by Last Thursday, The Athletic released an interview with Lindsey Horan whose fans probably weren’t coming to buy his replica shirt.
Apparently, the co-captain of the United States’ premier women’s national team thinks that “American soccer fans, most of whom are not smart … They don’t know the game. They don’t understand.” In fact, she threw them a bone, adding: “[But] it just keeps getting better and better.”
Nestled within a conversation that bemoans everything from the misunderstanding of Horan’s team-mates to the ingenuity of TV pundits, the Lyon midfielder, Champions League winner and 2019 World Cup Champion insists we need to focus more on football – the football, according to Horan, the fans don’t always understand.
Before considering the merits of Horan’s inflammatory accusations, it’s worth considering the tactful nature of America’s co-captain – she splits captaincy duties with Alex Morgan but dominates when the two are on the field together. The 29-year-old man from Golden, Colorado, who has 139 caps to his name, has a thriving diet in football. When asked to describe her ideal day without playing football, Horan replied that it would be watching football It’s easy to imagine Horan in a permanent state of football consumption, engrossed in small talk, calculating ways to improve her game, furrowed brow.
Horan’s unique path reflects his palate for the sport. In 2012, she passed the traditional development path for USWNT stars of a college career in America, choosing instead to go professional in Paris at the age of 18. After returning to collect NWSL trophies with the Portland Thorns, Horan after taking up residence in Paris. Lyon, where she regularly starts as the leader of the most decorated women’s team in Europe.
Horan’s experience playing the game across the continent is abundant; her eye for the game’s idiosyncrasies is refined.
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Within that context, one can see why Horan could kick back and criticize a football culture that needs to be smart to get better, especially after last summer’s Women’s World Cup failure. But despite Horan’s reputation and accomplishments, her flippant portrayal of American soccer fans isn’t quite right — especially in the context of the women’s game.
In general, it is often repeated as a banal truism that soccer is not popular in the United States. But that is not entirely accurate. Although it is not No. 1 – and that it won’t replace the NFL as king anytime soon – soccer remains popular and widely played in a country of more than 330 million people.
Whether it is measured by income, attendance, spectators, participation or interest, soccer is easily one of the most popular sports in the United States, often beating out tennis, swimming, golf and boxing. It is often considered one of America’s “big five sports” – along with American football, basketball, baseball and ice hockey – a unique place in soccer in that it is the only major American sport in which it’s the best men’s league in the world (or even close to the top. league). no based in USA. This means that the most talented US male footballers must seek careers abroad to reach the game.
Because of the endemic desire of the American consumer to seek the best _____ Regardless, many fans pledge their support to various international leagues, often in addition to watching Major League Soccer.
On the women’s side, while the US Women’s National Soccer League is certainly among the best in the world, US women have long sought the growth that comes from playing overseas. Generations of stars from the four-time World Cup champions played in Sweden, Australia, France, England and Germany.
Similarly, women’s soccer fans in the US eat a tapas menu of leagues and tournaments, while still considering their home league to be elite and their national team one of the most competitive.
All this comes in addition to the fact that many American fans come to appreciate the sport from an international perspective in the first place, discovering the game through relatives and parents born abroad, or from traveling abroad . The cultural fitness of American soccer fans is a default feature, rather than a rare occurrence. This often suggests a more sophisticated understanding of the world’s most famous game.
In addition, the incredible success of the pioneering USWNT nurtured generations of American girls who grew up playing and loving the game, generations who have gained an edge over their peers around the world.
The legacy of 1970s-era legislation like Title IX, which accelerated development at the collegiate level, codified playing time for aspiring young Americans at a time when professional women’s soccer had recently been illegal in other countries. This paid dividends in the 1990s, when the United States collected two of the first three World Cup trophies.
The cultural legacy of the so-called ’99ers’ (think Brandi Chastain taking his shirt off after scoring the game-winning penalty against China, claiming the USA’s second Fifa title) accelerated the interest of played so much, for many years, young girls. in America they were perhaps more likely to grow up with a ball at their feet than their peers in other countries.
Over the years, USWNT fans have been spoiled, treated to the most successful women’s team on the international stage. It’s true that conditioning and athleticism once set the team apart, but it would be misleading to discount the technical abilities and football IQ of anyone from Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly to Tobin Heath, Sam Mewis or Crystal Dunn. At the same time there has been a growing respect for that lethal combination of intellect and temperament, athleticism and skill.
Exposing the fans to high-stakes football, and the country’s elite talent performing at the highest level, dedicated American soccer fans knew what a cohesive, World Cup-winning squad looked like. And it is for that reason that many knew, from the first kick of a ball they made in New Zealand, and without the help of comedians, that they did not have it last summer.
It is worth arguing for an honest confrontation with the problems in US women’s soccer: ways of development, tactical flexibility, and the training of coaches must be considered. But it is not quite accurate to say that state supporters lack sophistication. Especially considering her status as America’s captain, Horan’s comments were thoughtless and careless.
