So to that extent, since they are not in it to get rich, they are prepared for the long haul. They see the league as a way of instantly developing exclusive programming for their regional sports channels, and one which will reach that holy grail of advertisers, a young, female audience. What will be interesting to see is what happens if this audience does not materialize. To this extent, the WUSA is not unlike XFL football. It has become almost a clich to say the U.S. is a big event country.
People turn out for Olympics or World Cups.
But as MLS has learned, getting fans to buy tickets week in and week out is a much different proposition. As far as women s soccer is concerned, U.S. fans are used to seeing the best 11 players, the U.S. national team, on the field. Those players, with a small number of very good foreign players, have now been spread over eight teams. To be somewhat harsh, this means that in any WUSA match, about half or more of the players or more on the field never have been close to playing for their nation. One school of thought is the level of play is almost irrelevant because there is a universe of young girls available to cheer for their role models.