This Is Your Women’s World Cup Final Feelings Open Thread

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feature image via instagram

Goodness, beach buoys, we’ve made it through this month! It’s the Finals today! USA vs Japan! Does this feel like 2011 to anyone else? Or, to cater more to me, 2012?

Let’s just dive right in. I’ll go ahead and show you my favorite goal so far. It’s a USA goal because apparently I become a disgustingly biased bald eagle of a patriot when it comes to this sport:

Kelley O'Hara scores against Germany, Carli Lloyd assist, via iguessyoucanjustcallmev

Kelley O’Hara scores against Germany, Carli Lloyd assist, via iguessyoucanjustcallmev

What about you? What are your favorite goals this tournament? How’d your team do? How d’you feel about that?

Where are you watching? Who are you rooting for/against? Who should win the Golden Ball?

Did that Japan vs England semifinal just break your heart? Pop on down and tell me all about it.

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Robin

Robin doesn't lean in, she spreads out. Her skills include talking up the movie Spice World to strangers. In any situation, she would prefer to get campy. She's a hedonist, lady dandy, and lazy academic. She has a twitter and a tumblr.

Robin has written 42 articles for us.

128 Comments

  4. What are sports?

    I have 2 important things to say, then I’ll leave you to your relevant comments:

    1. There’s a Broadway actress named Kelli O’Hara.

    2. I think I saw Megan Rapinoe at Cubbyhole (lesbian bar in NYC) last week. I could be wrong, as I don’t exactly know what she looks like, but I have a really good eye when it comes to recognizing people.

    Now I’m going to return to my non-sports life and let you have your feelings. Enjoy! I hope your favorites score touchdowns, hit home runs, and win Tony Awards! :D

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  5. I’m not gonna make any friends saying this, but there were two teams I didn’t want to see in the final – PRC and USA. Sorry, I love Pinoe like anyone else (and Tobin Heath, and a few others), but… I really don’t want the USA to win, not here, not after the 2012 semi-final debacle with the ref that made a call that had never been called in the history of the sport.

    So, cheering for Japan today, although England would have had a far better chance at beating the US.

    I also want to say that I am *still* annoyed by that ridiculous penalty called against Ria Percival in the NZ-PRC match that let PRC tie it. Never knew getting hit in the chest is a handball.

    Amused/kinda disgusted by the sore loser attitudes of so many German supporters, crying about the penalty awarded England. I’m sorry, that was a pure rugby tackle. Very much a merited penalty, even if the ref didn’t touch her whistle at all through the rest of the match.

    Super proud of the Commonwealth family – England’s 3rd place, fantastic result and proving that they’re gonna be a powerhouse for the future. Watch out, Europe, in 2017. Australia too had a fantastic performance, great win v Brazil, and could have gone even further. New Zealand too (my #2!) – fantastic in every match, play with so much heart, devastating to see them eliminated because of a rubbish call. My homegirls underperformed, though… disappointing, but England deserved that win more.

    Could go on a lot longer, I’ve enjoyed the tournament greatly.

    Go Nadeshiko!

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      • The players’ skill has progressed vastly faster than that of the refs, and it shows so, so much.

        Part of me has even thought that until such time as enough women are at a suitable skill level to officiate major events like the WWC or the Euros, it might be an idea to have top-level male refs call games, because really, it’s just absolutely unacceptable to have so many shockingly bad calls happen at the highest level of competition.

        True, that might not help the referees learn by error, but they can do that in their domestic league play, and it would be a *lot* fairer to the players, to have someone you know to be very competent with the whistle.

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        • Absolutely! It shows a disparity between the support that national federations are putting into their women’s programs vs the work that FIFA is putting into training their WWC refs (assuming that FIFA isn’t actively & blatantly trying to rig it)

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          • I wouldn’t entirely be surprised if FIFA *were* trying to rig things. With some of the calls over the past few years, you have to wonder.

  9. It’s my birthday, which I’m excited to now know I share with Megan Rapinoe, and England already gave me my gift of beating Germany and reaching the furthest any English football team has since 1966. So proud of the Lionesses, they’ve inspired so many people back home to appreciate the women’s game, and support it, which is awesome. My favourite Goal was Lucy Bronze’s screamer against Norway. Stunning. I won’t be staying up for the match as its on at midnight and I have work in the morning. I am rooting for team USA to take the title. Have you seen the awesome t-shirts from Wildfang? Very cool. Go USA! And night all :)

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  10. This is the first year I’ve ever paid attention to anything soccer related (sans “Bend it Like Beckham b/c I wanted it for the ship we never got) and these last few games have taken a good 10 years off my life. I haven’t experienced stress levels this intense since my last capstone.

