My characterization of Rapinoe really chaps you the wrong way, doesn't it. Now you know how I feel when some uber rich celebrity or athlete calls me and others like me who voted for Trump a racist, a hate monger, a misogynist, a Nazi or any other wonderful name they can think up at the moment. You probably should just ignore me when I blow the occasional fuse on here because I'm not changing.
Well there's 2 hrs. of my life that I'll never get back. What an embarrassment. It was somewhat nostalgic. It reminded me of the terrible midfield play I used to see at some high school games. This is the same level of play that couldn't beat Trinidad Tobego in world cup qualifying. They suck and aren't worth watching.
George, it actually has nothing to do with the object of your post. It has more to do with the vitriol that you used to express your disagreement with them. "Angry Dyke" is something that exceeds any definition of civility, at least in my opinion. But like you said, to each his own.
This will all die down pretty quickly, as they fade from the front pages. I wish Rapinoe would have just played soccer, but that's not her so we have what we have. People wanted Michael Jordan to be politically active, they wanted Tiger Woods to comment on politics. They wisely kept their opinions to themselves. I watched some of the MNT match with Mexico, not being a soccer fan I didn't know what to take from it. I didn't watch the 2nd half. But from what I read we're still a long way from being competitive on the World stage with the big boys from Europe and South America.
One of the issues that Rapinoe and other women in sports are trying to change is the equal pay issue. It certainly is a easy argument for those whose work is as an accountant, engineer, medical professional, sales clerk. You have a job and if you do it well you should be paid for how you do that job not whether or not you are a man or woman. But in sports it's different. Your earnings are dependant on the crowds, the advertising, your endorsements, etc. Now in this case it's about National Teams, it's seems a little trickier but still the money that Women's World Cup brings in will be exceeded significantly by the money the Men's World Cup will bring to the various National Assn. There is no way the WNBA players can make anywhere close to what the NBA players take home. I don't think any sport, tennis, golf, hockey, soccer, etc there is enough revenue for the women to be paid the same as the men. Wimbleton will pay the same money to both the Mens and the Womens champions, not sure if the other majors do the same.
Read an article on what the USA needs to do to maintain it's position... found it very interesting. Opinion: The Women's World Cup showed Europe is on rise. What will USWNT do to keep pace?
Not sure we need to fix what ain't broke. However, I agree that the cost of playing at an elite level is pretty steep. I have a granddaughter who is playing at the "elite" club level in a league with teams from large cities in NY, PA, OH, KY, and TN. The cost of travel and lodging just for the player, much less for the parents, is quite high.
And I will double down on it today based the video of her and two team mates and how they treated the flag when they saw the camera was on them. Threw it on the ground and almost stepped on it when a fourth team mate snatched it up before Rapinoe had a chance to walk on it. She is just plain nasty and disrespectful.
I think this is the video that George mentioned. The Instagram poster was one of the few who survived the embassy attack in Libya. Probably will need to turn your phone sideways to landscape mode to see the video.
It will be interesting to see if this impacts commercial endorsements for these women. Rapinoe especially.
It will impact her endorsements. Nike can't wait to have her in their stable. She's just what those great patriots out in Oregon want.
"The total prize money for the Women's World Cup in France this July was $30 million; the total prize money for the men’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be $440 million." According to Forbes, the total revenue for Men's WC was $6 billion. The teams shared 7% of that. The total for the last Women's WC was $73 million of which the teams shared 13%. This year's WWC is estimated to bring in $130 million and dole out $30 million (23%). Revenue Disparity Explains Pay Disparity Between Soccer World Cup's Men And Women Maybe this year's interest will spark greater revenue for the women's team(s) over the next four year cycle.
The equal pay movement in women's sports is troubled by the difference in revenues that their sport(s) have compared to the men's sports. I'm not even sure that the WNBA could even exist on it's own like the NBA does, without subsidy from the NBA. Maybe it could, the NWSL (soccer) makes it somehow but for as big as women's soccer is on the HS and College level, there are only 9 teams and those women don't make a lot. Their salary's are capped at 46K, with the league min of 16k. It's just economics, they can't pay even top international stars like Alex Morgan or Megan Rapinoe anywhere close to what top men earn. WNBA players make more than NWSL players. But I'm ok with them keeping the pressure on the National Federation to improve their pay and to make sure they have other benefits like health insurance. They just have to be realistic.
You get paid whatever you can command for the services your provide. Better get it quick before men start identifying as women and take over this sport as well.