Critical Events or Critical Conditions: The 1999 Women’s World Cup and the Women’s United Soccer Association

Abstract

In the wake of the 1999 Women’s World Cup final, a women’s professional league was formed, and play commenced with much fanfare in 2001. Attendance for the tournament had been stellar, and the final between China and the United States garnered a phenomenal television rating. It was with much optimism that the WUSA (Women’s United Soccer Association) was launched. However, despite a strong first season, attendance and television ratings declined, and the league folded after three years of play. This essay seeks to analyze the failure of the WUSA in the face of the wild success of the 1999 World Cup. Strategically, the league suffered from saturation of the market (locations in major sports markets with a plethora of other sporting options) and a marketing strategy that seemed to outreach the demand for women’s professional soccer (reliance on corporate sponsorship rather than grassroots approaches). Culturally, I will argue that the success of the 1999 World Cup final had more to do with expressions of nationalism by American viewers and less to do with soccer itself. The essay will detail an instance of positive nationalism (the viewing of a particular sporting event because of the nationalistic implications of the event).