An American legend has come under fire in Canada. Is it fair? (Getty Images)
Neil W. Blackmon
Abby Wambach has long been defined not simply by her ability to score goals at an incredible rate, but by her candor.
That’s how as a youngster on the US Women’s National Team you end up getting a shirt from legend Julie Foudy that reads “HELP! I’m taking and I can’t shut up” and that’s how you end up being a lightning rod for what you say off the field before and during the 2015 Women’s World Cup as much as you are for what you are doing, or not doing, on the field. That’s one way folks wonder if the US quest to win a third Women’s World Cup is more about you than the team.
Wambach’s very limited filter is part of what makes her so compelling. And yet I wonder, ahead of tomorrow night’s semifinal against world number one Germany in Montreal, if judging what Wambach says has made us forget all that she is and has been for US soccer. Or put more precisely, have the criticisms hurled at Wambach’s play and rhetoric created a caricature-esque, villain out of the American legend?
Are we being unfair to Abby?
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Wambach at UF, where she was a four-time All-American and part of a national championship Gators team.
In December of 2001, while a student at the University of Florida, I went to Dallas to cover the Women’s College Cup (NCAA Soccer’s Final Four). A four time All-American at UF, Wambach had already won a national championship, as (of course) a confident and boisterous freshman in 1998 alongside future national teamers Danielle Fotopoulos and Heather Mitts. Win or lose, the Final Four would mark the end of Abby Wambach’s career with the Gators. Earlier that autumn, Wambach had earned her first national team cap, two days prior to September 11, 2001 against Germany. She would have a future in soccer beyond the University of Florida, which was more than many of the women in Dallas that weekend could say. The Final Four was about finishing, cementing a proud Gator legacy.
In the semifinal, Florida lost 3-2 in overtime to Santa Clara. To this day, for pure drama , the game remains one of the best matches I’ve had the chance to cover. Santa Clara scored the game’s first two goals through Veronica Zepeda (from Aly Wagner) and Leslie Osborne (all ultimately were US national team players) at the end of the first and half and beginning of the second half respectively. The Broncos held the 2-0 lead until the game’s final seven minutes, when Wambach played a splendid ball through to Crystal Frimpong (whose sister Tina played for the US national team), who scored to cut the lead to one. Freshman Katie Johnston leveled the game on a set piece three minutes later, and the Gators forced overtime. Veronica Zepeda ended the game on the golden goal rule early in overtime, ending Wambach’s career, and ultimately propelling Santa Clara to the national championship two days later.
As memorable as the game was, however, what happened next was more interesting.
As Wambach’s Gator teammates sat despondent on the field in overtime, Florida head coach Becky Burleigh and Wambach walked around picking teammates up, offering a hug or a word. Wambach had wanted a second collegiate national championship badly, so for her to mope or wallow on the playing field in the aftermath would have been human and understandable. Instead, Wambach put her team first. Her postgame comments echoed that sentiment: “We believed in ourselves,” Wambach said. “We may not [have been] the most talented squad in the College Cup, but what matters is we put it all on the line. That’s the type of team this. It’s not the storybook ending I expected, but I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” Wambach said.
Perhaps the memory of that moment on a cold day in Texas, with Wambach picking her teammates up off the ground, has gotten the better of me of late as Wambach has come under fire for the things she says off the field and been roundly criticized for showing her age on it. Perhaps I’m less inclined to be unbiased when I write about Wambach because I’m less inclined to still be writing about soccer if I hadn’t covered her in college. I fell in love with soccer watching her play it, and that’s a necessary disclosure. But perhaps there’s a middle ground, however nesh and narrow, to occupy before things end for the US (and Wambach) in Canada.
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Wambach hasn’t been nearly as effective against elite teams as she was when her and Lloyd helped the US to gold in London.
There’s a less-sinister view of the framing of Abby Wambach as villain and touchstone for all the American “problems” at this World Cup. It’s fair and supported by empirical data and isn’t novel, having been argued in women’s soccer circles for at least a year. It doesn’t focus on what Wambach says off the pitch and is less reliant on conclusive statements about Wambach’s character. That’s because it’s about soccer.
Abby Wambach isn’t the same player she was in 2011.
