By David Halstead – CEO & President

Every soccer and sports fan deserved to see the match!  It was a recipe for the perfect sporting event:  the much-anticipated start of the new Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) League season; two teams comprised of world-class athletes and modern day heroes; a beautiful day and marvelous soccer stadium; fans screaming for either the home team LA Sol or visiting Washington Freedom; and very competitive and highly contested play that showcased tremendous soccer skills – just what everyone had come to see!!!

I’m pleased to have been part of the more than 14,800 soccer fans that journeyed to the Home Depot Center in California on Sunday to watch this historic game.  But, I am even more proud that I was there representing the communities of Philadelphia and Philly’s new women’s pro soccer team that starts play a year from now.  I was joined at the event by our team’s GM and Coach Matt Driver, and Philly’s own All-American player and former FC Delco star Kelly Rowland, now serving as our Operations Manager.  It was no surprise that the soccer community was very interested in hearing about Philadelphia’s selection as the 8th WPS franchise, all acknowledging the rich sports and soccer traditions in and around Philly.  Like us, everyone we spoke to on behalf of our Philadelphia organization was excited about Philly entering the League and bringing its enthusiastic fans and passionate sports play to the game.

Fan highlights seemed to be the pre-game events that featured legend Mia Hamm, the Sol and Freedom team introductions that included Marta, Abby Wambach, and other soccer superstars, and of course the outstanding field play by both teams culminating in terrific goals scored by Allison Falk and Camille Abily of the Sol.  For me, one of the most exciting things to witness was the thousands of screaming youth players and athletes spanning all age groups that I believe watched the action on the field and, through it, saw their dream to play professional soccer materialize!  I’ve got to believe the same was happening in living rooms around the country as fans young and old watched this nationally-televised match.

The WPS leadership, LA Sol, and Washington Freedom organizations deserve lots of credit for making this WPS 2009 Inaugural Match such a terrific and memorable event.  Now, together with soccer fans everywhere, we will enjoy a few months of WPS match play, leading to the Championship Match in August.  Meanwhile, as the teams from Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, NY/NJ, St. Louis, and Washington are busy playing this 2009 season, we Philly 2010 fans will continue to get organized for our own team’s player selection and roll-out. 

Stay tuned and stay connected as we bring you the news about the time and place of our upcoming downtown signing ceremony and unveiling of the team’s name.

Once it seemed that the hopes of women’s soccer rested on the slim shoulders of Mia Hamm, who had an especially memorable commercial that paired her with the NBA star of the day, Michael Jordan.

Time marches on, however, and now Women’s Professional Soccer is set to launch with the spotlight on a new star, Brazil’s Marta.

Though she may not have a commercial yet, Marta may have something better – the current NBA star of the moment, Kobe Bryant, is in awe of her skills.

He flew in via helicopter to attend the press conference welcoming Marta to to Los Angeles Sol.

“I’m a fan, really,” Bryant said. “I don’t feel like Kobe the basketball player at all. I’m just as excited as anybody here.”

Bryant has two young daughters that he has already introduced to the game. He himself played as a youngster in Italy, where his father was playing for many years in the basketball league there. Thus, he immediately recognized Marta’s skill.

“The way that she plays with such passion, such energy, such a love for the game, and so much creativity, I found myself being glued to the TV set,” Bryant said.

Bryant claimed that there were three things he wanted to accomplish in the 2008 Olympics. One was to win a gold medal in basketball, “Or I wouldn’t have been able to remain a citizen,” he cracked. The other two? Watch Michael Phelps make history, winning eight gold medals and watch Marta play in person.

For her part, Marta said that she was gratified to to hear praise from Bryant, but she also insisted that the league would be successful due to the players from all the teams.

“I think this is the best league, because it has so many good players from around the world,” Marta explained.

The new WPS star praised the league’s organization, her teammates and the stadium. But she also seemed especially appreciate of one particular aspect of Los Angeles.

“In Sweden, it’s cold,” Marta pointed out, mentioning where she used to play. “The weather here is very nice.”

Andrea Canales, Goal.com