The key for me to enjoying the matches - and I have watched most of them (I needed my footie fix) - was to stop comparing the women's game to the men's. Honestly, there is simply no comparison - and it is an apples to oranges comparison, therefore unfair and not useful. However, once I did stop comparing, I was able to enjoy and admire the effort, athleticism, skills, and quality of the women's game - and it is worth watching. For me, Japan was the team of the tournament - what they lacked in size and physicality, they made up in skills and technical ability. And, you know what, the games can only get better . . .
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Stations have been covering the matches, but I fear young women are more interested in watching the Kardashians. It’s great that actresses have been tweeting their excitement for the games. It’s a slow burn but we’re getting there.
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Pay is not supposed to be equal in sports/athletics. It's an entertainment industry. Why does Hollywood place a big time white actress in the lead role about Asian heritage...they're all racists? No, the big name brings in ticket purchases.
Nobody except paid to feign interest sportscasters, relatives, and a very tiny, tiny group of fans cares about women's soccer, especially when the team acts like Chad Ochocinco scoring a td. Why do G league basketball players get less pay than NBA players? EQUAL PAY. Why do minor league baseball players make less than MLB players? EQUAL PAY!
Why do first year teachers make less than 25 year teachers? EQUAL PAY? Why does a french fry teen make less than the manager? EQUAL PAY! Don't the women have some choreographed, sore winner celebrations to go work on?
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@Billy
Certainly, the Us Female Soccer Team should earn more than the male soccer team.
From an Uruguayan, a country than have more than one World Cup.
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If the leading athletes in women's soccer want to be treated as big-time stars, with commensurate pay and benefits, then they don't get to choose who covers them, and what the nature of that coverage is, I would say to Ms. Rapinoe. However, consideration of the the sensibilities of covering the women's side of the sport is important, and dressing up the Fox studio host of the tournament as a fashion plate, complete with stiletto heels, would seem to be lurching too far away from that concept, too.
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In this great country of the US women are still just an afterthought-that is the whole point.
Hopefully the next generation of US players will be more conventional.
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NY Times you are just as guilty for your coverage of the Women’s World Cup compared to how you covered the Men’s Cup last year. I was very much hoping for the blog and instant update and coverage that was available through the app for last year’s World Cup to also be provided for the Women’s World Cup this year, especially since the US is defending world champions. Lacking a US men’s team in last years Cup you provided better coverage. Pourquoi?
Celebrating in Lyon!
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It is always difficult to get that “exclusive interview” and secret information about the players, the strategy, and the referees. It’s hard work to get the news before anyone else and show everyone that you deserve a mid to high six figure salary contract.
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The headline should read, "...barriers to for-profit companies making even more profit..."
That's the bottom line.
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It would be sad and unjust if the greater focus on women's soccer did not lead to women journalists who cover it receiving greater attention and job opportunities.
Most of all, however, I hope greater attention to the extremely skilled women players ends the double standard whereby goal celebrations that are far more subdued than what we see in the men's game are fiercely attacked as arrogant and lazy reporters write about excessive margins of victory without noting either that goal differential is a potential determinator of advancement or that Thailand beat Indonesia by the exact same score.
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well, to the honesty of how to say.
how receiving is working for girls and how that guides.
read the article of the us scoping out england's hotel stay.
just to mention.
to sunday, i'll be watching from HRC
@Thomas W
what is this?
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@Jim O’DONNELL. Say what?
Part of the media/communicating element of the current World Cup is the absolutely terrible play-by-play and commentary on offer to viewers in the US. The mostly female commentators, and the male voices as well, never shut up during the course of play. Even when the visual action is plain for anyone to see, the commentators will be talking about who played in a previous tournament or what the next match may have in store. If these commentators have ever watched the NBC SN coverage of the English Premier League, they would have witnessed an exampke of what good coverage is: Economy of verbiage while not distracting the viewer from the images on the screen. Soccer is a fairly simple sport and constant chatter is an unnecessary and unwelcome provocation.
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@arp If one more person tells women commentators or athletes to be quiet stop talking stop chattering stop celebrating stop being so arrogant I am going to go postal. And yes I watch EPL all the time. The US commentators at the WWC are experienced and articulate and guess what -- if they have something to say about what's happening or anything else of interest from their vast experience I want to hear it! Keep talking ladies.
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@arp I agree about the non-stop chatter. How many times do we need to be told that the winner of England vs USA will play the winner of Netherlands vs Sweden. That said, I think that there is a lot of non-stop chatter in the coverage of men's games as well and I also found the commentary of the women's games more insightful than in the men's games. There is much more explanation of the tactics used by the opposing teams and even a willingness to criticize the coaches about tactics used e.g. 5-4-1 vs 4-3-3
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Personally, I believe the inane chatter is primarily from the men who are covering the game like a radio broadcast. Perhaps the feed was going to radio in which case, no one can see the obvious from television. EPL games to my knowledge, are covered by dedicated broadcasters for webcast, radio, and television making their coverage specific to the channel.
I took the comment to not be specific to women at all but more to just the general coverage. Like I said earlier, it was the American male who kept up the relentless chatter. The male announcer I believe from England did not only a better job of covering the game and at least knew everyone’s name and how to pronounce them. He also gave a more balanced perspective on the game and was less promotional.
7