Day at a Glance

Women's World Cup popularity only the beginning

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Posted: Friday July 09, 1999 07:32 PM

Hear them roar: The sellout at the Rose Bowl boosted the average attendance to more than 38,500 for 17 tournament games. Jamie Squire/Allsport

By Steve Almasy, CNN/SI

PASADENA, Calif. - The home page of wwc99.com says it all: "The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Final is now sold out."

How stunning.

What is it the advertisement for the cigarette for women used to say? Does "You've come a long way baby" ring any bells?>

Now while the players on the U.S. team probably don't like being called baby -- except maybe by one Austin Danger Powers -- they have in fact come a long way. And women's soccer as a whole has too.

It was hard just a few years ago to imagine the nerve of a person scalping a women's soccer ticket, but come Saturday there will be people outside the Rose Bowl pitching seats in the upper stands for well over the face value.

"We've been telling people this event was going to be a big deal, but we never thought it would be like this," World Cup spokesman Steve Vanderpool said this week. "It just blows us away at the organizing committee."

It blows away the critics, too. They've heard for 20 years or more that soccer is the sport of the future. For 20 years or more they've disagreed and pointed out there's not enough scoring or it's just plain boring to watch or the offsides rule is the stupidest thing they've ever heard of in sports. But they were always talking about men's soccer. No one followed the women's game.

Not any more. They are women, hear them roar. Better yet, watch them score. They've done so on the field and with the fans, girls and boys that are now flocking to watch them play. And you can bet that many of those fans will be asking mom or dad for the first time if they can sign up to join a league this fall.

Folks, this may be only the beginning.

Storylines We're Following Hamm's hamstring The United States needs Mia at 100 percent, and to use a cliche, play at 110 percent. In the semifinals, with Norway unable to mount an attack, China's midfielders had all night to dissect their opponents. U.S. defense The Americans have had shaky moments and have been bringing young Lorrie Fair as a second-half substitute. "They" need to play as an "it" and not get caught ball watching. Jet lag The East Coast reporters just in town for the final have only a hint of what the Chinese team has gone through. The complaints of the U.S.'s opponent will have to subside now that the 25,000-mile sojourn has been completed with a Chinese trip to the final.   Players to Watch Each day we'll take a look at three key individuals. Kate Sobrero She'll have to mark Sun Wen out of the game for the United States to win. Gao Hong If she makes a big save early, something she's immensely capable of doing, the day could be a long one for the U.S. strikers, who tend to get frustrated when things don't go their way. Julie Foudy A team's success - or lack of it - can often be attributed to the play of its midfielders. Foudy has been in the background in the past few matches. She should seek the spotlight Saturday.   Bandwagon U.S. goalkeeper Briana Scurry Hamm has admitted she'd be overmatched in a men's league, but the athletic Minnesotan might do well. She displayed amazing reaction saves in the U.S.'s 2-0 semifinal win over Brazil. Nationalistic talk This is sport, not politics. Just let 'em play the game. Chinese midfielder Liu Ailing If she had one of those footwear commercials depicting players as infants, it'd be of a young lady blasting a volley through the bricks of the Great Wall. Two thousand fans at practice That has to be distracting for players who can remember important matches with fewer fans.

 

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