At 35, after nearly 250 caps and 183 international goals, she’s slowed down a bit. She’s never been fast but now she’s obviously slow, even rigid in her movements. She is winning less balls in the air than she used to and converting less to goals when she does win the aerial duel. Empirical analysis done at Equalizer Soccer demonstrates that Wambach’s productivity, particularly against elite teams, has undergone steady decline since an extremely productive 2012. Wambach’s overall productivity hasn’t necessarily declined- but her NPG (number of goals per 90 minutes) vs the World’s top 15– read, the types of teams you must beat to win a World Cup– has dramatically slipped, from .79 in 2012 to .34 in 2014.
Utilizing this and other data, some called for Wambach omission from the 2015 Women’s World Cup roster altogether, or at the least, strict bench duty, going so far as to blame Wambach for the bottoming out of American production under Jill Ellis (because of course she chose to play narrowly and direct, not the manager). Others argued the debate was at least worth having, noting that what Wambach had done for the team historically shouldn’t be a factor. Experienced non-journalist voices, not ready to walk the “cut her altogether” plank, like the aforementioned Foudy, argued that Wambach shouldn’t start. Pia Sundhage and Anson Dorrance, two coaches and astute observers of both the women’s and Wambach’s game, echoed the sentiment that Wambach’s role should be that of a substitute off the bench, a changeup player who can find a run and poach a goal as a defense tires.
At the World Cup, Wambach has done little to help dispel the view that she’s best suited as a substitute and not a great threat vs. elite competition any longer. She’s created limited chances and seemed a step slow against each of the elite teams the US have played, notably Australia and Sweden in the group stages. She scored a lovely set piece goal against Nigeria to seal the group for the United States, but the Nigerians are weak defending set pieces and a Tobin Heath screen did the dirty work.
Heath far left screens her defender, clears Abby for the goal. pic.twitter.com/YaCMmS1pEn
— The Yanks Are Coming (@YanksAreComing) June 17, 2015
And in the quarterfinals, with Wambach on the bench and despite facing a highly organized Chinese defense, the American attack looked the most healthy it has the whole tournament, consistently creating chances. The presence of the fleet-footed Amy Rodriguez paired with Alex Morgan helped the US look less rigid, and they pressured and stretched the typically compact Chinese defense almost from the opening whistle, even if the finished product from Rodriguez was lacking (sharing the Vine, not really the sentiments).
Aaaaaaaand Christen Press or Sydney LeRoux would have scored…….Awful miss from Amy Rodriguez #USWNT pic.twitter.com/nCPWBHYb0P
— Andrew Jerell Jones, Luke 1:37 (IG:twdbk3) (@sluggahjells) June 26, 2015
The addition of Morgan Brian into the midfield for the suspended Lauren Holiday also influenced proceedings, with Ellis tactically freeing up the dynamic Lloyd to charge forward and score with Brian behind- but the absence of Wambach was both noticeable and at times, beneficial. If the US were ever going to win in Canada, an effective and inspired Carli Lloyd, who like Wambach playing is likely playing in her last World Cup, was a necessity. Even in the light most beneficial to Wambach, perhaps Lloyd feeling the pressure to score and lead against China was strong and proper medicine. But Wambach’s absence seemed ever-present.
Going forward, there are legitimate and fair questions to be asked of Jill Ellis and Abby Wambach about soccer and what is happening between the lines. On a team defending with remarkable, “Italy 06” skill, it has become clear the United States may only need a goal a match to, at the very least, force penalties or extra time. And it has become clear from the mood and comments around the side that the Americans understand the quality of defense they are playing and feel they don’t need too much getting forward, either.
https://twitter.com/MC_of_A/status/614607858991296512
The question facing Jill Ellis then- and one that must involve discussion about what the proper role is for Abby Wambach- is what combination of players best allows the US to do that.
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Carli Lloyd’s goal lifted the Americans over China, with many arguing the team was better off with Wambach sitting.
Which brings me back to Abby, almost fourteen years ago, fresh off her first national team caps, picking her heartbroken Gator teammates up off the field, offering a hug or a shoulder pat or a head rub.
Because what’s concerning is the perception that the criticism is about more than soccer. Wambach criticism has become its own sideshow at this World Cup. It has become personal, about character and not about soccer, an assortment of fetid fables ranging from unlikely to conspiratorial and ridiculous. A simple Twitter search of Abby Wambach would reveal a litany of allegations, but the cumulative effect is a framing of Wambach as a selfish player who is making this tournament about her.
