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<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Nicely said. I do feel like something of a sore loser on this one; for most of the match the US women were superior; unfortunately that does not win a soccer match. I am disappointed, but will continue watching the exciting matches of this WCC.<div><br></div><div>Reid Baron<br><div><br></div><div><br><br><div dir="ltr">Sent from my iPhone</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Aug 6, 2023, at 4:12 PM, richard crepeau via Sport_literature_association <sport_literature_association@lists.ku.edu> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr">
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<span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"">SPORT AND SOCIETY FOR ARETE </span></p>
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<span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"">AUGUST 6, 2023 </span></p>
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<span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"">The most important development at this year’s World Cup is the arrival of several new competitive teams on the World Cup stage. Maybe this is not parity, but it is an indication
that the gap between the traditional powers and the newcomers has narrowed. There have been a number of major surprises in terms of the teams advancing to the knockout stage and the teams that are heading home. </span></p>
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<span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"">Before the tournament began, Columbia, Nigeria, Jamaica, Morocco, Switzerland, and South Africa were at the far end of the odds maker’s lists. Canada, Germany, and Brazil were
among the favorites to advance to the round of sixteen. These three did not advance, while the six long shots did. As for the heaviest favorite, the United States as defending champion, was a logical pick. They did advance but did so in what was regarded as
a lackluster performance, nearly being sent home when a shot by Portugal hit the goalpost and the U.S. escaped with a tie. </span></p>
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<span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"">For these results alone, this has been an historic World Cup and a very encouraging sign for the future of woman’s soccer. Beyond these results, the highly competitive nature
of the matches has further spoken to the tremendous growth and development of woman’s soccer across the globe over the past three decades of international competition. </span></p>
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<span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"">So much has changed. In 1991, Michelle Akers starred for the United States at the first Women’s World Cup in China. She scored ten goals in six games, including both goals in
the 2-1 final against Norway. The game was played before 65,000 fans at Tianhe Stadium in Guangahou, China. Akers scored the winning goal in the final minutes, a goal listed in Sports Illustrated’s 2014 “Ten Most Important Goals in U.S. Soccer History.” On
National Public Radio and then in my Sport History class, she recounted the experience. </span></p>
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<span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"">One of the most striking things was the fact that U.S. Soccer officials tried to ignore the achievement of the women. On returning to the United States, the team was not met
by anyone from United States Soccer at the airport. It seems U.S. soccer officials did not want the women to overshadow the men’s team. Akers then enumerated the many ways in which the women’s team faced discrimination by the male officials: Poor practice
facilities; no sponsors and no sign that anyone was trying to get a sponsorship; no subsidies for the players. Some officials were, in fact, angry that the women won the World Championship. </span></p>
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<span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"">Personally, I was only just beginning to develop an interest in woman’s soccer and had only a minor curiosity in international soccer. Michelle Akers was responsible for calling
this sport to my attention. As an undergraduate at the University of Central Florida(UCF), Michelle Akers attracted national attention leading UCF’s team to national prominence. She earned the award as the best soccer player in the nation in 1987 and 1989.
She was voted as an All-American four times, and FIFA voted her as the co-winner of the award as the outstanding female soccer player of the 20<sup class="x_ContentPasted0">th</sup> century. One small note on her international stature is a poster I had in
my UCF office featuring Michelle and Pele who were on a joint tour for the Mars Candy company, a sponsor of the 1991 World Cup. </span></p>
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<span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"">I first saw Akers on the soccer pitch during practice at UCF. When you see a world class athlete for the first time you know immediately what you are seeing. On the practice
field, it was obvious that she was playing at an entirely different level than her teammates. Seeing her in a game underlined her special talent. </span></p>
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<span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"">By 2015, at the World Cup in Vancouver, things had changed dramatically. In the finals, the U.S. defeated Norway by a score of 5-2, scoring two goals in one four-minute streak
and four goals in a sixteen- minute run. There were 53,000 fans in the stadium and another 23 million in the U.S. television audience. The television rating for NBA finals that year had the highest rating for any U.S. World Cup match in history to that point.
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<span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"">The women’s game had grown globally. Discrimination against the women had been reduced in many countries, but not all. As we can see now, that process has continued, and the
results have been on display in New Zealand and Australia over the past few weeks. </span></p>
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<span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"">Despite the elimination of the U.S. by Sweden on penalty kicks, it should not be forgotten what an important role the U.S. team has played in the growth and development of the
women’s game. Nor should the role played by Michelle Akers and her teammates be forgotten. They laid the foundation; they inspired many of the players who came after them, nationally and internationally. </span></p>
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<span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"">When the finals are held at this World Cup, it might be well to look back to the early years of the U.S. national team when on one occasion they played at a small soccer venue
in Orlando, and even with Michelle Akers leading them, the crowd did not overwhelm the ticket takers. </span></p>
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<span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"">On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don’t have to be a good sport to be a bad loser. </span></p>
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<span class="x_ContentPasted0" style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"">Copyright 2023 by Richard C. Crepeau </span></p>
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