Women's World Cup: U.S. Claims Another Title

English: Carli Lloyd of the United States Women's National Soccer team warming up prior to a friendly match against Canada on September 17th, 2011. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The United States won the FIFA Women's World cup for the third time Sunday in Vancouver, British Columbia.  The last one was in 1999, back when Hillary Clinton's husband was President, and Brandi Chastain flashed her sports bra in celebration after she scored the winning penalty kick against China at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

No such histrionics this time at B.C. Place Stadium, as the U.S. coasted to a 5-2 win over Japan--who they had lost the World Cup to in 2011.  The Americans scored four goals in the first half--three of them by Carli Lloyd, who was rewarded with the most outstanding player trophy--before the Japanese team knew what hit them.  Tobin Heath and Lauren Holiday also scored for the U.S.

This was clearly the Americans' best performance in a tournament where they had been criticized for their sluggish offensive play, which was the game plan of coach Jill Ellis.  It must have worked because it got the U.S. team to the final.

This World Cup had its problems before the opening kickoff, indicating that FIFA hasn't quite put the women's tournament on a par with the men's.

• Matches were played across Canada from Vancouver to Moncton, New Brunswick.  But where was Toronto, the most populous Canadian city?  That's like holding the World Cup in the United States, but New York and Los Angeles aren't involved.
• There were complaints that some of the Canadian Football League venues being used had artificial turf instead of a natural surface.
• Hotel accommodations were less than ideal, with some teams lodging in the same building.
• The apparent sexism of FIFA's worldwide TV feed, which included shots of Hope Solo looking like she's suggestively hydrating herself.  And why were women crossing their arms during the player introductions?
• FIFA president Sepp Blattner is reportedly having second thoughts about his decision to resign.  Considering the mess the organization's in right now, Blattner should stick to his first thought.

Fox's TV coverage was a relief to those who had feared the worst when they took over the World Cup broadcasting rights from ESPN.  The best you could say about it is that it wasn't terrible, unlike the U.S. Open golf coverage.  Having been on a steady diet of British soccer voices the past few years, it was quite a jolt to hear Americans call the tournament for a change.  Other than J.P. Dellacamera, who has been doing this for decades, the rest of the Fox announcing crew sounded like refugees from a college sports channel.

The U.S. team has its share of stars that will carry them into future competitions:  Lloyd, Heath, Holiday, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan.  Abby Wambach is leaving the game a winner.  Hope Solo?  Once the afterglow of this championship has dimmed, Solo will be back fighting the domestic abuse charges that made people wonder whether she should have played in this World Cup in the first place.  Her performance in goal should have settled that question.

This was the most watched soccer event in American TV history, with Fox claiming 25 million viewers for the final match.  That's more than for the NBA and NHL finals.  Which is easy to do on the Fourth of July weekend against summer reruns and a rain-delayed NASCAR race.

The jury is still out on whether Americans will watch women in sports beyond the Olympics and the World Cup.  It's hard enough to take female athletes seriously, given that pro leagues in soccer and basketball are struggling to find an audience, without having to sex them up.  They deserve better than that, and not just every four years.