The role of Facebook in Self-Advertisement of the USWNT:
By Brigid Larkin
The US Women’s National Team Facebook does not exist. Not on its own, anyway. That is, it is lumped in with the US Soccer page, and so shares the platform with the men’s team. However, a quick glance at the page shows that the majority of its recent photos are of the men’s team. In the weeks leading up to the World Cup, it seems that the administrators of the page are trying to rectify that. In the course of advertising the Women’s Team’s roster, the page has dramatically increased the number of posts and photos of the female players. This joint Facebook account can be found here. Another search will bring you to the personal pages of several of the women’s players however, which are both tailored to the experiences of the women’s team, and updated more regularly than the US Team page.
Alex Morgan’s Facebook, found here, is a classic example of the hometown feel generated by the 1999 World Cup team. While she may have 1.5 million followers, Morgan posts as if sending messages to her friends. The result is an inclusive webspace that makes fans feel like a part of Morgan’s family. She posts for holidays, shares pictures of her family, and leaves personal messages. This is as close as social media can come to the down-home feeling from ’99, without the act of meeting the fans in person.
And of course, Morgan seems to recognize that. Her Facebook links directly to her website, found here. Specifically, her Facebook directs the reader to her soccer camps, the first of which occurred in January, 2015. Morgan’s camps are an example of the continuation of personal outreach from the Women’s National Team to local communities.
Alex Morgan signs autographs for fans. (Roberts 2013)
In other cases, Facebook can track whether or not the player will make it to the World Cup. This is more true for Hope Solo than for any other Women’s National Team player. Solo’s Facebook page, one of the most popular of any player with 1.7 million fans, reads like a history of her career on the National Team. It follows game updates, supportive messages for her fellow players, and a scattered few apologies for incidents that have put her on and off the pitch throughout the last year. Solo was notably still active on Facebook, promoting games and players for Team USA, even throughout her suspension. Her page is a great place for team information, as it is updated almost daily. Since she was taken off of her most recent suspension, the majority of Solo’s posts have been about Team USA and World Cup preparations.
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Works Cited:
“Facebook” by Facebook – facebook.com website – [Designed by Cuban Council. Based on modified “Klavika” font.]. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Facebook.svg#/media/File:Facebook.svg
Morgan, Alex. Facebook.com. 11 Jan. 2011. Web. 14 April 2015.
Roberts, Robin. ESPNW. (27 June 2013). In the Game: Alex Morgan [Video file].
Solo, Hope. Facebook.com. 20 Jan. 2009. Web. 14 April 2015.