    In unrelated news: Holy shit this is a good looking team

    Fuck America but also, GO TEAM USA!!

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    • Totes relate to this, just watching Youtube vids make me emotional, I’ve invested too much in this game and team and these amazing women, I can’t concentrate at work because I keep checking for real time updates (boo streaming is not working), let’s go USA! I believe that we (well, they) will win! Lezgo Heath and OHara and Broon!! PS wanna hug Johnston!

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  14. I usually go into tournaments hoping to see new teams break into finals – would love to have seen two of the fringe teams get through. But here we have the old guard again. My heart is with Japan, but the US seem to be peaking at the right stage. I just hope we get a high quality game and no horrendous ref calls like the semi.

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    • I also would’ve liked to see newcomers in the final, as die-hard of a USWNT fan as I am. But also don’t forget that Japan was a fringe team not too long ago! Hopefully this coverage means more nations will get more support for their women’s teams and next world cup will be more interesting. Amen to an HQ game

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  35. OH MY GOD I WAS COMING HOME WITH FRIENDS AND I TURNED THE CORNER TO SEE ABBY RUNNING AND I WAS LIKE “ABBY!!! LOOK IT’S ABBY” AND THEN ALL OF THE SUDDEN SHE WAS KISSING A LADY AND I SCREAMED “LOOK AT ABBY WAMBACH KISSING HER PARTNER” I AM SO HAPPY THE UNIVERSE LET ME COME HOME JUST IN TIME TO SEE THAT LIVE!

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  36. Also, props to all players for managing to play quality football in horrific wildfire smog conditions. I’m almost surprised anyone could see the ball…and the air here feels like you’re inhaling bonfire smoke.

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  37. One of my favorite moments? Hearing most of the stadium chant “Abby, Abby, Abby!” wanting her to be subbed on. An OUT player, who is not “classically feminine” in her style.
    Seriously, how f**king awesome is that???!

    Yeah!!!

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  38. Also, I felt so bad for Julie Johnston. I know technically it IS an OG, but I would feel like “I was trying to stop it, it just happened to hit me last – it’s not like I kicked the damn ball in!”

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    • She’s so badass that it breaks my heart that she feels sooo bad with these mistakes, all in all yes her mistakes are big deal but srsly it doesn’t define her as a player (she has a spectacular career ahead of her, that’s so clear)… I can’t bear to watch her interview from their win over Germany, it’s just </3 </3 </3

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  40. What a GREAT GAME!
    And I’m saying this as a German at four in the morning!
    The goals were just dreamy!
    The Japanese Team kept fighting til the very last minute, what spirit!
    And the Americans kept pushing forward instead of just closing up and playing it safe!
    This was really, really epic!
    Congrats US!
    Now, since I was watching with a couple other Ladylovers and we’re not that well versed in the sexual orientations of other National Teams ( Soccer is the Softball of the Common German Lesbian), we were wondering in a few instances.
    Like is it true that Ali Krieger and Ashley Harris are dating? https://finishersblog.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/alexwed961.png?w=676
    Krieger, Rapinoe, Wambach and the Coach are the only ones I could find who are out.
    Anyone else for me to crush on during the Olympics next year?
    And, btw., just how very cool was the female Monty carrying that cup?
    What a great and overall fair game, US and Japan!
    Congratulations to your first and second places!!

    Reply to This Comment

    • whoaaaa thanks for staying up to watch! every viewer counts as far as influencing future coverage of the WWC.

      As far as Krieger & Harris, Krieger is the only one who’s officially out, and the video where she comes out is a lil’…hedgy. I shall make no comment re: Harris.

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  42. Ok, I may have squeed when Abby kissed her wife. Maybe.

    Also, am I the only one here who has a thing for Alex Morgan? I mean, I know she’s married to a dude, but damnit, she’s cute!

    (Sigh. It’s hard being a femme who’s into other femme-ish type people sometimes)

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  46. Woke up to see a tweet from Leanne Sanderson, ALH almighty of England, bemoaning a GalPalling of Abby Wambach by I think Fifa, couldn’t see properly on the screenshot pic, but there was a tweet saying Wambach celebrates with friend…clearly not a friend.

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  49. I made a cake with the US Soccer crest to celebrate. (I would also like to add that I was looking up updates on the match while wearing a rainbow necklace, walking through the Castro. My brother said “Why do you talk about Rapinoe so much? It’s almost like you have a crush on her or something. And she’s gay.” He still thinks I’m straight. lol)

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  51. I’m so in love with this team it’s not even funny. I love that Kelley scored her first goal in the WC! And a flying one at that. And JJ was phenomenal. So young but so talented. I’m pretty excited to see what the team can do.

    Reply to This Comment

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