The first time I had post world cup depression (PWCD) was four years ago. I had just returned from a solo road trip up to Maine. My best friend had just moved to the West Coast and I had taken a sabbatical in hopes of finding a work-life balance and getting pregnant.
I remember rolling around in my bed into early afternoon each day so low, unmotivated, yearning for another game. The tournament ended with Wambach announcing her retirement. Without Wambach on the pitch how would this game look? Who would Rapinoe set up over and over again? I remember obsessively searching video montages of her epic goals and interviews. I was so thirsty to learn about the three players I had fallen for, deeply, Wambach, Solo, Lloyd. As I watched video footage, I found the Solo interview that caused havoc in 2007.
And that interview hooked me instantly. I wanted to know more. More about Solo’s ability. More about her life. More about her. Could she really have made that save in that game? Was she as skilled as she thought herself to be? How does one get to a mindset in which she believes in herself so confidently? I mean I am confident, but I have days full of insecurity. I wanted what she had. I wanted it all. I wanted to play, feel that rise of a win.
Hope was my ticket into loving sports. (A sentence I never thought I’d say in my lifetime.) Before this tournament, I am sad to say, I was a bandwagon hopper. Once we or a team got to the finals and there was significant hype around it, I would choose a side and watch the game, usually bored and multitasking. I hated sports and have been known to take my Kindle to live sporting events and even Superbowl parties. I used to equate sports with patriarchy.
Until.
Until I saw how patriarchy affected women’s sports and more than that how even female fans believed in and stated that men’s sports are more entertaining to watch. A year ago, my husband and I got into a heated discussion about this and he said: “women don’t support women’s sports! Why do you think the WNBA struggles to stay afloat?” Though I was infuriated at the time, it got me thinking about how I was raised and how we raise girls in our country. I remember the numerous times I teased my best friend’s sister when we were in high school for being a “tomboy”, caring more about sports than how she looked or what she wore. How much I yearned to be an athlete but had no way in, as a teen brought up by parents who had strict beliefs about girls and boys. I think about the girls who are athletes who are told to act like ladies, or called lesbians as a put down.
The truth is sports were boring to me because I didn’t know the game; I didn’t know the story–the backstory–and I didn’t know how to follow the story of an individual game. Recently, my pal AW said, “I honestly believe each game has a story arc of its own.” My eyes flew open. Yes. Games are stories. And girls, most girls, not all, are brought up without this literacy.
It was the backstory of Hope that soothed my PWCD and turned me into a super fan who went to see the World Cup this year. I read her book which gave insight into her focus and decisions on and off the field. When the masses punished her for various decisions she made off the field, saying she was unprofessional, etc., I had a different point of view. One that questioned double standards of female and male professional athletes.
The first time I had PWCD I dove into the history of the US Women’s National team. Today as I encounter my second bout of it, I yearn to relive the story of this tournament.
I used to think all sports were an evil representation of patriarchy, but now I see that our society puts us into boxes: girl boxes and boy boxes. Now I see that actually the way we treat the players of each game is a little ancient. Our practice is ancient. And it is time to change the game.
Change the game by showing up–watch women’s sports.
Change the game by showing up–cover women’s sports on big name networks.
Change the game by investing–get owners who have the money to pay the players enough so they can pay their bills!
More fans at games means the business owners will want a piece of that. It seems simple, but has to be an every body effort. From this former hater of all sports, I am here to tell you two things: 1. Post World Cup Depression is real. 2. It is time to change this game.
