To The Editor
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LETTERS To The Editor |
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Topics
Token Tour?
Is the U.S. Women's National Team improving or getting worse ??? Is the U.S. Women's National Team improving or getting worse ??? The U.S. has played Canada 3 times this year.....this spring, early in the current administration's reign,we won 9-1, i believe......after months of new coaching etc.. We tied Canada 1-1 last August (yes, we outshot them, like we outshoot everybody), then this past weekend we LOSE 3-1 to a Canadian Team who's last match was in August against the USA....IS THE REST OF THE WORLD CATCHING US, OR ARE WE CATCHING THEM ?????? Sara I attended the game against Canada on Saturday 11/11/00. My family and I took a chance and drove to Columbus from Fairborn Ohio (just out side of Dayton) to the game. We were not sure if there were any tickets left or not. We drove for an hour yet were not sure if we were even going to get in. I have two daughters that play soccer. One is a 9th grader playing for her high school and one is a 4th grader. I spoke to my oldest daughters coach on Sunday after the game. She advised me her father had called Ticket Master about a month before the game and he was advised that the game was sold out. I don't know how many people had been told that, but I am sure that had something to do the lack of attendance at Saturday's game against Canada. Thank you for your time. Cammy Snyder I agree, not only is this tour in the middle of the NCAA tournament... CG
WSW has received many letters of suppport and thanks for the U.S. Olympic Squad's performance and we are pleased to post a selection here. To
the U.S. National Team From the first time you came to our notice at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics until we watched in stunned disbelief as the so-called golden goal took the Gold Medal from you in Sydney, our entire family has cheered your splendid exhibition of superb soccer skills and, more importantly, your genuine sportsmanship and ability to play the game. Never were you pulled into the seemingly enticing web of playing against the player -- the pure physicality of "taking out" your opponent instead of playing your game. We gasped at the cheap shots taken against Mia, Kristine, and Tiffany, to take them off their game, and the other team members, whenever the going got rough for your opponents and the scores against them were accumulating. Not only did you not retaliate, but you beat them by the best show possible -- by scoring goals. Hurrah!!! And, another important factor (to a woman, anyway): you are great athletes, but you still look and act like women!
We read everything about you we can get our hands on and attend all the
games within easy (or hard/long) driving distance of our New Jersey home.
We have all the World Cup games on tape and periodically review the highlights.
Our daughter loves to look at the goals and try to figure out how she
might, as a goalkeeper, stop them. Her favorite saying to her twin brother
is "What's the difference between women's and men's soccer? " A World Cup (in 1991) ...A Gold Medal (in 1996)...A World Cup (in 1999)! You have given us all an incredibly glorious ride that makes us proud to be citizens with you in this great country. We will still continue being avid fans, of both the collective team and the various professional teams we will be near next year. Thank you for being wonderful role models and lovely Americans who performed with great skill, style, and grace -- as winners, all the way, whatever color your medal. To borrow a phrase from our British friends -- Long may you wave.......Liz Forbes Dear Women's Soccer World, I just wanted to
send a note to express my thanks to the U.S. Women's Soccer team for all
of their amazing efforts and accomplishments this year. David Alves, Somerset County, NJ I am proud of the teamwork, hard work, dedication and sportsmanship shown by all members of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team. I am sorry they didn't win the gold but I want them to know how they honored every American for not only how they played but for who they are. God bless you all! You have all found a place in the heart of all Americans. George Kraus, Montclair Editorial - NBC's poor coverage is frustrating and insulting READER RESPONSE Mario Rimate While it may not
be a consolation to the fans of the U.S. national team in this particular
moment, it might please some people that RAI, Italy's state-run t.v. network,
ACTUALLY showed the last 25 minutes of the final. The commentary was by
two journalists who exclusively report on the men's game in Italy (league
championship, cup matches and World Cup qualifying games). They were both
very generous with their comments on the two teams on the field. With
regards to the Americans, one of the commentators used the following words
to describe Lorrie Fair's athletic and technical skills: "extraordinary"!
