Call it a comeback! And then tell all your friends. Please?

We return with a fan favorite, Kelsey Davis. Kelsey spent this past fall as an assistant coach for the Portland Pilots.

The Pilots had a rough year. Or, rather, I had a rough year with them. They eventually did me proud though, and my heart was made glad to talk to Kelsey about it.

Links:
-Kelsey’s first appearance on our show
-Kelsey’s coaching profile
-@daviskelsey

-Music: “My Gun” by The Rubens

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You’ll notice I don’t have a whole lot of  actual written posts here, as the podcast has been my primary responsibility. Earlier this month, I decided that I couldn’t continue with the Cross-Conference ‘Cast. I’m in the midst of serious family medical issues and combined with a full-time job, this means I don’t have the time to dedicate to the podcast. Rather than doing a distracted, half-assed job, I had to make the hard decision to ‘kill’ my darling.

Ruth has moved to Our Game Magazine, where she is now the College Soccer Editor. This is a really exciting move for her and I’m glad she’s able to do work that she’s passionate about. They’re doing some really impressive work for this college season, and if you care about the sport in the least, you should be paying attention to what they’re doing over there.

I would like to thank our listeners for their support. I’m really proud of some of the things we produced and I’m sorry that it ended so abruptly. I don’t have plans at the moment, but I can’t imagine staying away from the medium forever. I’m not sure what format it will take, but if another show emerges, this will be the first place I will report the news.

(We are still very happy to be contacted about CC or anything else that strikes your fancy. If you’re into the Twitters, Ruth is @Redshirt_RM and Joan is @joanofdark.)

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.

I would like to highlight the fact that the 2010 National Champions, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, will have webcasts for all home games that are not televised. At the moment, that means that only the Notre Dame-Connecticut game won’t be webcast. And this is great news, because Notre Dame consistently produces some of the best webcasts (and best soccer) in the college game.

We take the final live in Chicago, from Small Bar on Division Street!

Please excuse the brevity and sound quality of this episode. I think it’s taken me this long to process these feelings, and this episode is a small step in the path toward growth and acceptance.

Find us on Twitter or email us: crossconference@gmail.com

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Sellout crowd, two very good teams, Dan Borislow suspended, and an unexpected broadcast to ride on the wave of the Women’s World Cup – you have to tune in, you have to enjoy it, not while it lasts but so it lasts.

There probably won’t be many more WWC podcasts past this next week. Most likely, I won’t have the final WWC episode until Monday at the earliest, if there is one at all.

I will be at Small Bar on Division for the final, if you are in the Chicago area and are looking to have annoying questions asked of you and a recorder shoved in your face during halftime.

In the meantime, these Women’s World Cup photos from the Atlantic are too tremendous not to share.

Since we focused solely on the USA’s inspiring win on Sunday, I thought I’d bring in another guest on Monday to talk the whole quarterfinals and what we have to look forward to in the semis. Who better to bring back than Stacy of Beulah Sports?

This was an awesome idea, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it? It was. But like Germany’s entire Women’s World Cup performance, it didn’t quite live up to its promise, because my apartment complex lost power just as Stacy really hit her stride about the USA-Brazil game. It was quite devastating, but I couldn’t keep the first half of our chat to myself, so it’s now the 12 episode of this crazy thing.

I’m hoping to have her back on to talk some more in the future, because I think she’s been great. What do you think? Feedback is appreciated. You hit us up on Twitter or email us: crossconference@gmail.com

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I must say, this year’s tournament provided as much parity between the torsos of our teams as it did between the teams on the pitch. There are a lot of wonderful shirts this year, but it seemed that one in particular pulled ahead of the pack to take the majority of the votes.

But before we get to that kit, there were a few deserving runners up…

3rd Place – Tie, Brazil and Mexico

Here we have the fallen Brazil in the classic Yellow on Blue. I have to say, like the women who wore them, this was one kit expected to land at the top. The bold, familiar colors of Brazil are ones that look like they just BELONG on a field of green, and the solid stripe across the top of the chest makes a bold statement of modern female power and strength.

I must admit, I was a bit surprised how quickly Mexico’s away kit trickled to the top of our standings. Adorable as the girls are, I initially found this kit a bit dull. Yes, they look a bit fierce in black, but black goes well with everything. The three-stripe on the shoulder is a bit too prominent for my tastes and gives these young girls the look of a recreational club team. One lovely addition was the gold numbering, which adds a bit of striking dignity worthy of the sharp Mexicans.

2nd Place – Norway

Again, this selection perplexed me. I am always a believer in fairness and Democracy, however, and I heard the people speak loudly, “Norway!”

Before going to the positives, I must dwell on the incredibly long sleeves shown here. Now, many detractors of the USA kits (myself included) have cited the short short sleeves as a sticking point as to why they dislike the shirts so feverishly. I feel this is no better at all. The too-long sleeves make the strong Norwegians look like feeble children, ones you would shout at to stand up straight, for God’s sake and get off my lawn.

That aside, the white half-ringer collar and blue cuff so nicely completes the Norwegian flag motif of this ensemble, and this player wears it oh so well.

1st Place – France

It was very clear from the moment I asked the question “Best WWC kits?” that France would be an early favorite. But, ah, they are not only the favorite kits, they are the TRIUMPHANT kits of this tournament.

Why? I believe I know: they’re all blue. Blue is an easy color, a default favorite of teenagers and the Gap. It flatters many complexions and doesn’t suggest negativity on a body. The lines here are so clean as to be nonexistent.

Yes, blue is an easy answer, but the combination of a solid, admittedly attractive color and a fun collar is easily a winning pair! The kit has some fundamentals that can be painlessly transferred to winning on the pitch: play simply, play smartly, play with a little cheek.