Hello, sports fans!

First, a warning that this post might be a bit of a rant! I’ve been thinking about the response to the first game played by the US Women’s National Team in the World Cup, and I can’t seem to let it go.

But before I go there, how about a huge Congratulations to the St Louis Blues on their first Stanley Cup (Play Gloria, right?)!  And a big Congratulations also goes to the Toronto Raptors, on their first NBA Championship (We the North)!

Now, I don’t know how many of you watched Team USA in their opening match of the Women’s World Cup last week, but their celebrations after scoring each of their record 13 goals has caused quite a stir in the social media world!

Let me start with addressing those that accused the team of unnecessarily running up the score. In case you missed it, the U.S. team routed Thailand 13-0 , and social media was filled with people who argued that the Americans total domination of a lesser opponent was either unnecessary or unsportsmanlike. 

But there are very good reason to keep playing hard and run up that score:

  1. Goal differential matters – In the World Cup, the top two teams from each group advance, and scoring differential could be the determining factor between seeding and, sometimes, it is even used as a tie-breaker for advancing past the group stage.
  2. Momentum and Preparation – Coach Jill Ellis said she was coaching for the big picture in the Cup — getting her team better on every play and building confidence — for the sake of what’s next.  “A World Cup is about competing. It is about peaking. It is about priming your players ready for the next game.” 
  3. Respect – A lot of people will argue with me, but I believe coach Ellis is right when she says “I think to be respectful to opponents is to play hard against opponents. I respect Thailand. I celebrate that they’re here.”
  4. Records are made to be broken – Would you pass up the chance to break records? Probably not. So why be angry with the women who took the opportunity to break or tie records of their own?

About the celebrations, and the haters that think the team should have toned down their celebrations after a certain number of goals? I watched the game, and don’t see anything wrong with team members celebrating every time one of their own scored a goal. In fact, I thought their enthusiasm was totally appropriate! Here’s why:

  1. This is the World Cup, not the rec league our kids played on. These women have worked their whole lives to be here, and deserve to be excited.
  2. Where would you draw the line? Abby Wambach, who has played in 4  World Cups and is the leading goal scorer in U.S. women’s soccer history with 184, summed it up like this: “It’s the World Cup folks. For some players this is (their) first World Cup goal, and they should be excited. Imagine it being you out there. This is your dream of playing and then scoring in a World Cup.” Would you tell one of these rookies they were not allowed to celebrate?
  3. Enthusiasm is not tasteless – I appreciate excitement and enthusiasm, and I never saw anything that crossed the line or went on for long periods of time. The team was fired up, and their enthusiasm showed. I hope they keep it up for the rest of the Cup!


I’d love to hear what you think about it! Share in the comments below.

Until next week,

Carrie