And that is something pretty extraordinary in itself because very RARELY
do Italian sports journalists talk so highly of the women's game (Morace's
2-1 victory yesterday over the Slovak Republic only received 3-4 lines
of commentary in the major sports papers!). While perhaps 2nd place isn't
just good enough for a lot of people, including the Andres Cantor...Zip it! Mr Cantor, If you have nothing nice to say...zip it. Nobody wants to hear about it. Somebody please remind Andres Cantor that he is broadcasting for the American audience. I'm tired of that GOOOAAAL crap...it's becoming overrated. And I am sooo sick of his stupid and biased comments, especially against the American women. It doesn't matter that Mia Hamm is the greatest striker in the world or that this team won the 1991, and 1999 World Cup, or the 1996 Olympics. According to him they're winning because the referees are "for the Americans". Give me a break!!! The American audience doesn't want to hear that...tell us more about the team's accomplishments. By the way where on earth is JP Delacamera? He knows more about this time team than any other sports commentators in the world and most of all he doesn't focus on their flaws. The Gold Medal game is really special, and I hope Mr. Cantor will shut up for one moment and stop raining on these women's parade.
N-othing B-ut C-lips NBC is embarrassing
itself. With commercials every five minutes, it is N-o B-ody C-ares.
DID OUR SOCCER GIRLS GO TO THE OLYMPICS? I'm sorry, I'm confused!! Every time I sat down to watch NBC for coverage of the Olympic Games all I saw was swimming, gymnastics, swimming, swimming and gymnastics again! AND WHERE WAS MY FAVORITE SOCCER TEAM IN THE WHOLE WORLD?? And where was NBC all this time? Do all these players that give us so much pride -all over the planet- with so much dedication and devotion, deserve such a treatment? C'mon, people! Open your eyes! Learn to respect the Best! It doesn't matter if its a woman or a man! Desperate------------El Paso, TX I think the womens soccer coverage is horrible! It's not that they don't have coverage or that it is being ignored, it's that the times are incorrect, inconvenient and on channels no one has ever heard of. Doesn't anyone know when the games are and what stations they will be on? HELLOOOO!! Do your job NBC. Kandice Whitman It amazes me that a country (USA) that claims to be the strongest in the fight for equality does not understand that this applies to Sports also. You do not see this kind of shabby coverage of Football, Baseball &/or Men's basketball. I keep thinking that the Good Ol' Boy system is going to die out in my lifetime. When you look at the sports channels on satelite they all will have football, baseball, basketball or another form of " REAL Men Sports" as they see fit. Why can't we have USA Soccer televised as well as these sports??????? I have four children, 2 stepchildren, nephews, cousins etc.... that all play and watch soccer. My husband and I both play as well. I know that there is even more interest and support in other states than Oklahoma. So my thought is why can't we get the networks to cover Soccer as well as other sports. NBC's coverage of the Womens sport in the Olympics is deplorable!!!!! It is a shame that they can't figure out from the support of Soccer in the World Cup that it would be a good sport to cover!!! I could go on & on about the lack of TV coverage of Soccer in the USA. BEYOND FRUSTRATED!!!!!!!! Olympic TV in Italy from our soccer writer Mario Rimati I see that many
in the U.S. are upset over the poor Olympic coverage. It's even worse
in Italy. You would think that for a country which has as its no. 1 sport
soccer that the state-run t.v. network would show 5 minutes of the women's
game (even though Italy is not there). But no. They will show us 20 minutes
of the women's softball game between Italy and Canada (with all the respect
I have for softball). Watching France's France 2 channel I actually got
to see the U.S. men's team defeat Japan for the semi-final match against
Spain. I'm sure that the French will show us something of the semi-final
match between the U.S. and Brazil (women), and perhaps even the If you thought you had bad coverage.... Here is a different Olympic TV view from Jeremy Ruane, NZ Women's Soccer Writer ..........Greetings from New Zealand For those of you
berating the variable coverage being afforded the women's soccer action
at the Olympics by NBC, spare a thought for those of us in New Our local broadcasters, TVNZ, whose commitment to soccer can be written on the back of a postage stamp in large print (after which there'd still be loads of room left over!), have deemed the men's gold medal match of suitable importance to show it live, while highlights of the men's semis will also be shown. As for the chance to see Mia Hamm et al in action, in any way, shape or form ... give me NBC's coverage any day, be it live or delayed
