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Picture this: A huge stadium filled with more than 14,000 screaming fans, most of them girls under 14 accompanied by two parents who only want to give their daughters everything they desire in life. What are you imagining? A Justin Timberlake concert, or maybe the concert of some other major pop star who is a magnet for preteen girls? While that situation is possible, try to imagine something else. A deep green, perfectly manicured playing field, 22 women and one soccer ball.
The FIFA Women’s World Cup made its way to Boston on Sept. 27 for a doubleheader. The two matches attracted thousands of fans to Gillette Stadium to cheer on some of the most elite women soccer players in the world.
The atmosphere inside was something that Gillette Stadium probably doesn’t see very often. There were no surly, cynical fans acting bitter because of their team’s lack of talent, or the amount of injuries their team acquired during the game last Sunday. Instead there were fans whose excitement exploded outward with smiles, painted faces, soccer ball temporary tattoos on their arms and t-shirts with their hero’s names on the back: Hamm, Hooper and Mellgren. The majority of the fans there did not care who won or lost or who scored or not. Instead they cheered for great plays and great goals on both sides. They didn’t yell or curse or become angry when players lost the ball, made a bad pass or missed the goal. These fans, young and old, women and men, were happy to occupy Gillette Stadium for a day and watch some of the best in the world play soccer.
The absence of the United States from Saturday’s games did not seem to faze the fans in Foxboro. Looking out over the crowd, one saw groups of Koreans, Norwegians, Japanese and Canadians cheering on their countrywomen, hoping along with their team, that they would make it out of group play and into the quarterfinals. Only team Norway and team Canada managed wins, but the Korean and Japanese fans did not jeer the opposing teams. Instead, they cheered along with everyone else with the feeling that watching the games was enough.
Instead of forgoing the games this weekend, the U.S. fans attended, glad for the chance to watch World Cup soccer in person. The decision to hold the Women’s World Cup in the United States this year was made in early summer. Originally, the Cup was to be held in China, but FIFA, soccer’s governing body, determined the SARS outbreak was still too serious to allow the Cup to go on in that country. The United States won the bid to host the Women’s Cup for the second time in a row to the great enthusiasm of soccer fans all over the country.
Unlike the Women’s World Cup in 1999 there has been little to no media fanfare about this year’s tournament. Women’s soccer is no longer a new story. Instead, it is a story that will always be topped by the United States’ win in the 1999 final on a Brandi Chastain penalty kick, no matter how thrilling the outcome of this year’s Cup. But none of this matters to the young girls who attended the games this weekend.
The thrill comes from standing on the edge of the locker room tunnel waiting for the players after the game hoping to get an autograph. It doesn’t matter to these girls whether it’s Mia Hamm who autographs their shirt, or a Canadian player who did not even get any minutes in the game.
Thrilling for these fans is watching the ball being played up the field, knowing that this run will end in a goal, and not caring to which team the goal is awarded. Just being able to see that goal scored is enough.
The ultimate thrill of women’s soccer for the young girls who came to the games on Saturday came from watching their favorite players do amazing things with the soccer ball and imagining themselves making those same amazing passes and shots one day. Women’s soccer is not about media attention, money, or star players. It is about the love of a game and the love and appreciation of the fans who come out and watch.
Bangor Daily News