New Jerseys Coming Out to Play

U.S. Soccer posted a behind-the-scenes video of the USWNT trying on their new home kit for the first time today. The USWNT will debut their new kit in an international friendly on May 27, 2012 against China PR at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. The new Nike jersey design was unveiled on April 16, 2012 by U.S. Soccer in a press release on their website. Notably, the men's and women's national team will share the same jersey for the first time in the programs history. This unifying act is underlined by the slogan "Two Teams. One Jersey." which Nike has been using to promote the new kit. The only difference between the men's and women's jersey is the two stars above the U.S. Soccer shield on the women's jersey, which symbolizes their Women's World Cup wins in 1991 and 1999.

The design of the new home kit has faced heavy criticism on social media platforms. Fans have compared the jersey to Where's Waldo and have even photo shopped Waldo's stripped hat and glasses on promotional images of the kit. The fans certainly have a point on this one. I was disappointed by the design when I first saw it, but I was also not too keen on the old women's kit. Honestly, I thought they were ugly and the large white and red stripes were overkill.

The jersey has grown on me in the past month and I predict by the time the Olympics kick off, I will be able to say that I actually like it. The release of the behind-the-scenes video was a good move on U.S. Soccer's part to reach out to fans and gain momentum for the debut of the kit. Nothing will sway fan opinion of the jersey more than seeing their beloved players in them and having the players talk about how much they like them. This video did just that.

The video is also important because the upcoming friendly is not televised or live streamed. Seeing the players in action in the jersey will probably be the tipping point for approval by the fans. At the end of the day, the fans care a whole lot more about the soccer than the jersey, so if they view something in which they enjoy (the USWNT playing) then those positive feelings could transfer over to the jersey. Due to this, I am surprised U.S. Soccer would not hold off debuting the kit until the Olympic send-off match on June 30, 2012 because that game will be televised.

Morgan, Cheney talk about their fans

The USOC tweeted athletes answers throughout the Media Summit and two great quotes come from two USWNT players.

"We love our fans. We love those little girls who dream of being us. We need to give them more opportunities to see us play," said Alex Morgan.

"We will sign autographs forever," said Lauren Cheney. "Mia Hamm did that for us. We'll do if for other people."

I love these quotes because it shows the mentality of the USWNT. They take on the responsibility of growing their sport and continuing the legacy that the '99 team created. Many athletes do not have to worry about getting their games televised or whether there will be a league for younger generations to play in. These are serious concerns for women's soccer and it is nice to see that the players understand that. It would be easy for the players on the national team to forget the struggles women's soccer faces as a whole while decked out in Nike gear and drinking all the gatorade one could desire, but these athletes do not put themselves above it all. They are happy to sign autographs and connect with fans. This is very rare in the world of sports and is something that sets the USWNT apart.

Olympic Media Summit

Today, May 15, is the fourth and final day of the 2012 Olympic Media Summit and featured the Women's Soccer Press Conference. Four members of the USWNT traveled from their training camp in Princeton, N.J. to Dallas, Texas to participate in the event. Lauren Cheney, Heather O'Reilly, Carli Lloyd, and Alex Morgan represented the USWNT team and fielded questions from multiple reporters.

First off, I was disappointed that the U.S. Olympic Committee seemed to be unable to get Lauren Cheney's name correct. On the Master Schedule for the Media Summit posted online on their teamusa.org website, Cheney was listed as "Megan Chaney." Maybe Megan Rapinoe was initially scheduled for the Media Summit, but their is no excuse for spelling her last name wrong. The USOC has been tweeting athletes answers throughout and they referred to Cheney as "Chaney" on that platform as well. However, they did correct their mistake in their following tweets. It is disheartening when Cheney's name is spelt wrong in such a public forum as the Media Summit for the 2012 Olympics. It comes off as disrespectful and uncaring of women's soccer. Cheney is an Olympic gold medialist and deserves to have her name spelt correctly at an Olympic event. I mean come on, if they needed to check it, it's on the back of her jersey.

Besides the name mix-up, the Media Summit has been a great platform for the USWNT. I like that US Soccer sent Cheney, O'Reilly, Lloyd, and Morgan instead of Hope Solo and Abby Wambach. Solo and Wambach are probably the most recognizable players for the USWNT after the Women's World Cup (I would also argue that Morgan is right up there, with Rapinoe being close behind). Sending players besides Solo and Wambach allows the media and the public to become familiar with other great players on the USWNT. This is a positive for US Soccer because Solo and Wambach may not be able to compete for much longer after the Olympics and this is the beginning of creating the new faces of the USWNT. Also, the more players the media and public knows the better.