Here you go! vs. May the best teams win.
FIFA Women’s World Cup – 16 Teams, 8 MatchesPost + Comments (102)
This post is in: FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, Open Threads, Sports
Here you go! vs. May the best teams win.
FIFA Women’s World Cup – 16 Teams, 8 MatchesPost + Comments (102)
by WaterGirl| 70 Comments
This post is in: FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, Open Threads, Sports
Originally published Jul 13, 2023 at 13:35 Update: Big game tonight!
This post is in: Excellent Links, Sports, social media
How a fan community united to send indie women's soccer media to the World Cup: https://t.co/s9KyFB9tQs — Defector (@DefectorMedia) July 23, 2023 Something cheerful from Defector, for soccer (and social media) fans: Most of the USWNT’s most exciting young players are Black. Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith, Naomi Girma, Alana Cook, and Alyssa Thompson will be …
Morgan Lavan, a self-professed “very online person,” soccer fan, and original supporter of both Diaspora United and Shea Butter FC, saw Gal Pal’s thread and asked if it would be OK for her to set up a fundraiser to send Diaspora United and Shea Butter FC down under. “It was just like, why not?” Lavan says. “Because, you know, it couldn’t hurt if it didn’t pan out. I definitely knew the women’s soccer community was going to support them. But the amount of support in the short amount of time was just wild. It was so cool to see.”
Lavan posted a tweet announcing the fundraiser at 9:17 p.m. on June 21. She says it raised $2,500 within an hour. “That’s when I was like, OK, I’m going to broaden it to $10,000,” she says. “I was like, $10,000 is so wild, but we hit $10,000 by midnight.” As of this writing, the fundraiser has reached $29,580.
It’s no surprise that the fundraiser took off on Twitter. The platform has long been the connective tissue of the women’s soccer community, allowing fans, journalists, and players to interact and share stories. Ryder notes that Gal Pal has “built up to a space where we’re making millions of impressions, which is awesome.” Anderson adds that she finds it useful while she’s photographing Chicago Red Stars games: “I’ll check Twitter to see who folks are talking about and make sure I get photos of that person, so it is like a lovely live feedback loop.” Bullock shares the same sentiment, calling the platform “gold” for Shea Butter FC. Diaspora United uses Twitter to share clips and highlights. “We can share, spread things when players do impressive things: great saves, nutmegs, disrespectful things, goals, whatever,” Carlisle says. “It’s just knowing that you’re a hub for things to celebrate what the players are doing.”…
Jordan notes that people did more than donate: “[People] reached out and were like, ‘Do you need help planning trips?’ ‘Do you need help doing XYZ?’ ‘We got free tickets!’”
For Lavan, having Diaspora United, Shea Butter FC, and Gal Pal on the ground at the World Cup opens up new possibilities for how the tournament can be covered. “Do you really want the story [of the World Cup] to be told only by specific, big media outlets who don’t seem very invested in women’s soccer, quite frankly?” Lavan asks. “I would rather be told by the people we know are invested and doing the work and really care about the players, and also have a diverse point of view.” …
Running an independent media outlet focused on women’s soccer is not easy. It requires a lot of what Bullock calls “sweat equity,” and a lot of often thankless hours poured into an industry where sustainability is hard to come by. The people behind each of the three outlets spend an absurd amount of time on their projects. One estimates that they spend up to 30 hours a week for their site, another calls it a second full-time job, and another avoids assigning a number of hours to their efforts so that colleagues from their day job don’t see this blog and get mathematically suspicious.
But in the absence of financial security and sustainability, there is the power of community. Even before the success of the fundraiser, these hosts and writers benefited from being a part of a strong network of women’s soccer fans and commentators. “I don’t think there’s anyone [in this community] who you would text or message and say, ‘Hey, can I pick your brain about something for a minute?’ who wouldn’t immediately be like, ‘Yeah, let’s figure it out.’” says Anderson. “And that’s been imperative for us to get to where we are.” Bullock mentions other media members who have “absolutely sent us information to make our lives easier.” …
*Much* more at the link!
This post is in: FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, Open Threads, Sports
Update: originally posted on July 13 at 13:36. Reposting tonight for the match. The post will still be available in the sidebar.