As evidence, a New York Times article about Wambach where she talks about being the focal point of the attack continues to be brought up. And it is a story ripe with regrettable quotes, sometimes a byproduct of Wambach’s candor. Perhaps characterizing people (presumably her teammates) as “scared” of scoring wasn’t optimal. That story has bolstered the claim of those wishing to label Wambach a selfish, out-of-touch and aging superstar, one of the older character tropes in sport.
Examined more closely, it’s an odd accusation, really, for a player whose leadership qualities are, to quote teammate Alex Morgan, “infectious.” But maybe the marketable and opportunistic Morgan is just towing the company line.
Another teammate, Hope Solo, told us before the World Cup that Wambach “understands winning in every way possible: scoring, leadership, pride, intensity. She’s the best teammate because she’ll do whatever it takes to win,” Solo said. But she’s been in the news a bunch lately. Maybe the best goalkeeper in the world isn’t the best character witness. How about a former coach- Becky Burleigh, from UF? ““She is just such a tough competitor. She has always been willing to lay it all on the line. She hates losing more than anyone I’ve ever met,” Burleigh told NPR. “It’s about winning.”
Wambach testified on this question herself before the tournament. Asked if she needed to win a World Cup to feel her legacy was complete, the player who has won everything but a World Cup since arriving at the University of Florida in 1998 responded “You’re damn right I do.”
To do that, Wambach understood she’ll need to rely on teammates more than ever. She told Grant Wahl ahead of the tournament she knows that there are days she can be “one of the worst players on the field”, and that there are times she still blames herself for costing her teammates a World Cup final shot in 2003, when they lost a semifinal on home soil to- who else?-Germany.
“As a player, I want to play every minute of every game. But I’m a realist. I’m going to be 35 when the tournament kicks off,” Wambach told TYAC before the tournament. “Our coaches have gotten us ready to play seven games at the World Cup. Plenty of people have questioned them, but when it comes down to it they’ll play the sharpest players. We have incredible depth. And if I’m not sharpest, I’ll be the biggest cheerleader until I’m called on, trusting we are deeper and fitter than other teams in the world.”
And so there Wambach was, profanely putting her money where her mouth was Friday night against China, giving a halftime pep talk with a substitute’s bib on.
Potty mouth Abby Wambach #USAvCHN #WorldCup2015 pic.twitter.com/eaKsQ1OaFj
— Adam (@adamt326) June 27, 2015
Selfishness hasn’t been the only allegation levied against Wambach. It’s just been the most common, and to some extent- the most conspiratorial. Some have even suggested Wambach is managing or actually pulling the tactical strings with the side, with longtime US soccer servant Jill Ellis no more than a puppet or caretaker. (No, that’s actually a thing!) “Ellis can’t and won’t have the guts to bench her,” the argument went. Until she did. Then radio silence.
Wambach’s been criticized for everything- from her role in the untimely turf lawsuit against FIFA and the Canadian Football Federation late last year to the aforementioned NYT comments about being the focal point of the attack to her comments that it seemed the referee in the US Round of 16 match “had it out” for the US when she issued yellow cards to key American attackers Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday.
Wambach retracted the comments about the referee the next day- though naturally many suggested US Soccer told her to– and was fined by FIFA for the outburst. But again, it just seems like Abby being Abby, the outspoken, fierce competitor she’s always been.
Unfortunately, too many continue to lambast her for being outspoken (read: herself?). The turf-gate situation perhaps best exemplifies the silliness of these criticisms.
When Manchester United players were openly critical of having to play on turf in a friendly at the University of Michigan last year, grass was installed. When the grass installed was lousy, few commentators batted an eye or told them to stop whining.
Abby Wambach after winning the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year Award in 2012.
It’s part of the double standard that still exists in soccer between men and women. More insidiously, the criticism is also part of the larger culture, applicable even to progressive and open-minded individuals: when men are outspoken, they tend to be lableled “confident”, “assertive”, or “leaders.” When women do the same things, they are “brazen” or “feisty”, and in Wambach’s case, the very feminized label of “nagging.”
