English women's soccer in the ascendant

Soccer sensationalism (or football fever as us Brits would call it) is hitting Britain at the moment, or England at least, with the final of the UEFA Euro 2022 Football Championship being won by England after they beat Germany 2-1 at Wembley on Sunday July 31st.

This is a monumental victory. Not since 1966, before I was born, have England won a major international title in soccer. This fact is a source of great soreness to all English sports' fans and there is a fervour that hits whenever England come close to achieving an accolade that winds the country up to epic proportions only rivalled by royal weddings and jubilee celebrations or a Brit competing well at Wimbledon in the tennis.

And to beat the Germans? This should never be underestimated as this is the ultimate prize. A saying in our house whenever the German team are playing anything is "You never back against the Germans", meaning that they are always the most likely to win. I don't want to stereotype Germans but my impression of them is methodical, logical, having a determination to succeed and the motivation to do it - emotion will never get in the way. I don't think that I am far wrong in this assessment in terms of their soccer playing neither as they proved this in the final, coming back to draw before the game had to go into extra time.

I feared the worst.

Never underestimate the Germans. It does not pay your team to be complacent as the Germans will group and regroup in the face of challenge - they never seem to get shaken. Historically, we have fought them on battlefields and they proved themselves formidable and they have shown their presence as keenly as a rival on the soccer field too, although fortunately, with far less destructive results.

It was a great game, end to end with the teams evenly matched, physically challenging each other and showing high energy and vigour throughout.

I did a lot of shouting at the TV.

And ultimately, it was a fantastic victory for the above reasons but also for one important other: I probably should add that this was the women's final.

This fact cannot be overlooked as their win is not only unprecedented but it feels like it is the start of something revolutionary.

Soccer or football, as it is known here, is central to life in Britain, in all of the countries of the British Isles, although rugby also figures quite highly in Wales, Scotland and northern England, and cricket too, in parts.But soccer is at the heart of the country and it has been male-dominated. However, it would appear that that is all about to change.

Last night, the England "Lionesses" as they are nicknamed managed to do what the England "Lions" failed to do in 2020 against Italy and that is win the trophy outright.

Don't get me wrong - the men did well and everyone was behind them to win, although sometimes the British press does bay for blood and is highly critical if there is anything less than a resounding performance. We all felt the disappointment of the loss as a nation, especially losing on penalties as this seems to be the bane of an English soccer player's existence. The England Men's team manager, Gareth Southgate will tell you that, as no other player has felt as keenly the loss, the stigma, the backlash associated with a missed penalty. UEFA Euro Championships 1996. You can find stuff on the internet about this to this day.

And so, it was a nervous nation that settled down to watch the game on Sunday. And I have to say that I was enormously surprised by the stadium crowds and the TV support for this event.

You see, women's soccer has always been marginalised in the past. It has pretty much been men only and it is only in recent years that I have seen any women's team sports being given airtime and credence to the same extent that men's sports have received in perpetuity.

When I lived in Montreal, we went to see England vs Colombia in the World Cup. We went to the Olympic Stadium, our last visit there being to see AC/DC and what a different night that was. Not just because of the noise level, the amount of flashing red devil horns or the lesser number of Colombians but also because the stadium had been full for AC/DC but it was far from full for England vs Colombia.

The reason: because it was the Women's World Cup, not men's.

And Quebecers prefer Australian rock to soccer, maybe.

The tickets were easy to come by and reasonably priced. We had no trouble getting access to the stadium and there were plenty of empty seats. In fact, we moved to different seats during the game with no questions asked.

This would have been unheard of at a men's World Cup game. I'm not saying that every seat would have been occupied but I am saying that it would have been to a lesser extent at a male soccer game.

I can remember feeling a bit sad about this as the Colombians were well represented by the sea of yellow manifesting itself around the stadium. Maybe geography had something to do with it or maybe Montreal has a higher Colombian ex-pat community than first thought. It is possible it would be larger than the English ex-pat population. Who knows? I just remember feeling disappointment that my team was not as fairly supported and did think it was because it was women rather than men playing. I am certain of this.

My boys were bought England soccer shirts for Christmas one year. I sourced them and found some reasonably priced ones that were the World Cup kit and they were deemed authentic soccer strips. Why had they been so easy to come by and so cheap? Because they were Lionesses' shirts, not men's kit. They were not best pleased. The only difference? A red neckline.

I questioned them at the time about this but I understood really. The women's team was unknown to them. They could name players on the male England squad who played for English Premiership teams that they followed. The male players were household names, recognisable and talked about on TV, internet news, FIFA video games. The Lionesses? They wouldn't have been able to name one and so they felt embarrassed - I could sense it. The women's team meant nothing to them. They were a bunch of girls playing soccer, that was all. No heroes, no role models to them.

They were nobodies to my boys. And I have to admit to me.

The overlying emotion they would feel wearing those shirts is self-consciousness. They should have been feeling pride.

They wore the shirts but only because we were going back to Canada after our Christmas family visit and no-one there would know the difference.

So I have to admit to being surprised by the support shown to England this time. I thought that it would be glossed over and pushed to the side, televised on a lesser channel and reported at the end of a bulletin as an addition to news of international affairs and Hollywood insights.

But, no. Not this time. No, women were at the forefront and it was great to see.

What was different this time? Was it the chance of victory? Was it a welcome distraction from the continued malaise of politics in the UK? Was it the perfect post-viral pick-me-up? Was it years of getting to this point? Was it just a welcome distraction?

Or are things changing for women's soccer?

If my reaction is representative of the nations, then yes, England's win is going to change the mindset, for sure. I have entered into the spirit of it like never before. I was excited for the game. I watched them beat Sweden. I was swelled by the crowds that turned out, the coverage their success gained on radio and TV and the overall sense that there was a chance they could win. I felt vindicated in my interest because I'd already seen them play - I had a vested interest, although I recognise that I may be elaborating that just a little.

For me, and I am sure for many, it is not just about the win though. It is about the win for women. It is about a team of women who have achieved incredible success and have fought to get to the level they are at through self-belief, fortitude and dogged determination. They have not been treated with equality, like the male players - we all know that this is not just applicable to sport, this difference in wages and opportunity.

But, this win may go somewhere to addressing that.

And it has already.My boys can name the players as can I. I would be able to recognise them and applaud them now. I wouldn't say "Who's that?" if I saw them interviewed.

I heard on the radio today that the win will "inspire a generation of young girls." You know what I say to that? I hope that this win will inspire a generation of young people, not just girls. And I hope that it will inspire a whole other generation, gender not specified, who will look at the victory of these young women with something akin to pride. And I hope that that pride will bolster what has been achieved by this victory for generations to come.

And I hope that this will not just be limited to women's team sport but that it will spread into other fields, increasing as it goes and taking this positive outlook to the masses to change the view for generations.

I think it will happen. And I will tell you why: both my boys yesterday asked where their Lioness soccer shirts were.

If that's an indicator, then we are on our way.