Keeping Score: The women of professional soccer show off their style

Can't wait to see Natasha Kai rip that sh*t up.  WTF? If they want to be taken seriously as athletes they shouldn't be doing this crap. 

“The trouble with me is that I am a vindictive old shanty-Irish bitch." Eleanor Medill Patterson

A Skort... really??? Just getting a look at that thing causes involuntary twitches from fashion faux pas long thought to be burried with neon and cutouts. Not to mention... any athlete that has gotten down and dirty, muddy and sweaty will tell you, the last thing they are thinking about is how feminine their shape is. Why? Why are these women being "forced" to pander? You are right, their talent alone should shine for them, not the socially acceptable baby blue and pink puesdo-athletic duds.

Want to impress me with athletic design, show me something that is tailored to enhance performance on the feild. Something that protects against grass burn, or breathes especially well for women, or allows for greater range of motion. Not something that homemakers carting their little ones to soccer camp will feel "feminie" in (no offense to all the moms). Rediculous.

I can only say that wearing a skort was the worst fashion experience for myself. I never ever felt able to run faster or move with more fexibilty while wearing one. My skill should be recognized before what I'm wearing. Why is it an issue if these ladies are playing their hearts everytime they go on the field?

I guess we should know by that as long as a woman doesn't look prim and pretty not a single person cares. At least they gave the players an option. 

It's not fair that the last fashion change in men's sports was longer shorts and hair, (tattoos even) None of those were marketed but widely accepted...

It's just not fair.

i find it completely ridiculous and i could not possibly agree more about the vick thing and that whole theory!    it is not ok to teach kids these values; it's like saying hard work doesnt matter if you look good (as a woman) or can play a sport well (as a man)...doesnt matter if you get caught smoking weed and are an olympic gold medalist...slap on the wrist

not ok in my opinion!

Kait

I had to wear a skort for field hockey. They were ridiculous, but we did look cute. It was standard. There was a dude on one of the teams we played against who had to wear the skort too.

When female sports can generate the kind of interest and money professional male sports can then professional female players won't have to have runway shows. (Although, I don't think the runway thing is that bad because it means they have a sponsor) It's great if you can run really fast, score a ton of goals, hit a ball really hard, etc, but if not enough people care enough to put down  money to see you do all that then it's a useless talent. I'm sure those athletes doing the runway show were uncomfortable but they sucked it up, if they wanted to play their sport professionally.

I like girls in shorts, or skirts, but not both. Those wraps look like the hideous netball skirts I used to wear.

I hate to be the cynic, but I feel compelled to point out this is league #2. League #1 promoted itself by signing autographs for young girls in community leagues. It didn't work, and these are hard economic times. 

I'm not saying it is right, but what I am saying is whoever is putting a ton of cash down, isn't feeling too confident in using a promo tool that has already proven a failure. If a female athlete feels their convictions are more important than being a part of this league, then she has the right to turn it down.

I agree with mimi. If this is what is necessary to keep a women's soccer league afloat, then by all means. 

Soccer is still soccer. The players are still going to kick ass on the field. They will still have quads and abs of steel. They will still attend Nike and Adidas Soccer Days, and signing little kids' hats. They'll just do so looking good. What's the harm in that? 

The wraps aren't going to be used during games --thank goodness!! They're optional and more for before/after games, and while making appearances (http://womensprosoccer.com/newsitem_ektid9342.aspx); times like that. I think part of the problem while the unveiling of the kits was that the wraps weren't explained until the day after. If an explanation of the wraps were given during or immediately after the show, it would have put everyone at ease a lot sooner (but that still doesn't take away from the fact that they're skorts, ekk).

It sucks that the girls are going to be paid so little. These are the estimates for their salaries: WNT - $47,500; WNT pool - $35,000; Top international - $32,500; International - $25,000; Top domestic - $20,000; Domestic - $12,875 (http://womenssoccerusa.blogspot.com/). The exceptions to that are players like Marta, and there will be other ways to rake in extra cash. Compare that to how much Ronaldo makes in a year ($14.7 million a year?); he makes more in a week than many of these women will ever in the league. It's only their first year back; hopefully things will improve over the years, if the league survives, but it's quite doubtful that they'll get enough sponsorship, media hype, etc. to earn money like that any time soon.

Apparently, a/some sponsorship(s) were lost because of the economic troubles. If there's any sort of silver lining, at least we don't have to see a truck load of obnoxious advertisements plastered across the jerseys (although it'd be nice for them to get more sponsorships and you couldn't have one without the other). The ads on the kits of some leagues are so prominent that I forget which club they're playing for --"huh? wait a minute, is Samsung a club?!!" lol.

Ahhh, it's so frustrating! I want the WPS to do well!!!!

end up in this conversation. Michael Vick is not setting a bad example for boys that the law does not apply to them b/c he's in jail. A woman who killed her Panthers player husband is getting out of jail after only being in for 6 years....so if anything the message is the judicial system isn't worth a darn most of the time.

Back to soccer, who knows maybe using sex appeal to sell soccer will bring it more attention and money. It worked for MLS with David Beckham. So both men and women sometimes have to use sex appeal to get more money. DB emporio armani underwear ads anyone.

"Come On Then Get These Good Done Debbies"

I love soccer. The wraps are actually kind of cute.

Seeing these girls on an Astroturf runway is weird as hell, though.

Soccer players dribble. They don't...sashay.  

Inkblots

I'm with maggie yeahls.  

skorts aside, I think one of the main reasons why this kind of thing happens is because women's football is so incredible underfunded and supported compared to men's football, that unfortunately, we are more inclined to take up on offers that will ulitmately lead to more exposure of the sport if nothing else.

