Honestly, I expect the ratings for the third-place game to climb. There's just too much publicity flying around about the U.S. team for it not to have an effect.
I know that some fans are organizing viewing boycotts due to the way Hope Solo has been banned, but I think more people will want to see how the U.S. team deals with the situation.
Also, I have to call attention to Jackson's piece, because I think it makes so much sense.
Still, part of me is disheartened that the great performance of other nations and their players at the World Cup is now struggling to get any attention with this maelstrom over Greg Ryan's choice and the consequences of it.
I'm pretty turned off to the USA/Norway game. I'll still watch some or all of it (time shifted) but really, it's all about Germany/Brazil right now. If I'm going to crawl out of bed early to watch one of these games live (as opposed to time shifted) I'd rather see the Final, frankly.
ReplyDeleteI hope the Final doesn't suffer ratings losses over this USA debacle, but the bigger concern is that women's soccer at large is going to suffer greatly from this. Much depends on whether casual (put generously) fans can separate out the USA debacle from all of women's soccer or not. Time will tell.