As an ardent soccer fan (especially the women's national team) I am really disappointed in NBC's coverage of the Olympic games. I know that they have a commercial interest in showing the games but the way they are handling it could be so much better. The very least they could do would be to announce the times of their broadcast. I do not appreciate having to check every hour to see whether the game has started. I would like to plan my own time and still be able to watch from the very start of play. Since it is taped the broadcast time should be available. Does anyone know the broadcast time (EDT) of the gold medal match on Thursday? The bronze medal game? This should be on their web site but isn't. The Sidney time means nothing to someone who wants to watch in Virginia. The disgraceful National Broadcasting Network It would appear that the only U.S. match I will be able to see occurred today. And the coverage stunk to the high heavens. The commercial breaks were simply reprehensible and the announcer was just plain terrible. For my part, I will watch NOTHING on NBC hereafter. My cable system has pretty much taken care of insuring that I watch nothing on MSNBC. When I called the local Cable company, the clueless operator remarked, "gee we've had a lot of requests for MSNBC recently ...". GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! -- Paul Reilly I cannot believe that NBC's coverage is so horrible. I mean, I can barely stand to watch it and I love the Olympics! Sometimes I have to turn the mute on because of their stupid commentators. What really frustrates me is that they aren't playing any of the Women's (or men's) soccer games on NBC. This means that I have to get up and drive to my grandma's house and comandeer her tv set so that I can watch the game. NBC dared to say that they put the less popular sports on MSNBC and CNBC. How dare they say that a sport such as water polo is somehow more nationaly popular than soccer? Those women changed the face of soccer when they began their streak in the '96 Olympics, then on to the '99 World Cup and the '00 Gold Cup. They deserve much more than they are getting and I think NBC is dispicable. Thank you for letting me vent this! ~forming an angry mob in Ohio - The MSNBC announcer just released the schedule for Saturday's US Men's game with Japan! He said, "The game will be played today at 11:00 a.m. Eastern and Pacific time." Now, I'm really confused. Exactly when did both coasts get melded into the same time zone? Sheesh!! Wadda buncha idjits! R. Nall -------------------- Frustration! Frustration! Frustration! Okay, so here we are avowed fans of American Women's soccer and more than a little bit interested in American Men's soccer and in a nutshell what we'd like more than anything is to watch ALL their games from start to finish. We'd also prefer not to know the outcome before we watch. Seems simple doesn't it? Seems like it shouldn't be too much to ask, right? So, how come we can't find an articulated schedule anywhere? How come we have to settle for NBC's scattergun schedule: "Game will be replayed somewhere between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m" or somesuch? How come, as though suspense had nothing to do with the watching experience, we are one hundred times more likely to stumble over the results long before we find the approximate playtime? How come we have to sit with our fingers poised over the VCR record button waiting for a glimpse of American soccer players to trigger our "start" time? Or hover near the television all day for the privelage of catching the start of the game? How come they chose such an obnoxious announcer who's command of the English language is surpassed by the average first year immigrant? Who's principal claim to fame to date is the creation of a little at home game called "race for the mute button or listen to me bawling like a cow with a lost calf everytime there's a score"? Honestly folks, what I expected to be an wonderful opportunity to enjoy seeing our American soccer teams at their Olympic best has instead turned into the equivalant of a "sorry, but the game time schedule is a needle in a haystack - oh, by the way here's the score, will that do? - poorly announced - who cares about soccer anyway -Oympic bummer? Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! R. Nall Pissed off in California. I heard that the ratings for the Olympics was down...no big surprise. Each time I've tuned in the coverage has been on the same sports, swimming, gymnastics, and weight lifting of all things. Nothing against these sports but they hold no interest for me at all, and I'm sure the majority of viewers...that explains the ratings. The sports I'm most interested in seem to barely make the tv, soccer, softball, baseball. These are sports that people understand and enjoy. It is a terrible shame that two teams that are strong competitors (women's soccer and softball) are barely seen. Good luck to the women of these teams!! Boo to NBC and their poor coverage choices, maybe next time they'll get it right and there won't be moans heard about low ratings! I have to say that I haven't even tried to watch the game 'live' when NBC broadcasts it. I have 2 VCRs and program one (with an 8 hour tape) for the complete 7 hours (at least during the week it was 7 hours) on SLP and then the other one for 3 hours (with a regular 6 hour tape) at the LP setting guessing that it would be in the last 3 hours - which it has been so far. That way I have a chance at the entire game being taped and can fastforward through the extremely long commercials. I agree that NBC made a second major mistake by bringing in that announcer - he had neither the style or the content needed to announce games like these. ----------- Totally agree with all! When will it stop? So when is the next game? Joing me in the Twilight Zone to find out... N O T ! Desperate Soccer Fan MAN, I couldn't agree more with all of these people about the soccer games!! All games should be sent LIVE, no matter what time it would be, that's what they do in other countries(read Norway!!!)