Wambach’s criticisms of the Canadian turf were written off by many because the gender discrimination lawsuit failed, or because turf is unavoidable or inevitable and temporary grass is bad, or because it is “privilege”to get to have a “preference” about grass and many of the women at the tournament would be thrilled just to have turf to practice on, or something.
And all of these criticisms might be reasonable and are at the least debatable, but that misses the point entirely. None are made if Wambach isn’t a woman. If it is a man, there is no turf lawsuit because FIFA plays the tournament on grass. There’s no “privilege to prefer” argument in that case because while global poverty is pervasive FIFA puts on a happy face for its largest revenue maker and the sport’s grandest spectacle. So on, so forth.
Wambach’s continual criticism of the turf fields while in Canada have brought on more vitriol, despite the reasonable argument she’s making that the turf is affecting the play and the number of goals scored in Canada, because the ball bounces differently and players might be holding back a bit on the harder surfaces. That the ball bounces differently and the surface demands a different style of play are inarguable fact, yet Wambach is seen as “nagging” for continuing to mention it. That’s a feminized and discriminatory criticism. No matter that she understands that “everyone is at a disadvantage”, as she has said. Her criticisms are framed as complaints: annoyances rather than legitimate, fair grievances about the good of the game and the product on the field.
Essentially, Wambach is being excoriated for being outspoken. One ridiculous column asked if she was “the female Kobe Bryant”, the ultra-competitor whose inner jerk got the best of her. As far as I know- and remember what I know includes her play in college– Wambach hasn’t made anyone cry or told a teammate to “reevaluate their life purpose“, although I’m sure that rumor is coming. The absurdity of the Wambach-Bryant comparison doesn’t stop there, but the differences are fairly easy to discover on Google.
There is, I think, undoubtedly a level of privilege and patriculture seeping into the Wambach discussions, and one that perhaps wouldn’t happen if Wambach presented in a way that was less threatening. This is a process Cordellia Fine (author of Delusions of Gender) has argued is part of compartmentalizing feminists-men are more receptive to outspoken women who fit gendered norms of sexuality. Wambach, a lesbian with a short haircut who has never become a cross-cultural icon like Mia Hamm or Alex Morgan, is innately more threatening to men and male privilege because she’s outside those norms. Which makes it worth asking…
https://twitter.com/BerkeleyAmy/status/615573243156525056
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In the end, the villainous framing of Wambach does a disservice both to her personal legacy and accomplishments as well as her contributions to the game of women’s soccer, both on and off the field.
Wambach has been a champion for the women’s game, an outspoken critic of Sepp Blatter, corruption and hypocrisy in FIFA and an advocate for women to be treated equally and with dignity within sport. She has handled affronts to her own identity and dignity with eloquence and grace, including the now famous incident with Sepp Blatter confusing her wife for Marta at an award’s ceremony, which led to her own praise for Marta and criticism of Blatter.
Equality and dignity have, if you haven’t noticed, been in the news lately in this country. Perhaps we should praise Abby for her work on both fronts.
Wambach helped relocate the sport in the American collective sporting psyche in 2011, at the onset of the American soccer boom, when she scored her famous headed goal in the quartefinals against Brazil. She’s scored more goals than any player in international soccer history, all while remaining open with the media and devoted to the success of not one, not two but three women’s professional leagues in the United States.
Tuesday night, she’ll likely figure, whether as a starter or 65th minute substitute, in the US quest for a third World Cup championship, her first. She hopes, of course, that this semifinal will go differently than the one against Germany in 2003, or the one against Santa Clara, in 2001.
But if it doesn’t, Wambach will be there to pick her teammates up.
“Within our wolfpack, it is important that we be there for each other as sisters,” Wambach said before the tournament. “That’s life. I know people put us on this big pedestal because we represent our country, but we are human beings and things happen. Life happens. This team is special because we are genuine and real and we can still go on the field and put out a product that is fun to watch and we can win games.”
And her legacy? It can wait.
“I think this team’s legacy is whatever we want it to be, and nothing is written until after the World Cup,” Wambach said.
A World Cup that she hopes ends with one more chance at a championship.
Neil W. Blackmon is Co-Founder of The Yanks Are Coming. He can be reached at nwblackmon@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter @nwblackmon.