New Women's Pro League!

by **DaTruRochin** Thu Aug 09, 2012 10:58 am

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/story/_/id/8251007/plans-take-shape-new-us-women-soccer-league

http://www.allwhitekit.com/?p=10259

So a few of the WPS holdovers including Chicago, Boston and NY/NJ plus Seattle and another West coast location... It's a start, but hopefully this new league doesn't repeat the mistakes of WUSA and WPS. The women's Sounders games were all sold out this past season, so that inclusion seems a no brainer, it will be interesting who joins them out west. (And whether they will be a separate organization from SSFC)

by PurplePrideTrumpet Thu Aug 09, 2012 12:46 pm

Another West Coast team... Abby Wambach bought a house in Portland...nahhh...

by UPSoccerFanatic Thu Aug 09, 2012 11:16 pm

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:Another West Coast team... Abby Wambach bought a house in Portland...nahhh...

Right next to Marta's.

by PurplePrideTrumpet Fri Aug 10, 2012 3:41 pm

UPSoccerFanatic wrote:
PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:Another West Coast team... Abby Wambach bought a house in Portland...nahhh...

Right next to Marta's.

http://www.oregonlive.com/front-porch/index.ssf/2012/08/olympian_abby_wambach_us_women.html

by DoubleDipper Fri Aug 10, 2012 4:28 pm

Well, Abby Wambach IS one of Nike's US Women's National Team Athletes! Smile

Regardless of her reason for buying in Portland, can you imagine the impact she would have on youth soccer programs in the area just by her occasional presence?

by Guest Fri Aug 10, 2012 6:27 pm

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:
UPSoccerFanatic wrote:
PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:Another West Coast team... Abby Wambach bought a house in Portland...nahhh...

Right next to Marta's.

http://www.oregonlive.com/front-porch/index.ssf/2012/08/olympian_abby_wambach_us_women.html

One reader's comment: "Probably just means she is going to coach for UP at some point."

by purple haze Fri Aug 10, 2012 7:19 pm

I'm glad she will be in Portland. Abby has a lot more soccer to play before coaching. At least, I hope to see her play for a long time. Her game is far more complete than a few years ago when Team USA was criticized for playing too many long balls to Abby in the hopes of a score. Now the attack is more balanced with Alex M. up front and better service -- thanks to Megan! Women's soccer without the words World Cup or Olympics in front of it is still a hard sell in this country.

by SoreKnees Fri Aug 10, 2012 7:43 pm

She might be thinking she can catch on with the (woeful) Timbers! Smile

by purple haze Fri Aug 10, 2012 7:50 pm

Yeah, let's put Abby on the Timbers front line for a game and see what happens. That would be a stunt worth trying. Someone needs to kick-start Timber Joey's chain saw.

by DoubleDipper Mon Aug 13, 2012 4:42 pm

PurplePrideTrumpet wrote:Another West Coast team... Abby Wambach bought a house in Portland...nahhh...

Well, it's gotta be true, the Willamette Week is even saying so:

Before flying off to London to lead the U.S. women's soccer team to a gold medal, Mary Abigail Wambach, better known to her millions of fans as Abby, became a Portlander.

Wambach, 32, grew up in New York state and played her college soccer at the University of Florida. Since graduating, she's become the second leading goal scorer in national team history: Her 142 goals trail only the 158 scored by Mia Hamm.

She's moving to a city that has a unique appreciation for high-level women's soccer. The University of Portland Pilots have led the nation in attendance for seven consecutive years.

Wambach paid $705,000 for her Portland house, a 1970's-built, 3,979-square-foot contemporary with a swimming pool on half-an acre in the Northwest Hills. The house, according to listing documents, is "located minutes away from Nike." The sportswear giant is a sponsor of U.S. women's soccer. Wambach may need some Nike endorsement money to fix up her new place. The house has great views but, according to the listing, is a little dated. "Inside, be prepared to make cosmetic updates," the listing says. "It still looks like the 70s!"

A video on Wambach's website suggests she has been living near the beach in Los Angeles, where she listens to Bruce Springsteen, cooks and makes prank phone calls.

Here's what her bio says about other interests:

"When not playing soccer, Abby unwinds by playing video games, listening to music and reading. She likes mountain biking and camping, and would someday like to hike the Appalachian Trail."

She'll have to switch that aspiration to the Pacific Crest Trail.

A call and an email to U.S. Soccer seeking comment from Wambach were not immediately returned.

by UPSoccerFanatic Mon Aug 13, 2012 5:52 pm

Wonder if Abby is going to have a job behind the berm?

Better yet, maybe a Nike-owned (or Phil Knight owned) Portland team featuring Nike athletes? One can dream! Cheers!

by UPSoccerFanatic Thu Nov 15, 2012 10:02 pm

There is information circulating, as yet officially unconfirmed, that a women's professional league will be starting up again (version 3) and that two of the eight teams will be in Seattle and Portland.

If true, which remains to be seen, congratulations to Pilots and Timbers fans.

by Geezaldinho Thu Nov 15, 2012 10:05 pm

Thinking about an alumna squad. Maybe we'll let Abby play too, since she just bought a house here..

