The afternoon of July 5, 2015 in Vancouver, British Columbia was unusual in a couple of ways. A spate of wildfires in Pemberton combined with an atypical lack of wind coming in off the ocean to leave the city shrouded in a thickening cloud of smoke. By the time the sun was skirting the horizon, the intensifying cloud had bled it of gold, leaving only red as it dipped behind the Pacific. And, by that time, the other exceptional event had concluded, and the United States Women had been crowned World Champions.
The game took place on Canadian soil, and it had been American Independence Day the prior afternoon, but on July 5, downtown Vancouver looked like the aftermath of a Fourth of July Parade. With seemingly every-other human being draped in stars, stripes, and red-white-or-blue face paint, as the day pushed on toward kickoff, the streets rang out with more and more shouts from Canada’s raucous, neighboring visitors. With an hour left to kickoff, we made our way down to the stadium amid ever-increasing chants: I believe that we will win. And: I believe that she will win.
And then, the atmosphere within the stadium was even more electric. There were a strong number of Japan supporters, to be sure, but from the gates to the seats, it was apparent: this was going to be a home game for the United States. And what a game it was—essentially decided less than half an hour in. At halftime, resigned to fate but not to let the occasion slip into melancholy, a slightly tipsy Japanese fan walked down toward the restrooms, chanting—with a smile on his lips—as he passed those of us sporting American flags and Abby Wambach jerseys: “I don’t hate you per-son-ally! I don’t hate you per-son-ally!”
And now, with all that done and dusted, the United States Women’s National Team are World Champions. What’s more, their fully convincing 5-2 Final victory was historic on multiple counts, including the fastest ever hat trick in the tournament by Carli Lloyd, the highest scoring final match, and the most ever championships, with the USWNT’s third trophy eclipsing Germany’s two. And what’s even more, they did it against Japan, the team that undid them in the 2011 World Cup Final. Still, even with that accretion of more and more, greater and greater achievements, the game’s greatest achievement was arguably off the pitch—in the homes of tens of millions of Americans.
A Sporting Achievement; A Feminist Achievement
On the eve of this year’s World Cup, Maggie Mertens wrote in The Atlantic about how supporting women’s football is not just an enjoyable pastime; it’s a feminist project. And it can be both. And it should be both.
On July 5, 2015, the Women’s World Cup Final shattered American television records. Throughout the match, an average of 25.4 million viewers tuned in to watch the action, with the numbers peaking near the end of the match at 30.9 million. That means that as many Americans tuned in to watch the US Women lift the World Cup Trophy than live in the top 15 most populous US cities combined. New York, Chicago, LA, Houston Philly and Phoenix—all of them but a fraction of the Americans who watched the Women’s World Cup Final. Further, the TV ratings are not only the best for a women’s soccer match in the United States; they’re the best for soccer regardless of gender, having substantially outstripped the record held by ESPN for the US Men’s National Team vs. Portugal in the 2014 World Cup, when 18.7 million Americans tuned in.
The USWNT has worked hard for recognition—some among them even going so far as to file a lawsuit against FIFA in the name of gender equality. Despite the fact that their legal endeavors failed to find enough traction to get the tournament played on real turf instead of bits of rubber, on July 5, the US Women’s hard work paid off, not only in the form of winners’ medals, but in the statement made by these TV ratings. Of course, not everyone who watched that match had followed the team from qualifying up to the final with a great passion for the USWNT, and many would probably, if pressed, say they do not consider themselves feminists, and might even explicitly dismiss women’s athletics as inferior to men’s. But they still tuned in to see what happened.
It may not be the best route, but in the global capitalism of our 21st century, it can be argued that the most efficient engine for social change is, simply, market share. And this month, the United States Women’s National Team proved that there is a substantial market, at least at the level of international competition, for women’s football in America.
In her article before the tournament, Mertens reported that, in 2014, ESPN’s SportsCenter devoted a mere 2% of its airtime to women’s athletics. There are a lot of fantastic, passionate sports journalists at ESPN, many of whom consider themselves feminists, but ESPN Inc. is in the business of making money, not forwarding gender equality—just as its parent, The Walt Disney Company, is interested more in profit margins than the happiness of children. This is, simply, the way things operate within capitalism. But on July 5, the United States Women’s National Team helped to mobilize nearly 31 million Americans, who, however passively, stood up to say I give a damn about the women’s game. If capitalizing on that support means more coverage of women’s sports nationwide, even if it is ultimately in the pursuit of profit, for gender equality in America, it is nonetheless a step in the right direction.