The Grinch hard at work in Houma
December 12, 2015
William Gautreaux
December 16, 2015
The best women’s soccer team in the world will play tonight in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
And hundreds of locals are ready to pack up their caravans to get in on the action.
The United States Women’s National Team will take on China PR tonight in the city – the final stop in the team’s 10-game victory tour that will cap the team’s 2015 schedule.
The match will take place at 7 p.m., and will be televised on FOX Sports 1.
But several folks in the Houma-Thibodaux area won’t be watching from TV, but instead will be taking in the match from the comforts of the dome.
“We can’t wait,” Thibodaux native Chuck Hill said. “Me, my daughter and two of her friends are going. As soon as the tickets went on sale, we ordered them, and there was never a doubt that we’d be in attendance.”
The stars will be out when the Americans battle the Chinese.
The U.S. Victory Tour squad consists of countless familiar soccer names like Carli Lloyd, Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe – all of the stalwarts from the group which won the 2015 FIFA World Cup this past summer.
Hill said his daughter’s favorite player is Lauren Holiday – the standout American midfielder who is retiring at the end of the match on Wednesday.
Justin Abrams, 13, of Houma, said the chance to see all of his favorite players from the summer was too much to pass up. Both he, his mom and three siblings will be in the dome on Wednesday night.
“I love soccer,” Abrams said. “It’ll be really cool to see Abby Wambach play. I watched their games on TV, and the women play just as good as the men. I’ll be studying their moves and trying to be like them when I am on the field myself.”
Local father Adam Bruce agreed. He said that his two kids – one boy and one girl – are just beginning to get into sports, and as a sports fan, he couldn’t pass up the chance to take them to the dome.
Wednesday’s match will be the first time since 2003 that Team USA plays in New Orleans, and the first time they compete in the Superdome. The last time the Americans competed on Louisiana soil was at Tad Gormley Stadium against Brazil.
“This doesn’t happen often,” Bruce said. “As a dad, if I told my kids no, then I had to be willing to accept and understand that this chance literally may never come again while they’re kids. That’s not something I could do while still looking at myself in the mirror.”
The match will be the finale of a tour that started in August. The Americans were originally slated to play 10 games over the four-month span – a series of back-to-backs against Costa Rica, Haiti, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago and China. That schedule changed a bit in early December when American soccer officials canceled a December 6 friendly against Trinidad and Tobago in Hawaii because of poor field conditions – a game which was never made up, thus shrinking the tour to just nine games.
The Americans have been absolutely dominant in the countrywide showcase, recording a 7-0-1 record, while outscoring opponents 40-4.
The lone setback came on Oct. 21 – a 1-all draw against Brazil.
In the front-end of the back-to-back against China, the Americans scored a 2-0 triumph. That match was played in Phoenix on Sunday night. Crystal Dunn and Christen Press provided the offensive surge for the U.S., which outshot the Chinese and controlled the ball.
But wins, losses and who’s scoring which goals are really secondary storylines behind tonight’s event.
For local soccer fans, it’s all about the exposure and the idea that the sport they love has arrived and is here to stay.
FIFA World Cup ratings this past summer set record highs for soccer events in American television history. Attendance tonight is expected to rival, if not surpass the 19,000-plus which were at the game in Arizona on Sunday.
Many of that group are locals – men, women and children who can’t wait to see their favorite soccer stars in person for the first time.
“It’s awesome,” Juan Salgado, of Houma said. “It’s a sign of how far the game has come.” •
The United States Women’s National Team celebrates after scoring a goal in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup – a tournament the Americans won. The Americans will take the field in Louisiana for the first time since 2003 tonight when they lock horns with China at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The match will be the final one in the long, historic career of Abby Wambach, who is retiring from competition at the end of the calendar year.
