I love how people get so wound up by the commercialisation of the current game, then suddenly deride the quality of the women's game which has nowhere near the investment or dedication that even lower-end semi-pro football offers in England.
Sure, the ability levels aren't up to comparison with the men, but then what you're actually looking at is an international tournament where the players are playing for pride, not money, and a willingness to wear the shirt.
Women's football in England is a shambles, yet despite that a number of players are actually quite good. And when I say quite good, I mean that 95% of people who moan and bitch about the quality - be they men or women - would not even get close to being good enough to get into one of the top teams.
The American team is strong, and has been for years. That's because the sport is developing well, and women's soccer is coached and played competetively at every age group. The Women's Professional Soccer League gets national TV airtime, the College teams have full-time coaching set-ups and even the mid-range Division II college teams play two or three games per week and train up to 20 hours per week, every week, during the main season. This, whilst studying full-time too.
To be dismissive of the game because of a lack of quality is pretty arrogant - it's like saying 'I can't bring myself to watch Darlington because they're not as good as Barcelona'.
And if any of you are sitting there thinking you're better than most of these girls, then I can assure you... you're not.
