NWSL Debuts – Maybe Third Time’s the Charm

The first regular season match of the NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League) between Portland Thorns FC vs FC Kansas City just concluded with a 1-1 tie. Now that the league has started, what can we glean from this first game?

Women’s Pro Soccer in the United States has had an interesting history. The WUSA (Women’s United Soccer Association) was nothing but class from the fan’s perspective. Unfortunately, it also hemorrhaged money. The WPS (Women’s Professional Soccer) tried to fix the money problems, but in the end it succumbed to not enough deep-pocketed owners without agendas. Enter the NWSL (which, for the sake of syllable-economy, I’ll say aloud as en-dub-ess-el). If there is any mantra coming from this league it’s “save money”.

The first game was played on a football turf field at a high school. Whatever the economic realities, for the debut game of a professional league, you want to put your best foot forward. Although the game was a sell out (attendance was reported at 6,784) — and the importance of that mustn’t be minimized — for the viewing audience, a proper soccer pitch would have been preferable. But even that is but a quibble compared to the online stream problems.

Unlike the WUSA and WPS, there is no television deal currently in place. The games will be streamed online. This is hardly surprising, given that the more firmly established WNBA also has to display its product mostly online as well. The Achilles heel of streaming is bandwidth at every step of its delivery. There are many bottlenecks that are a constant threat to douse enthusiasm and support. This first NWSL live feed started OK. It was streamed on YouTube, and while there was no pregame — the match started right at the opening kick, and some viewers had a problem with resolution — the first half went without a viewing hitch. No sooner did halftime start when the stream sputtered to a stop. For the most part, it never regained its first-half stability. What did increase was fan ire in the comment section. Something regarding the feed broke at the start of halftime and it never really got fixed. When the second goal of the game was scored in the 67th minute, the stream was lagging seven minutes behind real-time. Needless to say, the natives were restless.

Not exactly the auspicious start you would hope for. Technical feed problems and a make-do field give a very low-rent impression to the league. It may very well be the most honest impression, but if you are trying to grow audience, maybe it would be better to slap on an extra coat of paint.

As for the game… it was a bit of a surprise. With Portland boasting forwards Alex Morgan, who’s foot has been setting goals on fire, and Christine Sinclair, who (as of this writing) is the third highest international goal scorer in soccer history (male or female), you expected the KC goalie to have her hands full. Unfortunately for Portland, the performance of their midfield didn’t come close to matching the abilities of their scorers. Kansas City, who got the league’s first goal off the foot of Renae Cuèllar, played more cohesion and energy. If that continues, they will be a headache to all their opponents for this is a team that has the potential to be a threat from opening kick to final whistle.

Obviously, it’s too soon to give any sort of verdict on a league after just one game. There are definitely some wrinkles they’ll need to iron out, ideally sooner than later. The first priority is to have stable streams and video feeds. You aren’t going to grow an audience if the audience doesn’t want to endure the experience. Next, they need a television deal in addition to the feeds. Regardless of whatever cash flows into the league from a broadcast deal, right now it’s about exposure and legitimacy. Third: as soon as possible get teams onto proper soccer pitches. Gridiron lines forever label this the “kiddie league”. That turf is even considered for FIFA’s 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada (it’s scheduled to be in 5 of the 6 stadiums) shows that not one centimeter of respect can be given away by the women at any level of soccer.

I’m rooting for this league. I really enjoy women’s soccer and I will cheer on every single tier-1 pro league that gets formed in the U.S. in the hope that one will finally not only endure but thrive.