This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Open Threads, Sports
This French ad for the Women's World Cup is brilliant.pic.twitter.com/HnqlnT6YEV — Front Office Sports (@FOS) July 17, 2023 Okay, apologies, I wimped out on individually-posting the Women’s World Cup games the way I did for the other WC, because it turns out there’s only so much scheduling I can endure. (Due respect to WaterGirl, for …
Late Night Open Thread: Cheering the Women’s World CupPost + Comments (48)
4) FIFA expenses surged: It more than tripled prize money, expanded the tournament to 32 teams.
5) Awarding the tourney to Australia/NZ meant broadcast rights would be worth less due to time zones unfavorable in US + Europe.
— Rachel Bachman (@Bachscore) July 19, 2023
World Cup Ready ???? pic.twitter.com/IDxe6VgDo9
— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) July 18, 2023
Which FIFA Women's World Cup team has your favorite nickname? ???? pic.twitter.com/Xa71qL2Zws
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 19, 2023
by WaterGirl| 18 Comments
This post is in: FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, Open Threads, Sports
This post is in: LGBTQ Rights Are Human Rights, Open Threads, President Biden, Sports
welcome back @CMPunk i love pro wrestling https://t.co/40R75Xv4Bb pic.twitter.com/O2okuDGhWl — Matt Binder (@MattBinder) June 18, 2023 CM Punk wikipedia bio This is probably the best defense of trans rights I've seen in an arena full of people. https://t.co/QSsrOwTbCe — Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) June 18, 2023 President Biden delivered an economic populist message during the first …
Tuesday Morning Open Thread: Stay Righteous, and JoyousPost + Comments (147)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — President Joe Biden delivered an unapologetically economic populist message Saturday during the first rally of his reelection campaign, telling an exuberant crowd of union members that his policies had created jobs and lifted the middle class. Now, he said, is the time for the wealthy to “pay their fair share” in taxes.
Biden spotlighted the sweeping climate, tax and health care package signed into law last year that cut the cost of prescription drugs and lowered insurance premiums — pocketbook issues that advisers say will be the centerpiece of his argument for a second term.
“I’m looking forward to this campaign,” Biden said to cries of “four more years!” before adding, “We’ve got a record to run on.” …
More than 1,000 union workers representing professions from carpenters and airport service workers to entertainers and heavy service equipment engineers — most wearing T-shirts bearing their union’s logos — began chanting “Let’s go, Joe!” and “We want Joe” and blowing whistles hours before the president arrived.
Biden did not mention any of his potential Republican opponents by name, but said many in the GOP “oppose everything I’ve done.” Pointing to high inflation rates, Republicans have criticized “Biden-omics” a term the president tried to turn back his opponents on Saturday.
“I don’t know what the hell that is,” he said, “but it’s working.”…
Several of the nation’s most powerful unions — including the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — officially endorsed Biden’s campaign on Friday. The first-of-its-kind joint endorsement among the unions, and the backdrop of hundreds of workers are part of a meticulously choreographed effort to show the support of labor behind what Biden himself calls the most pro-union president in history.
The union endorsements followed Wednesday’s joint endorsement from major environmental groups, a back-to-back backing by design, according to a campaign official, meant to demonstrate that tackling climate change through green jobs does not threaten workers’ rights.
Biden claimed in his remarks that if Wall Street bankers went on strike, no one would notice. But if unions members walked off the job, “the whole country would come to a grinding halt.” He also criticized those worth more than $1 billion for paying, he said, as little as 8% in federal taxes…
Again, unless the economy collapses this election has already been decided https://t.co/rcSgzRC1hG
— chatham harrison is tending his garden (@chathamharrison) June 14, 2023
Same old, same old…
One does love watching the people who are literally threatening armed unrest piss themselves over the possibility of consequences.
— Sean Phillips (Sardonic Existentialism) (@Jacksons_Dad) June 19, 2023
And again:
French investigators are searching the headquarters of the Paris Olympic organizers in a probe into suspected corruption, according to the national financial prosecutor’s office. https://t.co/SV1E4E0vmD
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 20, 2023