!! All games should NOT be interrupted by this freaking commercial breakes every 5-7 minute, other countries(read Norway) uses the half time break to send this crap! NBC should understand that when they don`t tell us when the games will be on, they create unnecessary frustration among soccer fans, in Norway...I`m just kidding, but I honestly can`t understand why it`s SO hard for them to tell the People of USA when the games will be on!!!!! By the way, I really hope Norway and USA will meet in the finals, in that way, we can repair the bad impression you people must have gotten from that game! But most of all I want to watch good soccer games, fair playing and a gold medal to Norway!!:) Best wishes for all the american athletes!!! Norwgian Girl in California!! NBC + Olympic Women Soccer coverage = STINKS After all the Women have done for the sport and the country I find it unbelievable NBC has such a total disregard for them. First Olympic Gold, 99 World Champs, 2000 Gold Cup, and wins in every tournament they have been in this year. This team is the greatest. If I had it my way, anyone having anything to do with the programming decision would be out on the street looking for a job. I could live with the tape delays but they won't even broadcast them. Not everyone has a satalite system to get MSNBC. Please keep the pressure on them so that this "crime" won't happen again. Thanks for your site. Best of luck to the Womens National Team. Bring home that gold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Once again the NBC coverage of the Olympics is abysmal. Do they really think anyone wants to watch 20 minutes of blabbing and commercials with approximately 2 minutes of actual events thrown in? I have not seen any soccer coverage (men's or women's) since the two opening games. And those two games made me want to throw something through the TV. Why can't U.S. Television realize the effectiveness of banner advertising without stopping a game every 8-10 minutes (even if it was taped)? And then during halftime of the men's game they have a 15 minute report on boxing. Is that a sport? Even the announcers acknowledged the myriad of problems and corruption with boxing both nationally and internationally. Why did they waste the time taping anything so pitiful. I doubt any of these comments will make a bit of difference but I hope to see the day when NBC is filing bankruptcy because no one is watching. I long for the days when I lived in Europe and could see the soccer games I wanted without paying for an expensive satellite system or pay per view. I only hope they (NBC) have the sense to show the finals when both the U.S. men and women advance. Perhaps next time I will win the lottery and be able to go see the games in person! Sincerely, Extremely Frustrated It goes beyond the poor taped coverage and the numerous commercial breaks. The mere fact that the announced tv/cable schedules do not give you anything more than a 4 to 10 hour window prevents you from accurately setting your vcr for the times you have to be at work or at your kids' soccer games but want to tape the Olympics. The game against Nigeria I missed the last half because of that fact. -- Fred Mittelman USA women's soccer tv coverage I wholeheartedly agree with those who have already written to complain about NBC and their dishonesty about how they will cover women's events in the Olympics both in 1996 and this year! They bragged in 1996 about how this was to be the "women's Olympics." Well if you agree that gymnastics is all there is to women in the Olympics, perhpas this would be true. In the year 2000, it is evident that gymnastics is highly overrated and very unappealing. I have never seen such a poor showing from all involved. Perhaps it will finally be acknowledged that gymnastics is highly abusive of young women. But back to the women's soccer coverage. It has been impossible to find out when in the world the matches would be broadcast!!!! Even with the assistance of the worldwide web, there have been conflicting times given out for broadcast times, or no information at all! With all the $$ spent, why can't NBC do a better job???? Could it possibly be the monopoly factor? (i.e. they don't care!) Please, please protect us from further NBC olympics! The coverage of
womens soccer has been driving me nuts , iIgot up at six in the morning