Abby and Sinc on the same team....

by Geezaldinho Thu Nov 15, 2012 11:38 pm

Here was the first thing i saw, which just mentioned Portland

http://www.soccerwire.com/news/sources-us-soccer-set-to-announce-details-of-new-womens-pro-league/

And a poster on BS posted this link, which mentioned possible Timbers involvement.

http://equalizersoccer.com/2012/11/15/eight-teams-set-for-new-womens-pro-league/

I keep thinking about the Jeld Wen neighborhood agreement that limits the number of dates that events can be held in the stadium. There is room for only 6 large events, if I recall. Perhaps they think these won't be a problem.

by **DaTruRochin** Fri Nov 16, 2012 12:03 pm

I'll bet if the Timbers brass sat down with the neighborhood association they could work something out...

Plus they could always rent out Merlo during the summer as well!

by Geezaldinho Fri Nov 16, 2012 12:40 pm

I like the Merlo idea.

by Stonehouse Fri Nov 16, 2012 12:56 pm

Geezaldinho wrote:I keep thinking about the Jeld Wen neighborhood agreement that limits the number of dates that events can be held in the stadium. There is room for only 6 large events, if I recall. Perhaps they think these won't be a problem.

There's a similar neighborhood agreement for UP, FYI. There's a limit to how many night games can be hosted at Merlo Field.

by onetouchfutbol Sat Nov 17, 2012 8:38 am

DaTruRochin wrote:http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/story/_/id/8251007/plans-take-shape-new-us-women-soccer-league

http://www.allwhitekit.com/?p=10259

So a few of the WPS holdovers including Chicago, Boston and NY/NJ plus Seattle and another West coast location... It's a start, but hopefully this new league doesn't repeat the mistakes of WUSA and WPS. The women's Sounders games were all sold out this past season, so that inclusion seems a no brainer, it will be interesting who joins them out west. (And whether they will be a separate organization from SSFC)

I don´t know if they can keep the women´s Sounders team intact. They were made up of so many national team players who would likely have other commitments if a new league does take shape. I think that a good lesson can come out of the success of that team though: less is more. Don´t dilute the talent level of the league by having too many teams. I think that 4-6 teams which all have a heavy US National Team presence would be a good start. No offense to Marta and other amazing international players, but, the more popular US players like Rapinoe and Wambach are the ones who tend to sell more tickets.

The league could also learn the importance of good sponsorship from the MLS.

by **DaTruRochin** Sat Nov 17, 2012 12:25 pm

It won't be the EXACT same team, but there's no reason why they wouldn't have a similar assemblage of talent seeing that a lot of those players have no other outlet for soccer other than the national team. And ANY sponsorship is better than what the WPS managed to put together... They basically had to beg Puma just to put shirts on the players backs.

by UPSoccerFanatic Sat Nov 17, 2012 9:01 pm

I have believed for several years that the correct way to do it is to site the teams in areas where there are Division I schools with very successful women's soccer programs and then give the teams at those sites the first rights to sign players who graduated from schools in those areas. Imagine a team with Rapinoe, Sinclair, Lopez-Cox, Winters, Schmidt, Foxhoven without even mentioning players from OSU and UO as well as other Pilots.

by Geezaldinho Sat Nov 17, 2012 9:09 pm

Nothing wrong with having players like Marta on a team, but her Salary bankrupted three teams in a row in one year.

The salary structure has to reflect reality, as some of the Euro clubs are now finding out.

by A_Fan Wed Nov 21, 2012 8:50 am

The NBA used to have what they called a "territorial pick".

"In the first 20 years of the BAA/NBA, the league was still trying to gain the support of fans who lived in or near the team's home market. To achieve this, the league introduced the territorial pick rule to help teams acquire popular players from colleges in their area who would presumably have strong local support. Before the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round draft pick and then select any player from within a 50-mile radius of its home arena. Although the territorial picks were selected before the draft, these picks were not factored into the overall selection count of the draft; therefore, the first non-territorial pick of the draft was considered the first overall pick."

by **DaTruRochin** Wed Nov 21, 2012 10:47 am

http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-blogs/soccer/new-womens-professional-soccer-league-announces-formation-on-eve-of-olympic-gold-medal-match.html

Strange that the league decided to have a team in Seattle, but NOT the one already tied to the Sounders.... That doesn't really strike me as the smartest decision, but what do I know?

by **DaTruRochin** Wed Nov 21, 2012 10:58 am

http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/11/statement-merritt-paulson-regarding-professional-womens-soccer-coming-portland

Annnnd the Timbers will have a team too...

by Geezaldinho Wed Nov 21, 2012 11:13 am

PORTLAND, Ore. – U.S. Soccer today announced the formation of a new, eight-team professional women’s soccer league and that Portland will be one of the founding clubs and investors in the new league, which is set to begin play in 2013.
Below is a statement from Portland Timbers Owner/President Merritt Paulson regarding professional women’s soccer coming to Portland:
“We are pleased to partner with U.S. Soccer to bring a new women’s professional team to Portland and to do our part to make a top-flight women’s league possible in our country. The Timbers are, and always will be, steadfastly committed to growing the sport of soccer in our region at all levels, and championing a new women’s league and operating a team here in Soccer City, USA, will be an important part of that growth.
“Building on today’s news, soccer fans can look forward to many exciting announcements in the coming weeks and months leading up to the club’s inaugural season, including team name, logo and uniforms; schedule and ticket information; and a host of prominent roster announcements.”
For more information and to reserve your season tickets, visit www.portlandtimbers.com/women

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