The Face of Women's Soccer!
We are about to kick off against China in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. But I need to get a very important message to Heather Mitts, Rob Stone and FoxSports1.
Abby Wambach is the face of women's soccer.
On June 16 during the Fox Sports World Cup Tonight show, Stone and Mitts got into a discussion about how US Soccer has been looking for a face of women's soccer since Mia Hamm retired. The conclusion was that Alex Morgan was that face. It ended with a slightly creepy, but extremely revealing comment, by Mitts about how Morgan "appeals to men."
A video clip of this discussion can be found on my twitter page HERE. After my initial reaction, which was - why is this even a feature - I started thinking about what Stone and Mitts were really saying.
Basically they were saying that because Morgan appeals to men, and has had some success on the national team, she is now the face of the team. On the one hand they are correct. She certainly has the most endorsement deals.
On the other hand Wambach has 184 goals and 245 appearances for the USWNT. She is the all-time leading scorer not just for the United States but for the entire world male or female. This is her fourth World Cup. She is arguably the greatest player of all time. The stats aren't even close. Not yet at least.
Why don't they consider Wambach the face of women's soccer? Do they not remember this moment in 2011 at the World Cup?
Other than Brandi Chastain scoring the game-winning PK against China in the 1999 World Cup Final, this is the greatest moment in USWNT history.
It is interesting to note that a few days after the original feature FoxSports1 did a piece on Wambach that stood in stark contrast to their original comments.
Maybe they realized it isn't just men watching the Women's World Cup. Or maybe they came to the conclusion, like I have, that Wambach's history of greatness, her strength, and her personal courage make her the face of the USWNT. A face all men, women and children can look up to.
I hope so for the sake of my two daughters and all women who inspire us!
