OPINION: THE LOOK OF THE USWNT OLYMPIC TEAM IS A CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION

Okay, let’s just get this out there in line one, addressing the elephant in the room immediately. This article is about race. Now, before you go scrambling for that ‘X’ in the top corner, this might not be what you think it is. This isn’t a story to tell you we need more of a certain group, or less of another. This is a celebration. It’s my attempt to help some of you out there that undoubtedly saw a lot of the discourse online, but may not be able to fully understand and grasp just why this recent roster drop was so special to so many of us that have followed not just this team, but this sport as a whole.

When U.S. Soccer released the official roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics, there were a few things that jumped out immediately. The first and what you likely heard about the most, was the omission of long time team staple, Alex Morgan. However, that is a few stories for another day. The other two very obvious things that stood out: one, this is by far the most non-white players the USWNT has had for any roster, let alone one for a major competition like the Olympics; and two, depending on how the team lines up in Paris, it is looking incredibly likely we see the first ever all-Black frontline playing for the USWNT.

Now of course, the common retort to anything race related in sport is always, “well, why does it matter? Who cares what color they are?” First off, society has deemed it cares based on the constant actions we see throughout this country, but again, story for a different day. Why it matters though, is why I am here today, to shed light on why so many people are filled with joy.

As with everything, to understand fully, you need historical context. Historically, and this is generally speaking of course, the American thought in regards to soccer was that it was a sport played by white Europeans and Latin countries. It wasn’t until the USA hosted the World Cup in 1999 that the perception seemed to change, slightly. Despite having won their first ever World Cup in 1991, it was the ‘99 victory on home soil that really served as the spark that lit the passionate fires of this sport. It was that team — which only had two Black players on the roster in goalkeepers Briana Scurry and Saskia Webber — that inspired a generation of youngsters, as well as opened the eyes of major companies to the fact that soccer in America could be a massive success. It was then that the United States took steps to “secure the future” of the sport by rolling out tons of new youth programs across the country to get the kids into the sport. In true American fashion, it came with a price.

Now, the world of soccer was no longer Europeans and Latin countries, but opened the door for what was then the suburban housewife. See, soccer isn’t cheap and the kids in the inner city don’t have the means. I speak from firsthand experience on this as my family was an inner city family priced out of the game. Even in the early 2000s, the cost for a season of competitive soccer was close to $10,000 easily. Think AAU before AAU was a thing: players traveled, faced stiff competition, and the USYNT were always scouting tournaments. That led us to the generation of players we are all so familiar with now — the Megan Rapinoe/Alex Morgan/Tobin Heath era — that really took the popularity of the sport in this country over the edge with how much they were not only covered in the mainstream, but winning on the pitch. Even with players like Christen Press and Sydney Leroux featuring for spells, the team very much maintained that ‘suburban soccer mom’ feel to it. Which, to be fair, was the perception of American soccer worldwide: a sport played by suburban kids on Saturdays, not to be taken seriously.

Fast forward to now. While pay to play is still a massive issue in the youth ranks, the opening of other pathways has seen not just a rise in youths from all different backgrounds coming into the sport, but we also see it at a fan level. In 2017, MLS launched a team in Atlanta, one of the most heavily Black-populated cities in America. Not only were they incredibly successful, but they were embraced and welcomed by said community. So much so that as NWSL expands more, Atlanta is a name you hear and will hear a lot of in terms of possibly getting another soccer team.

Now, all of that historical context in mind, considering the growth of Black fans in the sport, many of whom support the USWNT, we still had yet to see a team roster that represented ‘us.’ At least that was the case, until recently. Even before the latest roster release, we saw players like Sophia Smith and Midge Purce start to break through into camps consistently, as well as the arrival of young stars like Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson. And as we truly enter the new era, we see the wunderkinds like Jaedyn Shaw and Lily Yohannes being integrated.

The official roster is one that is around 45% Black, and as we mentioned before the possibility we see an all-Black frontline is all too real. For many of you reading this, you’ll just roll your eyes and gear up to drop wild takes in the comments, and that’s fine. For the few who are trying to really understand, what you are noticing is a community of people who once thought soccer wasn’t for them and are finally seeing the fruits of what has been a long and hard journey of establishing ourselves in this space. While this roster may not impact you or I in ways more than just feeling immense pride, imagine what this roster is going to do for that little girl in Atlanta, or Detroit, or Oakland watching a USWNT team full of vibrant players that look, act, and talk like them, showing out at the Olympic Games. An entire pool of future talent is going to watch in a month and for the first time feel like, that could be me. That’s why this roster means so much to us, and why we wont ever be quiet about it.

2024-06-28T18:50:34Z dg43tfdfdgfd