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Feb. 17, 2022 — Waking up to a different reality
Two decades ago, the United States held just about every world championship and/or Olympic title in women’s team sports.
Whether it was basketball, softball, lacrosse, soccer, and ice hockey, the United States was the world superpower in getting women to work together towards a common goal, whether it was getting a puck in a net or a basketball through a hoop.
This morning, we’ve woken up to the fact that the United States has company in the elite ranks of women’s team sports. The latest setback was a 3-2 loss by the American women’s ice hockey team to Canada, a contest in which the Leafs held a 3-0 lead for a good portion of the contest.
Just six months ago, the Canadian women’s soccer team beat the United States in the Olympics. Japan, in the same Olympics, beat the United States in softball.
At the same time, Canada is making progress in women’s lacrosse. Canada won the U-19 World Cup in 2015 and has put together perhaps the one team that could beat the United States on the senior level this summer in Towson, Md.
Sure, the United States could have one of its best teams in history out on that pitch, with the likes of three-time Tewaaraton winner Taylor Cummings, current Tewaaraton holder Charlotte North, and goalies like Gussie Johns, Liz Hogan, and Meg Taylor at the ready. But then again, the U.S. was favored in 2005, playing at home with Kelly Amonte-Hiller and Quinn Carney on the attack. Australia, on that occasion, took home the gold with a 14-7 win.
So, what’s going on here? It’s easy to explain away the results by saying that the States have written the roadmap as to what makes a team sport successful.
But I think there’s something more systemic. There are already questions about whether the selections for the women’s ice hockey team took into account the players who are already in mid-season form with their U.S. college sides. I think there are also going to be questions about whether player development absolutely requires a professional league like the NWSL or Premier Hockey Federation, or whether a movable feast of pickup teams like the Dream Gap Tour or Athletes Unlimited creates the better athlete.
It will be an interesting next few years.
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