I've been watching football since I was 11, and that may have been the best match I've ever watched.
After watching this tournament for the past few weeks, I think I actually prefer women's soccer to men's. There is no whining on the pitch and pretending to be hurt every few minutes. And in this particular match, it was nothing but pure skill and determination from both Japan and the US.
Japan may have started slow, but they were absolutely brilliant in the second half and beyond. The goalie set the tone in the shootout with that initial save. They earned the victory.
It just saddens me that the tournament got very little press in Canada. If I didn't regularly watch and listen to the CBC, I probably wouldn't have known it was even on. It's too bad that the media still does not give women's sports the same press as men's. So much for women being equal in 2011. Women's football is at least as good as men's.
What was the press like elsewhere in the world?
Congratulations to Japan!
I must admit, and not in a sexist way, that I used to think of wome's soccer as lame - of the few matches I have been able to see in recent times, it looked as though they couldn't kick the ball far, and that their goalies were dire, which mostly led to a winner.
Until I saw a few games at this years's world cup....
USA were 2x champs and Japan hadn't beaten them in over 20 attempts - so once again, congrats to the underdogs!!!
Sir GH wrote: I've been watching football since I was 11, and that may have been the best match I've ever watched.
After watching this tournament for the past few weeks, I think I actually prefer women's soccer to men's. There is no whining on the pitch and pretending to be hurt every few minutes. And in this particular match, it was nothing but pure skill and determination from both Japan and the US.
Japan may have started slow, but they were absolutely brilliant in the second half and beyond. The goalie set the tone in the shootout with that initial save. They earned the victory.
It just saddens me that the tournament got very little press in Canada. If I didn't regularly watch and listen to the CBC, I probably wouldn't have known it was even on. It's too bad that the media still does not give women's sports the same press as men's. So much for women being equal in 2011. Women's football is at least as good as men's.
What was the press like elsewhere in the world?
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I'll second that. International women's football is cool and a lot more honest than the bs of the English Premier League -- full of mercenaroes and cheats. However, it has a long way to go to match international men's football. As for coverage, BBC3 showed the final but i wasn't well advertised: I didn't even know it was on until I stumbed accross it while channel hopping. Great game and sweet to see the Japanese win after what their country has been through.
Interesting how the womens sports doesnt get much attention.
Over hear in Australia, an 11 year old boy (No pun with the age) wanted play womens/girls Netball.
It was over the new's as he was rejected from playing. It was put down as a women/girls sport and he was not offered entry.
..................HHHHooooooowever.. flip the coin, when a girl wanted to play boy's football... Man, did it get alot of attention when she was told no.
Funny how we turn a blind eye when we want to yet poke a stick so hard we we feel like it,.
In Germany of course all games were shown live on TV. We are a little sad that our team is now not qualified for the Olympics because they lost the quarter finals - a very odd rule I think to exclude a world class team. However, the Japanese were just awesome and did so much to promote women football all over the world. The goalie must be a kick boxer - the way she defended her goal :-)
I agree with Bob and Holly: women do not "dive", there is no rolling on the grass and no acting. The players are fast and athletic - much different from the early days of women football. The German team watched the final in the stadium and cheered the winner - I never saw that happen in a mens tournament.
Holly2003 wrote: Wonder why the home (UK) nations are so poor at women's football. Fitness? Training? Lack of opportunity? Sexism?
reply:
England got knocked out in the quarter finals on penalties so its just like watching the mens team..
i shall only watch womens football when they all swap shirts at the end and are banned from wearing bras