The Intoxicating Joy of the NWSL

 

Women’s sports are having a transformative moment. The days of male domination of professional athletics are over. While the NFL, MLB, and NBA are still the top in terms of revenue and attention, the WNBA and the NWSL are here to take their well-deserved piece of the action. 

The NWSL Final on Saturday night between the Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit provided engaging sport and dignified spectacle. The game was played at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, the first venue ever constructed specifically for women’s soccer. It’s the home stadium for KC Current, whose ownership group includes Brittany and Patrick Mahomes. The venue’s design is a mix of sleek minimalism and an old school football barn. 

The game itself was a fantastic football match. The tactics of the two teams produced tight and well-played theater. Washington Spirit played a 4-3-3 on their front foot and were always looking to pass the ball downfield. The Orlando Pride played a 4-4-2, a more defensive formation often used by a team comfortable out of possession. The Pride wanted to lure the Spirit into turnovers and send long balls to their forward combination of Barbra Banda and Marta (which is how they scored the game's only goal.) The NWSL Final had everything you want from a football match: strong players, intriguing strategy, and high stakes.

What the final didn’t have was the annoying and exhausting “scream and roll” from the men’s game. The S&R occurs when a men’s footballer is fouled and follows a familiar pattern: player grabs their leg, screams into the ether, and rolls around on the ground as if they've lost the use of their limbs. The whole point of the S&R is to produce a foul from the referee and it’s the lamest stuff ever. Granted, football is a physical game and serious injuries do occur. But if you’re not hurt and the foul has been called, get your ass up and play.  

Another reason the NWSL final was captivating was the story of Marta. Marta Vieria da Silva is widely considered the best women’s footballer the world’s ever seen. Check out her goal from the semifinal against Bay FC.

Sweet Georgia Brown that’s pretty! Marta rushes the ball straight at the box and stops at the perfect moment, which causes two defenders to slide by like they’re in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. She cuts inside to beat the keeper, steadies the ball with a touch, and punches it into the net with her toe. This is “Hold On, I’m Coming” by Sam & Dave in football form. You may create something as arresting but never something more.

Marta was born in 1986 in Brazil and, despite holding a record for scoring in five different World Cups, has never won one. Her professional career has been largely split between Sweden and the United States. She joined the Orlando Pride in 2017 and had not won an NWSL Championship until Saturday night when the Pride defeated the Spirit 1-0. The joy was intoxicating to behold.

The NWSL is the best women's soccer league in the world and the time to get into it is now. Average attendance in 2024 was over 11,000 a game and it's never been higher. The Premier League and La Liga are an ocean away but players like Marta, Rose Lavelle, and Trinity Rodman are here in America. We can go see them. 

Generations of sports fans have been conditioned to believe that only men play sports. It's a reductive, small way of thinking. Let's be honest: men are bigger, faster, and stronger on the whole. But that doesn't necessarily mean better. The sound a basketball makes when it goes through the net is addictive no matter who shoots it. You can't stop life from being beautiful every once in a while. Many of those times happen in gyms and on fields where people of all genders can play and enjoy these ridiculous games. Sports can make us grow. They can make us believe in what's possible. And they condition us to learn from heartbreak.   

My dreams and bags are safely stowed aboard the NWSL train. Women's sports are having a breathtaking moment. Let's all enjoy the brilliance of the ride. It'll be beautiful.