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[boiliterallymylife-blog]

USWNT-All Eyes on the Future.

Have you heard of the USWNT? You might have in recent years thanks to their back to back World Cup wins in 2015 and 2019. Their notoriety to bring attention to Women’s sports in both the U.S. and across the world has been cited as the resurgence of interest to help continue to fund females in sports as a whole. Their performances were called captivating and even record breaking. Not only have they brought more eyes to the largest stage in all of female sports, the Women’s World Cup, but they also have set a precedent that the United States should dominate in football going forward with the amount of talent the country produces. That is of course, until the Men’s team lost and also failed to even qualify in 2018 and 2022. Not to compare the two since they both foster very different environments for their team, but the juxtaposition in success the two teams have produced is eye-catching. 

With their upcoming World Cup slated to begin this summer in Australia, the Women’s team will have many eyes on them to see if they can three-peat a World Cup title, a huge feat to boast for all fans of U.S. football. However, with more eyes on them than ever, that means more critics have been drawn to the stage eyeing their every move, waiting for them to falter.

Some articles in recent months have placed a microscope on mistakes the team is making and while some are friendly and suggest what changes they and the fans would like to see, some provide no constructive criticism and just find pleasure in mocking the team This new legacy of championships has placed a huge target on their backs to be taken down as the reigning champions of Women’s football. One article from ESPN brings up many great points about the double edged sword the women's team has been stuck in. Specifically, how they will be criticized if they lose the world cup and how they will be criticized if they win yet again due to “Women’s soccer being bad,” a statement said by many male football fans who have yet to respect the sport. I love the way ESPN brings this up since it almost warns the reader to be ready for only a negative reaction no matter the outcome of their standings. Another great point the article brings up is the shakey nature the team has been hit with recently. It seems that many of the past World Cup winners have retired and besides one or two household names, the team seems to be entirely new young 20-something year old players fresh out of college or even high school. This has placed many skeptics at the forefront of the belief that they will not win due to no veteran on the team to guide the way, like Christie Rampone or Abby Wambach in the past World Cups. 

NBC brings up a great point that even though prior tournaments help the team prepare for a longer, more strenuous tournament,  like the World Cup, there is no accurate representation on how the team will perform until they get on the World’s biggest stage. The article details each player's strengths and weaknesses in a thorough breakdown to help even the casual fan understand why they may not succeed at the tournament this year. It also breaks down what the team might do in every outcome of the World Cup, a format I have not seen for an op-ed of Women’s football. I love the way this article is structured. It has three parts: one for discussing all of the plans the team may have in all scenarios following the World Cup, one for discussing who may be holding the team back or propelling it forward, and one for media examples of what they are doing right according to fans and coaches. This three section article helps break down the team in a great analysis to help any reader understand the situation and want to follow along unlike a wall of text that other articles may follow.

Many girls looked towards their achievements in closing the wage discrimination the Women faced with their low prize money after two World Cup wins. Especially after Title IX, Women’s sports exploded, especially soccer. They could carry many womens on their team, equaling out the male to female ratio of sports players in their schools. Insider makes a great point that after Title IX and the World Cup win in 1999, other countries were not as quick to develop their Women’s soccer programs causing the U.S. to get a head start for the next few years. It seems that this head start has not let up, with the two wins in the 21st century adding an exclamation point to this head start. Women’s leagues overseas started to double their spending in Women’s football leagues. Now will money equal success? Time has yet to tell, but time has shown that other countries are catching up

With all of the support, criticism, and records on the line for this upcoming World Cup, it is no wonder many eyes will be watching to see how the U.S. The Women's National team responds. Now will they falter, or help carry another little girl's dreams to play internationally one day?