Kaufman: Women’s soccer goes from novelty to must-see

How refreshing that the overriding narrative of the Women’s World Cup is no longer: “Gee, isn’t it great that stadiums are filling up for a women’s sport?” or “Gee, it’s amazing how many little girls are playing soccer,” or “Gee, some of those ponytailed players are hot.”

Women’s soccer has evolved to a point where U.S. fans are debating who should start at forward and whether short or long corner kicks are more effective.

The sport has matured to a point – at least in this country and Canada – where it was assumed that 50,000-plus fans would show up for a World Cup group game. Fans have come to expect that Women’s World Cup matches will be televised. It hardly comes as a surprise anymore that of the 3.9 million youth playing soccer in the United States, 1.6 million of them are girls.

There were 318 women’s college teams in 1991, the year of the first Women’s World Cup. There are now 1,183.

I covered the 1999 Women’s World Cup final, that magical day when more than 90,000 fans packed the Rose Bowl and saw the U.S. beat China, and then witnessed Brandi Chastain’s iconic sports-bra-revealing celebration.

Today, American star forward Alex Morgan has 1.75 million followers on Twitter. Goalie Hope Solo has 894,000. Abby Wambach has 477,000, and gutsy midfielder Megan Rapinoe has 298,000.

Fox’s coverage of the U.S.-Nigeria match drew an overnight rating of five million, which is highest ever on U.S. television for a group match and 285 percent higher than four years ago. And it was going up against Game 6 of the NBA Finals, which drew 15.9 million. Last Friday, the U.S. vs. Sweden 0-0 game drew 4.49 million, and a day later Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final drew 5.26 million.

But the most obvious evidence that the Women’s World Cup has become a “real” big-time sporting event in this country is the pressure on the American team to win it all.

Long gone are the days of just saying, “Good try, gals. Go U-S-A!”

This U.S. team hasn’t won since 1999, despite its heavily marketed players, and fans are getting impatient. Anything less than a championship trophy on July 5 will be considered a failure. Team USA will have to play better than it has so far to go all the way.By winning the toughest group in the tournament, the Americans got an easier road to the semifinals, where they may have to face co-favorite Germany, which won back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2007. In the Round of 16, Team USA will play Colombia, who finished third in Group F, and then would face China in the quarterfinal.

This U.S. team certainly has the talent to win the title. Its players have finally emerged from the shadows of 1999 stars Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Michelle Akers, Kristine Lilly and Chastain.

Now, it’s time to prove they can fulfill the big-time expectations.