Evaluation Paper

I had to write an evaluation paper for my EN-100 class last semester. The lack of coverage of the WNT game against Iceland today in the Algarve cup inspired me to post this.

For as long as I can remember I have been a fan of soccer. I love playing or watching soccer and I could spend every waking moment doing so. I have been following the United States Women’s National Team (WNT) since I was four years old. For me, soccer was always black and white; there was no difference between guy’s soccer and girl’s soccer. For the longest time, I was always oblivious to the fact women’s soccer was compared to men’s soccer, and how many people would put down women’s soccer because it is different from the men’s game. However, the one comparison I was always aware of was between the U.S. Women’s National Team and the U.S. Men’s National Team (MNT). When comparing the two teams side by side, most people just look at the difference in physicality of the game, but there is much more to it. Those people also need to look at how both teams have fared in world competitions, the longevity of players, individual achievements, the professional leagues, the double standard in the media, the approachability of the players, the coach of the respective teams, and team chemistry in order to make an informed decision about whether men’s soccer, specifically the MNT, is better than the women’s team.

One aspect setting the WNT apart from the MNT is the longevity of the women players. Kristine Lilly has been regarded as the “Queen of Caps” because she holds the world record for the most international appearances with 342. Lilly has been playing on the National Team since she was fifteen years old in 1987, just two years after the team was formed. The WNT boasts having the first six out of eight players, all women, to reach 200 caps, and the only person to reach 300 caps, male or female. The closest player on the U.S. MNT is Cobi Jones, who retired in 2004, with 164 caps. Internationally, the closest male player, Mohamed Al-Deayea of Saudi Arabia, has 181 caps. Even though both teams play physical, the women tend to use more skill to beat opponents instead of force.

Another reason for this is the players on the women’s team usually start making appearances with the team, usually at team training camps, small tournaments, or the two years between the Olympics and the World Cup, during college. Lori Chalupny and Heather O’Reilly are two perfect examples of this. They both attended the University of North Carolina at the same time, and both started appearing with the National Team, while in college. Heather O’Reilly was named to the 2004 Olympic Roster, and scored a game winning goal during overtime in the semi-finals, allowing the team to later advance to win the gold medal. O’Reilly has been on the National Team ever since, while Chalupny has been on the team since 2005, and she is now the co-captain.

The Women’s Team has also fared better in international competition than then Men’s team has. The FIFA’s Women’s World Cup was played in 1991, and has been played every year since. The U.S. Women have won it twice, 1991 and 1999, and placed third in 1995, 2003, and 2007. The best performance for the Men’s National Team in a World Cup was the first WC in 1930 where they earned third place, but they have not made it past the quarterfinals in any World Cup since then. Women’s Soccer first became an Olympic sport in 1996, while Men’s Soccer has been a part of the Olympics since 1900. The WNT has won the gold medal 3 times, 1996, 2004, and 2008, and earned silver once in 2000. The MNT won silver and bronze medals in the 1904 Olympics, as they had more than one team entered, and the best they have done since then is fourth place in 2000. FIFA publishes a world ranking four times a year for the women and monthly for the men. The MNT’s highest ranking was fourth in 2006, their lowest was thirty-fifth in 1997, and they are currently ranked fourteenth. The WNT’s ranking has never been lower than second, and they are currently ranked first for the twelfth time overall since their rankings started.

Individually, the Women’s National Team players have done better than the Men’s National Team players. Mia Hamm currently holds the record for goals scored by either male or female players with 158 goals, and Kristine Lilly is second with 129 goals. The all-time leading scorer for the MNT is Landon Donovan with 42 goals, and the leading male scorer internationally is Ali Daei of Iran with 109 goals. Michelle Akers and Mia Hamm were the only women and the only Americans to be named to FIFA’s list of 125 greatest living players chosen by Pelé in 2004.

The professional leagues in the United States also play a big part in the National Teams. Currently in the United States, the top league for the men is Major League Soccer (MLS) and for the women is Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS). Every player not currently playing collegiate soccer on the WNT plays in the WPS, but it is not the case for the MNT and the MLS. In the 2002 World Cup, the eleven players with the most playing time consisted of five players currently in the MLS, four former MLS players, and two who had never been in MLS, but by 2006, those numbers were two, five, and four. If Landon Donovan leaves the MLS and goes to Europe this winter, those numbers could be zero, seven, and four. Most of the MNT players who are good enough go to play in Europe because the quality of play is better over there than it is here for the men. It is the complete opposite for the women. They have the top international players, including Marta from Brazil and Kelly Smith England, coming to the U.S. to play in the WPS instead of the leagues in their respective countries.

