NEW YORK — An hour before the members of the U.S. Women’s World Cup team made their way down Broadway here Friday morning, Shakir Alexander, a nine-year-old fan of the team from Brooklyn, was already ready with an iPod Touch and her sights on catching a shot of Carli Lloyd, her favorite player. She was confident.
“I knew they were going to win,” Alexander said of the team, against a chorus of patriotic chanting, air horns and as cubicle dwellers hurled shredded paper out of their glass and concrete perches. “I just had a good feeling about it.”
Alexander was one of a thick crowd to witness the first ticker tape parade for a women’s sports team in New York City’s history, according to the mayor’s office, a celebration of the team’s 5-2 victory Sunday over longtime rival Japan. (The last individual female athlete to be honored in such a parade was Carol Heiss Jenkins, a gold medalist at the 1960 Olympics in figure skating, according to the Alliance for Downtown New York.)
The 23-member team won the hearts of fans on July 5, and Friday were greeted by many of their younger supporters, who waved small American flags, many viewing their ride down Broadway on the shoulders of parents. They came with painted faces, selfie sticks and signs that read “Way to go USA!,” “GIRL POWER,” and “It’s Friday and I’m in LOVE w/Christen Press,” a homage to a forward on the team.
But in spite of the victory and the goodwill, the American women didn’t win a big paycheck, a fact that dominated much of the post-game analysis. The total payout for the Women’s World Cup this year will be $15 million, compared with the total for the men’s World Cup last year of $576 million, nearly 40 times as much
Since the team hoisted their trophy up in the air in Vancouver, many have pondered the pay gap, one of the largest by any metric. A common explanation for the disparity — which occurs frequently in professional sports — is that the women’s teams do not generate as much revenue as their male counterparts. And surely more detailed research could be done crunching the numbers and their implications — ticket sales, broadcast rights, endorsements, support from governing organizations — and how those factors impact growth of the sport in general.
But claims that women’s professional sports were laggards as a business proposition were challenged when Fox Sports announced that a “staggering” 25.4 million viewers watched Sunday’s game, making it the most-watched soccer match, male or female, in U.S. history. The game also exceeded every game of the NBA Finals and the 2014-15 broadcast season average of every show in primetime, according to Fox Sports, including Sunday Night Football and the primetime average of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Mike Mulvihill, senior vice president for programming and research for Fox Sports, told Richard Sandomir of The New York Times that he had underestimated the results and called the ratings “one of the most pleasant surprises we’ve ever had.” Based on those numbers, Fox, who controls the Women’s World Cup rights through 2026, will likely be able to increase interest and revenues from its ad sales around forthcoming competitions. How much of that good fortune will make its way to athletes remains to be seen.
The longstanding paradox of American soccer has been that while tremendously popular among young athletes compared to other sports, it has only recently started to gain traction with spectators.
“I’m definitely more interested,” Marissa Ecklyn, 16, said of the sport. Ecklyn was watching the parade with her sister, Danielle, 14, and the two were armed with signs to cheer the players on. Having traveled from Monmouth County, N.J., they counted local team stars Lloyd, who also hails from New Jersey, among their inspiration. A marching band played John Philip Sousa tunes and the crowd began cheering for the police officers who strode by ahead of the players. “We’re excited to see them,” Ecklyn said.
A celebration of success
Under clear skies and a snowstorm of paper, the team members made their way down Broadway to rhapsodic crowds. TV crews canvassed the parade route and a cacophony of languages could be heard as people wiggled between police barricades and into optimal places to raise their smartphones in the air for pictures. They finally arrived at City Hall, where stadium-esque music blared from speakers, their images were projected on large viewing screens and a gaggle of officials were on hand to congratulate them on their feat.
By early afternoon, the celebration was winding down and paradegoers headed into subways, police officers changed shifts and cleaning crews began their monumental task. Questions remained over whether the world champion team would generate longstanding momentum for the sport or see enthusiasm be swept away along with the confetti.
Carli Lloyd of the U.S. takes on the Japanese defense in the World Cup Final | EPA
The longstanding paradox of American soccer has been that while tremendously popular among young athletes compared to other sports, it has only recently started to gain traction with spectators, notably with teams like the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers, as well as with expanded options for watching European matches live on this side of the Atlantic.
However, after years of growth, youth soccer numbers have stagnated, or in some cases declined. Over the last decade, U.S. Youth Soccer’s annual registration of players has remained around 3 million per year.
The hope among many is that some of the Women’s World Cup interest will trickle into increased fandom of the National Women’s Soccer League, as well. Each team in the league operates with a salary cap of around $200,000, leaving many of its athletes struggling to get by on professional soccer alone.
If Maya and Hailey Silk of Metuchen, N.J., are any indicator, a new crop of fans and players may be blooming. The sisters, seven and four years old, respectively, watched the game with their father, Eli, and came to the parade with him clad in white, homemade jerseys for Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd.
“I like it,” Maya Silk said. “She scored four goals in 16 minutes!”
“We may get to see the players in real life,” Hailey said.
Her older sister took a moment to assess
“I want to play more,” she said.
Mary Pilon, formerly of The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, is the author of “The Monopolists.