On Sunday, I went to what is probably my last Philadelphia Independence game of the season. It was my second time seeing Atlanta at Philly in 2011, with the previous time being June 4. So, nearly two months apart, during which time Atlanta’s coach/ownership revealed they never wanted to win this season, Keeley Dowling tore her ACL, the Women’s World Cup happened, and Philly rose to the top of the WPS standings.

At some point, I’ll write about the shift in the fannish experience between those two games. (Mainly: it’s very different now! Uh oh!) But first, I want to pick up the thread of my tweeting during the game. During the first half and part of the second, I was sitting in front of a rather chatty family that was participating in the jersey auction and sort of watching the game. The mother and daughter weren’t familiar with any of the players except the recent US WWC players (and Natasha Kai, of course). The father might’ve been more familiar with who was on the field, but he also had a “cheat sheet,” aka a roster, in hand.

This isn’t unusual at WPS games. It seems like only the season ticket holders and supporters groups know the names and numbers of non USWNT players. Of course, it’s more prominent while WPS is riding the post-World Cup wave. But it was my chance to lament the fact that so many fans don’t know or learn about the other players on the pitch. Not that I was being a hipster about it, but it’s genuinely saddening that so many WPS players seem to mean nothing now that the USWNT players have returned home.

Note: This is not to say I begrudge the attention WPS is getting from the surrounding soccer community now. Yes, it is wonderful that it’s hard to find parking and the games are nearly sold out. No sarcasm there. If you’re the optimistic sort, better late than never, right? –but this isn’t my talking point in this post.

There are only 20 odd players on that USWNT that went to the World Cup. By no means are these the best women’s soccer players in the US. They are quite good, yes, but in the end, those are the players that the coaching staff thought would work best together as a unit. As we learned in the 2008 U-20 Women’s World Cup, sometimes the best eligible players are not players that best fit the team.

Basically, there is a lot to appreciate about the WPS player pool beyond the USWNT, and I really wish women’s soccer fans cared enough to find out about the players that really carry these club teams. I could go on forever about this in terms of the Independence, which was built to play without those big names rather than just survive the few weeks that they were gone. But what really got to me was watching the post-game interactions.

Even though I don’t tend to collect signatures or talk to players after the game this season, I do stay to watch. There is something reassuring about watching fans interact with the teams, especially when you’ve spent two hours sitting in a packed stadium that is hardly making any more noise than the smaller crowds earlier in the season.

Back in June–a time when even Atlanta had a numerical shot at making the playoffs–hardly anyone chased after the Beat players. I remember waiting to compliment former FC Gold Pride goalkeeper Allison Whitworth in June because she was busy talking to other idle players. On Sunday, there wasn’t much mingling between players, and Whitworth was mobbed by kids wanting autographs every time she turned around. Really pleasantly surprising. When she finally had a breather, I jokingly asked if she was always this busy at away games. (As an aside, she should be, guys! She’s wicked good, and so much fun to watch in goal.)

“I think they just see the bright keeper’s jersey and get distracted,” she said. Sadly, she’s right. And sadly, most people apparently weren’t even paying enough attention during the game to see that her counterparts on the Independence were wearing either pink or white, not fluorescent green.

As I was leaving the stadium, I was walking just ahead of a handful of youth soccer players. Couldn’t help overhearing one relate her experience of just now realizing that she got the opposing keeper’s signature instead of Philly’s. Not that she noticed at the time, and not that she paid any attention to the stops that opposing keeper made compared to what Barnhart did. Hell, it’s not like she even would have recognized Barnhart, if she mistook Whitworth for Philly’s keeper!

It’s great that WPS is seeing a boost in ticket sales post-WWC. But by and large, it’s not about WPS. In fact, even prior to the WWC, a significant portion of the “fans” weren’t WPS fans. That’s a real shame, because WNT players are not the best WPS has to offer. Especially this season, the USWNT players are not the heroes on the teams, even if they do temporarily bring people to the stands. (Despite their best efforts in interviews to avoid talking WPS.)

You know who’s fun to watch? Who really impacts these teams? Those 2008 U-20 Women’s World Cup champions that were largely ignored by Pia this cycle. Those Notre Dame players that have retained their alma mater’s style of play–and hey, won a national championship themselves. Those creative and solid midfielders that USWNT fans claim were missing from the WWC. Those stalwart defenders and crazy good keepers that aren’t just “backups” to the three keepers that went to Germany. Those goalscorers who sit in the shadows of the limited handful that have been representing our country for 8+ years.

I wish that it was possible that the people in the stands at WPS games would take a shot at being fans of Women’s Professional Soccer. Women’s soccer in the US has so much more to offer than just the national team. These players are worth it. These are the players that make watching the USWNT worthwhile.