The WPS gives players the opportunity to play alongside national team members who normally would not have the chance and increases the pool of players to be selected. Heather Mitts, Abby Wambach, and Shannon Boxx only made the WNT when they did because they stood out during the original professional league, the WUSA. Yael Averbuch, Kacey White, Ella Masar, Brittany Klein, Brittany Bock, Amy LePeilbet, Lori Lindsey, and Meghan Schnur all got noticed during the inaugural WPS season. They either were called to Residency Camp after an extended absence or they earned their first ever call to the Residency Camp because of their performance in the WPS.
In sports, team chemistry plays a big part on how successful a team is and soccer is no exception. -On July 16, 2008, the last friendly before heading to China for the Olympics, Abby Wambach, the WNT’s leading scorer, and a key player in the team’s dynamic, broke two bones in her leg and would be out for about nine months due to having a titanium rod placed in her leg. As soon as she got hurt most people factored the WNT out of winning the Olympics because most set pieces, (corner kicks and free kicks) would go in her direction since she was such a force on the field, and there would be no way they could beat Brazil or Germany without her. They overcame an early 2-0 loss to Norway in the opening game of the group stage to win the Gold Medal against Brazil, who they lost 4-0 to in the semi-finals of the World Cup the previous year. Charlie Davies was seriously injured in a car accident on October 13, 2009, the day before the final MNT 2010 World Cup Qualifier against Costa Rica. The team was able to come together the next day and come from behind to tie Costa Rica and finish first in the CONCACAF region. After the game they thanked all of their fans for their support. No matter what gender or nationality a team is the chemistry cannot be messed with because it could be catastrophic for the team if it is.

One of the biggest differences between the MNT and the WNT is the coverage by the media. Out of the eight games played by the WNT this yeah, only two were televised in the United States, and only one was on basic cable (ESPN 2) the other was on digital cable (Fox Soccer Channel), which costs extra than a regular digital cable package. Usually the only WNT games televised are during the Olympic Games and World Cup matches. In order for a friendly match to be televised, there usually needs to be some significant reason, like when Abby Wambach and Christine Sinclair (Canada) were both attempting to score their one hundredth career goal in the same game, which has never happened before. It took two games for Abby to get it, but only the second of those games were televised. Every single game has been televised in the U.S. except for one against Honduras, but bars and restaurants could buy the rights to show the game live.

There is not nearl as much coverage for the WNT even by the US Soccer Federation. US Soccer’s Twitter mainly tweets about the MNT or the men’s youth development program. During the MNT U-17 game just before the WNT’s game against Germany US Soccer’s Twitter tweeted 84 times, but only tweeted 52 times during the WNT’s game against Germany, who is ranked number two.

There is also a double standard in the media. In 2007, Hope Solo was interviewed after being benched for the semi-final match against Brazil. After losing 4-0, she said some things criticizing the decision made by the coach, which the majority of people agreeing with her. Many people also took it as criticizing her teammate and she ended up in a lot of trouble for it. Almost every article about Hope mentions the incident in 2007 and she is still referred to as the “villain of the WNT”. In the MLS, Landon Donovan criticized Los Angeles Galaxy teammate David Beckham in a book, and it blew up, but died down almost just as fast. It really only came up again recently because the Galaxy made it to the MLS Cup this year and many people say it is because of the book. After scoring the winning penalty kick during the 1999 Women’s World Cup Final, Brandi Chastain took off her jersey out of pure excitement in what she calls “a moment of pure insanity.” This moment caused a lot of controversy in the media because female athletes never showed so much skin. Many of the male players take their jerseys off in celebration all of the time and many walk around shirtless after the game. It is a tradition where the male players will even exchange jerseys with each other after games.

When people say the Women’s National Team and the Men’s National Team are very different, they are correct, but as not much as they may think. The run of play, achievements by each team and individuals, and the way the teams are portrayed in the media are the main differences between the teams. When you look at team chemistry, it is not any different between the teams, because they live together for so long during the year, the chemistry will be there for both teams. No matter how much you look at the teams, there are going to be those major differences, but people really should not compare men’s and women’s teams because they are so different. Both teams should be looked at separately, and in place of comparing the MNT and the WNT, people should compare each team to itself instead of the two together.