to watch the game Sunday only to find out it was aired at nine oclock
when i was at work . The game against Nigeria was supposed to be aired
at six thirty in the evening today . i told the boys at work not to bother
me i was going to watch the game only to be juked again it aired "somewhere
between 9:00 and 5:00 what is up with this . i have been a fan since seeing
the girls play the World Cup last sincerly I just fired off an email yesterday to the MSNBC site regarding the incredibly lame coverage of women's team sports (or ANY team sports for that matter--witness the unsung men's baseball team). I tried to watch the US/Nigeria match but was soon relegated to taping it because of the intrusion of commercials (on cable!) EVERY FIVE MINUTES (yes, I timed it). I could only watch it later when I could fast-forward through the damn things. You would think that after last year's debacle with the complete televised shunning of the gold-medal women's soccer and softball teams followed by the smashing success of the World Cup, NBC would have managed to get a clue. Alas, no, we are subjected to endless swimming and gymnastics and filler personal profiles. Coming up--endless track and field and the accompanying heart-warming tales--wheee! Frustrated in the USA, Jackie Hurd NBC coverage The tape delay is no big deal to me. What bugs me the most is when they go to commercial just as a run on the goal is happening! I can't tell you how many times we have screamed at the television during these first three games. Teresa in San Diego In reading your page today I was inspired to send this e-mail and share my experience with you. On 9/20/00 I wanted to tape the US vs Nigeria game so that my daughter and I could watch it in the evening. The evening of the 19th I proceeded to research what time the game would be televised. The only information that I could find was on your web site stating that it would be shone on MSNBC between the hours of 10:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M EST. Since my tapes for my VCR can't cover that amount of time, I proceeded on the morning of the 20th to contact my local NBC affiliate to nail down the exact time that it would be aired. My local affiliate could not provide me the time but was able to provide me the phone number (not toll free) directly to MSNBC. Great, now I'm thinking I'm getting somewhere, right to the source! I called the number to MSNBC. When the gentleman answered the phone, I asked him at what time were they going to air the match. After shuffling some papers and asking a few voices in the background, he proceeds to tell me that it would be on between 10-5 EST! DAAAA, I already know this much, I tell him I need a more exact time than this. He say's that's all we know! I then said, wait, you mean to tell me that this match has been taped to be played back at a later date and time and you people can't even tell me when that is? He then states, I'm sorry but that's all we know. I then expressed my dissatisfaction with the whole Olympic coverage that has been provided by NBC and it's affiliates. Everything from 4 minutes of athletic coverage and 8 minutes of commercials to the annoying ,biased, no it all, non-sports playing Bob Costas! Someone also needs to clue these idiots into the popularity of soccer in America, It has to be the fastest growing sports here. The NYSL recreation league (one of many in the Indpls. area) that I coached in for three years prior to my daughter joining a travel club this year has a membership of around 1,600 kids a season! I assume that I will experience the same hardship in determining when we can view the semi-final on the 24th. My daughter has two matches that day and we can't sit in front of the television all day waiting for NBC to flip their coin to decided when to air the match! Thanks for allowing
me to express my frustration! NBC Soccer Coverage Yesterday I attempted
to watch the U.S. Women battle Nigeria on MSNBC. It was a very frustrating
experience, to say the least. It seemed like every 3-5 min, NBC cut to
commercial....right in the middle of the action. When the play resumed,
they had let time pass during the break. That was unacceptable considering
it was on tape delay!!! The least they could do if they won't show it
live is let the fans see the whole frickin' game. See, that's why you
tape shows. Sincerely, A Frustrated Fan
nbc' coverage of women's soccer games Just wanted to say that i AGREE with your comments 100% about the way NBC is handling the coverage of the women's soccer games. The job that Mr. Cantor is doing is not very good, his voice is very irritating to me. J.P. Dellacamera does a better job at announcing than Cantor does. if i worked it out right the network is taking a soccer game that is on tape and it is cutting at least 12:30 from each half. that is just not right. well at least it's going to save me a lot of time and video tapes because i am not going to watch or tape any more of their coverage. will just look in the paper for the results. that's my ranting for today. tv coverage of usa women's soccer NBC has done a dismal job in several ways with respect to coverage of our USA