Spirit Win First NWSL Championship… Whiny Red Stars Fans Experience Karma Firsthand And Go Home Unfulfilled!

Updated: Jun 24

We dove into following the NWSL with the championship match, an we were thoroughly hooked after this one!

Our interest in seeing Washington Spirit phenom Trinity Rodman play live titled our allegiance in their favor, but sitting among the Chicago Red Stars fans and hearing them piss and moan all match pushed us from mostly indifferent to passionate Spirit fans pretty quickly.

Four Nomadic Hippies' Fútbol Is Life National Tour

Match One: NWSL Championship Final (11/20/21)

Location: Louisville (Lynn Family Stadium)

Score: Washington Spirit (2) Chicago Red Stars (1)

4NH Team: Washington Spirit

4NH Fan Record: 1-0-0

4NH Human Of The Match: Kelley O'Hara

Kelley O’Hara’s goal in extra time (97') was the difference maker for the Washington Spirit. O'Hara put her team up 2-1., and the Spirit held on, gaining the franchise their first and only NWSL Championship.

Kelley O’Hara is one of the all-time greats in United States futbol history, and she hasn’t even closed the book on her career.

The timing of the goal, other than taking place in extra time, is even more impressive, considering it was O'Hara's first goal in any NWSL competition all season. The winning goal, a header, was set up by rookie Trinity Rodman's magnificent cross. It also made her the oldest player (at age 33) to ever score in an NWSL championship final.

Kelley has been an important part of the NWSL from the beginning, and this type of player "staying home” to play at a professional level helped the league gain instant credibility, and there is no questioning her ability to win.

4NH Fav Of The Match: Trinty Rodman

Sure, Trinity Rodman is the daughter of 5-time NBA Champion and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, but she has quickly emerged from his shadow while becoming a superstar and household name in women’s soccer.

It didn’t take long for us to forget Trinity was Dennis Rodman’s daughter with the skill she demonstrates on the pitch.

After the conclusion of her first season in the NWSL (2021), Rodman has already put together an impressive resume. She was the NWSL Rookie of the Year, named to the NWSL Best XI, and won the NWSL Championship. She was also chosen by the United States Soccer Federation as Young Female Player of the Year. All of this took place before her twentieth birthday. At that point in her father Dennis’ life, he was working at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport before finally hitting a growth spurt. This would ultimately allow him to revive his basketball career and play in college. Trinity certainly is not a late-bloomer like her father.

We truly were ecstatic when we were able to see Trinity play live in this match. Her speed is impressive (even more so in person), and she has the ability to finish at a high level around the net. Add this to her playmaking abilities, and it is plain to see why so many fütbol fans have taken such an interest in her. She is on her way to becoming one of the all-time greats, and it was fantastic to see a small part of the start.

Dickhead Move Of The Night: No Gear To Buy!

It made perfect sense that Racing Louisville F.C. gear was on sale during the match… the game was played at their home stadium, and the franchise used sound judgment, opening their gift shops for the match to get their kits out there and make some money. The thing that we couldn’t get our heads wrapped around was that the powers at the NWSL did not set up their own booth of any sort. With an ample outdoor concourse area at Lynn Family Stadium, there was NOTHING… not one piece of Spirit or Red Stars gear to be found. What an oversight.

As a futbol and NWSL fan, I came to the championship game in Louisville ready to buy some gear… just not Racing Louisville F.C. gear…

You wouldn’t think that the variety offered at this hypothetical stand would need to be much. Just something for the untethered fan or casual observer to procure to commemorate their attendance at this historic event. Come to think of it, I’m reasonably sure there wasn’t even anything with the NWSL logo for the fans of the league to buy. I’m perplexed.

I don’t know if anyone was fired at the league offices over this oversight (or possibly formally reprimanded), but it is my sincere hope that this will be remedied in the future. The league is growing, but getting a few more kits, scarves, and shirts out there certainly won’t do anything but assist in those efforts.

4NH Best Logo/Kit: Chicago Red Stars

None of us weren’t blown away by either team's logos or kits. They are both adequate but not overwhelming by any means. That being said, the link to the history of the city of Chicago that the Red Stars logo and kit provides gets the nod over the Washington Spirits here.

This player… who will not be named for their protection… was running towards a game ball that was right in front of us, for a throw-in.

The four red stars each stand for something of importance in the history of Chicago. The first star represents Fort Dearborn, a U.S. military fort that was first built in 1803 on a portion of the site that is now the city of Chicago. The second star represents the devastating Great Chicago Fire that decimated large portions of the city in 1871. The third and fourth stars represent the two world fairs that the city of Chicago hosted (1893; 1933). Even the blue lines have a meaning… in this case, the waterways of importance to Chicago (Lake Michigan; Chicago River).

And if the Red Stars were wearing their light/powder blue version of their jersey, this contest would have been won more easily by Chicago.