I was watching the Netflix sports series called Under Pressure. It's all about the rise and fall of the women's US soccer team in the 2023 FIFA World Cup.
At first, I hated how politics messed up their preparation.
I never really saw it in the series' first three episodes, though.
I thought I had to watch the series because of two things. First of all, I have seen Funko pops of Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe and there was a point in time that I thought of logging into my Lazada account to buy their pops. The other thing is that the 2023 FIFA World Cup is the first time a Philippine team participated. It is also the first time the country won a FIFA match when the Philippines defeated New Zealand, 1-0, thanks to Sarina Bolden's goal in the 24th minute.
Going back to the series, the Sam Kerr and Kristie Mewis story is cool and the same goes for the part with Alex Morgan and Lynn Williams. The Megan Rapinoe part is also good, although I thought that the political side would rear its ugly head during the World Cup part.
That didn't happen.
Thank goodness.
But then the middle of the fourth episode had the political side of women's soccer. I did not like this because I wanted to see what they were going to do next.
I thought Vlatko Andonovski messed up big time because while he is viewed in the series as a tactician, he failed to make his scorers look good. Lindsey Horan and Sophia Smith were the only players to score goals for the Americans at two apiece. In this series, I discovered that a team can now field five substitutions from the previous limit of three. While this is due to health reasons, a coach can use this to create strategies. Right off the bat, a platoon substitution will mess up an opposing team's psyche. Just imagine five fresh and goal-hungry midfielders and forwards running amuck in the 70 to 80th minute.
The series pimped the talents of Alyssa Thompson and the aforementioned Mewis but both players saw little to no action in the tournament. In some ways, giving Mewis screen time just because her girlfriend is Australian soccer star Sam Kerr is just ridiculous.
And Julie Ertz was coming back from an injury.
She also has a Funko pop.
Where was her screen time?
The series had the potential but I felt that it never really zoomed in on the proper targets. Even Rapinoe, a polarizing player for her political views, had a confusing arc in the series. Inasmuch as I hate the political thing, I would rather view her as a grizzled veteran looking for one more title than a weakened warrior contemplating on her past successes.
At least they managed to save her aura when she assisted in the goal against South Africa.
I must admit, the Spain part is an eye-opener. Sometimes, old habits have to die, and kissing a woman who is not your wife on the lips, and in front of many people is a dumb way to get canceled. Sometimes, these old guys need to learn how to high-five women.
With equal pay though, I will partially disagree with the women's soccer team. Yes, the women's soccer team deserves better pay for their achievements but this shouldn't be across all sports. In the Philippines, women's volleyball players are paid better than their male counterparts. There are reports that they are earning way better than their PBA counterparts. The monthly salaries range from 150,000 to 500,000 pesos. If you are going to believe the Macmac Cardona expose that because of Blackwater and Kia, PBA salaries now are as low as 70,000 pesos, this means there has been a shift in the Philippine sports landscape.
Also, women volleyball players have other ways to promote their sport. Aside from doing promo work for their brands, some of these girls are stunners. Because of their build, they can pose as models, beauty pageant contestants, showbiz personalities, and cover girls. The same can be said with Pinoy basketball players, although most of the models, showbiz personalities, and cover boys are in the collegiate ranks.
US women's soccer has the right to demand big salaries because they have established their dominance in the sport as compared to their male counterparts.
Anyway...
Without the political arc, this series is a good way to introduce the world of women's soccer. After watching the series, I went to Wiki as well as the USWNT website to check out the stats of Horan, Morgan, Ertz, and Rapinoe.
I am not a fan of the whole woke thing and thank goodness it hasn't really reached the Philippines. Again, I wanted to see more of the behind-the-scenes undertakings of the team.