Women's Soccer team. Their web site is full of bugs (bad links to wrong pages, javascript errors, and circular links, don't their web developers test their stuff ?). They also don't provide times when their taped delayed broadcast of the games will occur. They give soccer on a list with other sports during a general time period e.g. 10am to 5pm. Pretty lame if you ask me. Tell me it's at 2:00pm and i'll find a way to get free for 2 hours to watch these wonderful women play. And what about prime time to capture a larger audience ? Maybe they fail to understand how popular this team is here in the States. All I can say is, "what a bunch of boneheads". Then they have the nerve to provide a link to where you can by VHS tapes of the games from them !!! Are their producers on drugs ? I currently have the NBC coverage on and, gee I am not watching it. They are showing ANOTHER featurette/bio. Enough already. I want to see the games and live! Let me make the decision to stay up or tape it. I taped each of the women's games and now get to edit out all the junk they put with it! ARGH! There are so many sports that are not being covered fairly. Shooting, rowing, archery (and many more) are just given sound bites worth of time. These athletes have worked so hard and so long, just like all the others that are shown (swimming, gymnastics). Jill Packard Hi my name is Sara. I am 11 years old and am on a competitive soccer team called Magic City. It's so much fun.
For many years women have not been treated equally. They could not vote, be some sort of government, or have their own sport. They where in the house doing dainty things women did back then like sweeping, mopping, cooking, taking care of the children, and sewing. They never got to do what they desired. They never got to show their inner self. I live in the US where soccer is a big thing ( as you probably already know). Woman's soccer took a big sweep in fans after we won the World cup. Now I think some of the men aren't being viewed as much as they had liked to. It is very unfair that the women in Mexico don't get paid as much or have uniforms like the men. Maybe they are a single mother who is struggling to pay the bills. But she doesn't stop playing soccer because of the money. She keeps playing because she loves soccer and wants it to be a part of her for the rest of her life no matter what. She is playing for the love of the game. Just like me, my Mom, and my sister. Thank you for all your time and I hope the women and men in Mexico hear my letter and decide to change their minds. Sincerely I am ashamed I read your comments about Mexican soccer team and I am really ashamed with the treatment the Mexican Soccer Federation gives them. I am soccer fan and I am Mexican too, and I am proud of my country's women's team, but they deserve a better treatment, because they make their best effort. Thanks for reporting about their effort and the treatment that they receive. I hope that comments like that help to make a change. Diana Torres. This has got to change The game of soccer can be smelt on a day when there is sweat pouring off bodies, dirt on faces, sun beating down, and players trying their hardest to get to even a single ball. People that put all their effort into this game should be awarded, or at least treated with respect. I am sure the Ladies on the Mexican team have trained very hard to get there and have had a tough time with society. Their parents probably had to pay a lot of money to get them into whatever soccer university or on whatever team and I know that when I am a mom I will not pay thousands of dollars to see my child that has worked and trained hard all her life and put all her effort into her sport and show up on gameday as a professional looking like a slob because of the men's team??? What exactly is the problem here??? Why can't they just play their sport in peace and get a fair try??? I don't really know who is in charge of this but Mexico should be proud to say that they have a wonderful, well-trained women's team but instead they put them in these uniforms, ( Or uniform as i am corrected meaning one) and the people think of them as a complete joke. They should be able to play their sport in peace, and should have support. It makes me so sad that in some places there is no respect for hardworking women fulfilling their dream. This has got to change. Sadly your story on Mexican Women's soccer is true Dear Womens Soccer World... Hopefully with the advent of the WUSA, and the ever-growing popularity of women's soccer that will soon change. Best Regards, WUSA Congratulations from Australia As a former Australian International I congratulate you on the birth of the first fully professional Women's Soccer League. It has been a long time coming, It's a pity I am so far away as I would definately be a permanent fixture in the crowd. What an opportunity for any young player to be able to play at this elite level and make a career out of the game they love. I wish I was 16 again I would be on the next plane to the USA. Once again congratulations. Maria Doyle
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