Most everyone in the media were calling for the Swiss to upset the Canadian national soccer team at the Women’s World Cup. Kudos, then, to the ladies in red, who gutted out a 1-0 win against two of the most dangerous individual threats in the game.
More to come, but here’s a taste:
Fox Sports is reporting that the game between the United States and Nigeria this week garnered the largest viewing audience of any Women’s World Cup Group Stage match in history, and the third largest of all time. Only the finals in 1999 and 2011 have drawn bigger American television audiences.
The game itself was less than stunning, a statement with which my Pucked in the Head compadre Chris Withers will be happy to concur. With a berth in the knockout rounds almost guaranteed, the US played a conservative, defensive game. They were more content to limit Nigeria’s forward movement than to create any of their own. Consequently, keeper Hope Solo had little to do but wave at her adoring fans and glare at the officials.
The Globe and Mail’s Cathal Kelly has been making a lot of friends lately.
The sports columnist for the national rag has raised the hackles of more than a few with his coverage of the Women’s World Cup. He began on June 4th, with a mildly amusing and utterly harmless hit piece on the city of Edmonton in which he suggested that Toronto would have been a more appropriate host with the eyes of the world watching the opening ceremonies. He was half right. Edmonton wasn’t the best choice. Yesterday, Kelly continued to aggravate women’s soccer fans when he panned the entire tournament to date as boring and dreary. Once again, he wasn’t wrong.
Continue reading The Missing Villains of the Women’s World Cup
Tonight’s 2-0 win over the Seattle Sounders was one of the most entertaining matches to grace BC Place in years. Two wonderful goals, spectacular netminding from Vancouver Whitecaps keeper Brad Knighton, and high energy fun from supporters of both teams.
Speaking of which, here’s just one of the many fans in blue and white this night.
Match report to follow in another post.
Vancouver fans have a reputation around North America for being obnoxious. Sadly, I actually met a group of those jerks at the Rogers Arena game six viewing party on 13 June. They were lewd, lowbrow, and once Boston put the game out of reach, threatening. If all Vancouver fans were like them, I wouldn’t want the Canucks to win the Cup, either. They joked about starting a riot if the Canucks lost, and swore a blue streak – loudly – despite the presence of kids and seniors. This group of young men and women – of an ethnicity that I will not mention – were, and are, an embarrassment to their families and to Vancouver as a whole. Shame on you, you selfish sacks of crap. Shame.
On the other side, I’ve had the luck to meet plenty of fans of these Canucks who are decent folk partying it up in support of their team. They deserve a championship, and I truly believe in the next few years they will get one. Here are seven of them:
1. Joe wears a Flying V jersey and some of the most vibrant face paint in the city.