In which case, I don't see any problem if it's inevitably drawing attention to sports women who are competing in a predominantly male dominated field.

 Go Skorts and women's football!

I love soccer. I love Puma. I love Puma soccer. But skorts? Really? Since when are they fashionable anyway?

I really do wish the best for the WPS though. It's about time. 

NO. If someone told me to wear a skort for a soccer game, I would have flipped sh*t. Even pregame - gross.

gross. 

I honestly don't think this fashion show they're trying to put up will bring the fan base and the type of money they, the WPS league, is looking for. Feminist views aside, MLS is a lot more exciting to watch. That's why in general men's league in any given sport generate a lot more revenue than Women. People want to pay to support someone with extraodinary capabilities on those fields and WPS just like the WNBA they seem to be lacking in that department. Don't get me wrong, I know that it takes skills, great talents, and extraodinary capabilities to become a professional athlete, but I think in general they don't need a fashion show to pull more fans/money, the Women just need to  up the showmanship and take more risks. Wouldn't it be nice to see one of the WNBA players do a 180 dunk or more tricks from WPS players? Just sayin'.

I think we wouldn't be talking about uniform styles if women's soccer had as many fans as the Yankees...oh wait, they still talk about uniform styles in MLB!

If the stands fill up, no one will be worrying at PUMA about the silly skort. Buy a season ticket, support the league so it becomes sustainable....then start complaining! :-)

Male soccer players and other male athletes do as much 'cat walking' these days as pro models. Every time the guys change their playing strips, something they do almost every year (especially in the Premier League soccer) they "do a little turn on the cat walk". Every time the Olympics come up it's exactly the same thing - men and women. You're just whinging for the sake of whinging. 

And yeah, the skorts look like crap but the two kits in the second picture are nice. Would have been even nicer if you told us the name of the cute blonde in the blue. 

What the hell is with those awful skort efforts. Why can't they just where tracksuit bottoms or normal shorts pre and post matches? That's what every other woman who plays football does.

I really think that it's time that women were recognised for their skill in sports. I'm from England where they don't have a professional women's football league and I think it's amazing that you're getting one in the U.S. I just think it's a shame that it has to be overshadowed by this whole fashion thing.

x

while i think the skorts are a little silly, i do remember that the NBA made a requirement the other year to have their players dress up before and after the game to downplay the "thug-like" quality that was permeating the league at the time. Maybe this is just an attempt to downplay the "gay-like" quality permeating women's sports in the idea of sponsors and the media. Whatever? sometimes we have to wear uniforms for our jobs.

As well, I think you can merge fashion and athletics. Really, the sportswear industry is all about fashion on the field and off. Look at the majority of clothes people wear everyday, track jackets, polo shirts, etc... I for one, enjoy when a uniform is cut with concern to how it looks on the body. Basically, when i look good, i feel good, and i'll play better. I personally hate wearing big baggy shorts to play sports in and i like when some aspects of fashion, form, and fit are taken into consideration. However, that has to be fashion and form and fit for an athletic frame. Which does not correlate to baggy all the time. And, in contrast to what many people think, even guys sports uniforms adhere to fashion trends and how to accentuate the human body... it's just a little more normal looking and less drastic for dudes normally because for women, sex sells. You know when all those underarmor shirts became popular? mainly it was because dudes liked wearing them because it made their muscles look bigger... it's the same thing. 

if you go look at any major sportswear company's website: nike, adidias, puma, look at how they market their women's lines... and really, it's not too far of a contrast from "fashion and flair and femininity" but with a concern to how the human body moves when engaged in motion. 

All I have to say is....

GO WASHINGTON FREEDOM! 

Does nobody watch tennis?

Field hockey? 

Wearing skirts does not make them sex symbols, nor does it 'exploit' their femininity. If anything, it embraces it.

Girls that win Grand Slams or Field Hockey World Cups are absolute kick-ass athletes - what on the world does their outfit have to do with anything?!

Implying that their wearing skirts instead of shorts makes them lesser athletes is absolutely rediculous and frankly a little insulting. It's just clothing. Jeez.

Can they even move on those? XD Dont think they would use those for playing though they need the full length movement of the legs to run around. It didnt surprise me to see the skinny boy in there , hes a great designer the lil dude. 

Woman who play sports, specially soccer are RWARific.  Anyone dying for the next FIFA women world cup?? :D I cant wait!.

----------------------------------------------------

Let it Rock,Let it roll

My first reaction was "Seriously?!?" (hey I was using it long before GA). But then I read an article in the NYT about the struggles for acceptance of the Turkish Women's football league 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/sports/soccer/04soccer.html?_r=1

These women are serious soccer players, but the league has to run ads that stress their femininity (eg.soccer balls balanced on stilettos)  because unlike basketball, it's seen as a men-only sport and parents are reluctant to let their daughters play. So  while I can't imagine anyone actually playing in those wrap things, maybe the presence of them is useful as a bit of red-herring. "Don't worry Mom, I'm wearing a skirt, as I grind my cleats into the opponent's leg."

like...really??

as someone who used to play soccer, the skort thing doesn't really appeal to me. how am i supposed to inspire fear in a skort? lol. i mean, damn. plus, it takes away from the hotness of it. not to be cocky or anything, but i looked damn good in my uniform, and so did a lot of other girls. ;)

I realize the skorts are for pre/post games, but what's the point of that? its a little extra material wrapped on a pair shorts. I think track pants/suits were just fine, thank you. As for the new tailored shorts, meh... a lot of girls roll there shorts up anyways, so that kinda sorta achieves the same look the puma ppl went for.

i dunno...i just find the whole thing to be a waste. maybe im just too vein, or maybe not vein enough to get on board with this idea.

a skort on someone you are crushing on would put a LOT of your questions to rest!

blass