This story aired in the August 1, 2024 episode of Crosscurrents
Soccer may have more day to day popularity outside the United States, but it's gaining traction here in the Bay, especially women's soccer. The US Women’s National team recently welcomed Chelsea’s Emma Hayes as its new head coach, just in time for the Olympics this summer.
Hayes said at her last game in the UK, “everyone told us we couldn't. Everyone said girls can't play. Nor can they fill stadiums. Nor can they get paid. Nor can they, like create history for themselves. Well, guess what? Not only are we not going away, but we're going to fill them every week. because women's football now, it's a serious business.”
That serious business is happening in the Bay Area, too. Bay FC is the newest women’s team in the National Women's Soccer League. The team was launched this year with one of the largest institutional investment ever made in a women’s professional sports franchise.
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Inaugural Home Opener:
When I walk through the gates, the first thing that hits me is a wall of sound. 18,000 people are crowded into the open air stadium. It’s a sold out game. Fans are sporting their white, navy, gray and orange jerseys and hats emblazoned with an iconic B in a gothic font. Kids have their faces painted and hold up homemade signs with messages to their favorite players. The air feels electric with anticipation.
“It's going to be fun to watch and it's nice just to see little boys growing up with women as their role models and stuff now. So, it's pretty awesome to see the tides
turn," says Sarah Krause, who came all the way from Lafayette with her family.
Bay FC is the newest team in the National Women’s Soccer League. They share a stadium in Santa Clara with the men’s team, the San Jose Earthquakes. The team was founded by local soccer legends and world cup medalists Aly Wagner, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton, and Brandi Chastain. They all played for the U.S. National Team. In fact, they also all played for Santa Clara University, just down the road from the stadium. With this newest venture there’s another little bit of “deja vu.” Two of the founding four have been part of other local attempts in the professional women's soccer space.
Early Days:
Back in 2001 another professional women's team took the field in the South Bay.
The San Jose CyberRays launched around the same time as the Women’s United Soccer Association Brandi Chastain was there, too. Back then, she was the team’s star player. Made world famous only years before when she helped team USA win the women’s world cup with an historic penalty kick. When she took off her shirt in celebration, the photo of her in her sports bra also became iconic.
But despite quality players - after only three seasons, the league, and by nature the Cyber Rays, folded because of financial difficulties. Attendance and television ratings fell short. A few years later, Brandi Chastain and Leslie Osborne tried again in the same location with a team called FC Gold Pride. But soon after, that team and their league folded, too.
In an interview with Brandi at halftime during one of the Bay FC games this spring, she said it wasn’t the players or the team that was the problem before:
“We had the best players in the world playing here since 2001. the business side of things was not ready for women's professional sports and women's soccer specifically.
There just wasn't this embrace of women in sports on the professional level, you need to be able to have media attention and awareness. You need to have sponsorship and to have buy in”
This time around she says lots of things have changed. One is there is a broader appeal, both with the public, and with the media.
“The game has changed - just the fact that you're all here and I'm having this conversation, right?
The first, with the pride, I don't ever recall doing a press conference after the game. It was maybe on the field with someone or on the phone. So this is exciting for all of our players,” says head coach Albertin Montoya, at the press conference after the Bay FC inaugural home game.
And while previous leagues lasted just a few seasons, the current league has been around since 2012 and has staying power. But the biggest difference may be the money. Across the country, women’s soccer franchise values are growing, sponsorships and media deals are happening. Players are even referred to as “product on the pitch.”
“So, this is different. This is a business proposition. We can see how the NWSL, the last couple expansion teams that have come, uh, Angel City, San Diego, Utah, and now, uh, the San Diego team, which was bought in for, for I think 2 to 3 million, just sold for 120 million, we are headed in the right direction, ” says Brandi Chastain
And for Bay FC, the proof is in the pudding.
A global investment firm called Sixth Street Partners co-founded Bay FC, and led one of the largest ever institutional investment in a women’s professional sports franchise:over $125 million.
It’s not only the finances, the Bay Area has had, and continues to have, a huge impact on women's soccer nationally.
“This is the richest, deepest well of talent that has gone untapped. And it's like that when they dig for oil and all of a sudden it just, it's like Eureka! We found this fountain and women's sports has a place. And as you can see by the tens of thousands of fans here, uh, they believe it too,” says Brandi Chastain.
Players from UC Berkeley and Stanford make up almost 25% of the US national team.
Branding Bay FC as a Bay Area team, not just San Jose or Santa Clara makes sense.
“I would say for Aly, Danielle, Leslie, and myself, our intention has always been that we belong to the nine counties and the nine bridges, and we want to represent each and every one of them.”
There's a robust social media presence and “watch parties” all over the bay.
“Going to the home opener we were able to take Caltrain down and you could see people getting on the Caltrain all the way down with their Bay FC stuff on and we almost went over to Oakland today just to check it out and watch the game over there, ” says fan Kira Kelly at a watch party in San Francisco’s Richmond District.
BAY FC didn’t win that game but the trajectory is still exciting to the fans and players. Deyna Castellanos scored the historic first goal for Bay FC in the home opener:
“We knew our fans were going to be the best in the league, and they showed today, they were right there with us, even in the tough moments. And we are very, very honored to, to play for them and to try to make them happy,” she says.
Three players from Bay FC are in Paris right now to represent their countries in the 2024 Olympic games: Lysianne Proulx for Canada, Rachael Kundananji for Zambia and Asisat Oshoala for Nigeria.
You can catch the next Bay FC home game on August 2nd at 7.30pm.
Whether you call it soccer or football - it is a beautiful game.
Do you want to catch a Bay FC game? Here is a link to their schedule.
