Oos-Oos-Oos-ah!
July 7, 2019
By Devoney Looser
"In London, I was travelling alone, so I struggled with where to go to watch the match. I’d seen earlier rounds on television at home in Arizona, with my baseball-obsessed teenage son. He doesn’t like soccer of any variety. Inevitably, during the match, I’d find my eyes welling up with tears, and he’d ask me 'why in the world are you crying at that? Nothing is even happening!' It was hard to explain what it meant to watch these incredible athletes working together. It didn’t seem odd to him. Thinking about that moved me. This World Cup has shattered international television viewing records. I was talking about it with my colleague at Arizona State University, the history professor and top-level runner Victoria Jackson. We’re both fellows at ASU’s Global Sport Institute. (I play roller derby as Stone Cold Jane Austen, my academic specialism being Austen and the history of British women’s writings.) What gets Victoria about the women’s World Cup is 'every time the camera pans to young girls – and boys – in the stands'."