doing it.” Visit the Web site of the WPS to learn more.