Sports Then and Now

Team to be called Western New York Flash, Owner’s Story is Classic Buffalo Tale

If this isn’t a classic Buffalo story, I don’t know what is.

Joe Sahlen, owner of a multi-generational family owned meat packing company and maker of the local favorite Sahlen’s Hot Dogs (the official hot dog of the Buffalo Bills) has made his apparently large amount of money honestly. True, he inherited the company from his father and grandfather before him, but he’s done a good job keeping the business from running into the ground like a lot of subsequent generation executives often do. He’s scrappy, intuitive, flies by the seat of his pants, and does things because he wants to.

When his daughter, Alexandra Sahlen, was having to commute all the way to Rochester to play minor league soccer for the Rochester Rain, Sahlen did what any good soccer Dad would do— he bought his daughter a team and brought it to Buffalo, calling it the Buffalo Flash, making sure the team logo looked a lot like the Sahlen company logo, lest anyone forget the connection.

Alexandra had made a friend in Rochester. A man named Aaran Lines, a former New Zealand international was finishing his pro career in the US minor leagues, playing finally, for Rochester Rhinos. Lines had been a decent player but had never coached at any level. Sahlen must have had a good feeling about Lines, because he hired him as the Flash’s head coach.

The team first took the field in the 2009 season in the developmental “W-League.” Despite having difficulty recruiting the best players due to the inception of a new major league for women, Womens Professional Soccer (WPS), Sahlen was able to assemble a good enough team to make the playoffs in their first year. And apparently Lines was a good enough coach to get them there. They lost in the first round but they made the playoffs. Not bad at all for a first year team with a first year coach. Read the rest of this entry →

The WPS is off to a great start to 2010, but increasing the fan base for the league is a challenge.

Whenever a new major sports league comes to town there is that familiar insecurity that one often feels when beginning a new relationship. The league and its teams worry that after the honeymoon, fan interest will fall off. Fans are reluctant to give their whole hearts to the home team because they’ve been hurt before (as in WUSA).

It becomes a chicken and egg situation. Fans are reluctant to commit for fear the team or the league might fold, and if the franchise or the league folds, it is usually due to lack of fan support.

Where women’s sports are concerned, there are additional complications. Again, using the relationship metaphor, there is a sense in which the media plays the role of the fans’ extended family.  Often the extended family’s attitude toward a prospective partner can douse the flame before it ever ignites.

If the local media don’t give the new suitor a stamp of legitimacy, many fans will not consider a first date. Sure there are the rebels and the ones who are in love at first sight, for whom the family’s opinion be damned, but there is a much larger group that just won’t be open to a first date with someone who is not considered “relationship material” by the family or the community.

Soccer has had to fight hard for media attention in most American media markets, although after more than a decade, MLS has earned respect, has established a solid fan base, and looks to be a permanent and still growing fixture in the American sports landscape.

Women’s sports have had to fight twice as hard, however, to earn the same respect. That is true of the WNBA, despite its relationship with the NBA. And women’s soccer has an even greater hurdle to achieve the stamp of legitimacy because of its double curse: being both a women’s league, and a soccer league, further exacerbated by the failure of WUSA and the wounds left by that experiment that in some cases have not yet healed . Read the rest of this entry →

Another exciting week for WPS soccer has come and gone.

What was projected to be a battle for first place in league standings between the St. Louis Athletica and Boston Breakers became a three-way tie for second after they tied 1-1.

FC Gold Pride climbed to the top of the standings with a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Beat thanks to a game-winning header goal by Gold Pride defender Carrie Dew.

Sky Blue FC goalkeeper Karen Bardsley continues to perform very well, helping Sky Blue to a 1-0 win over the Chicago Red Stars.

The Philadelphia Independence hit its offensive stride yesterday as it easily beat Washington Freedom with a 3-1 score.

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The Boston Breakers pulled in a crucial point when they tied St. Louis Athletica in a wet and windy game on the road last night. Both teams battled through poor conditions at the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, MO to earn a 1-1 draw.

Both teams remain undefeated with a 1-0-2 record and sit in a three-way tie for second place with the Philadelphia Independence.

Boston tallied first in the 21st minute when midfielder Kristine Lilly stepped up to take a corner kick and sent the ball over the top of the box. Defender Kasey Moore ran onto the ball and hit it first-time into the back of the net for her first goal as a Breaker.

Lilly picked up her second assist in the 2010 season, with both of them coming off of corner kicks.

Their lead didn’t last long, when St. Louis midfielder Aya Miyama was fouled and awarded a free kick. Tina Ellertson headed the ball towards net, where Carolyn Blank touched the ball past Ashlyn Harris with her upper body, making the score 1-1.

Boston outshot St. Louis 11-4 before the second half of play, and forced Hope Solo to give up only her second goal in 2010. In a big save during the second half, Solo blocked a shot to Kristine Lilly, but was unable to get control of the ball. As Kelly Smith ran onto the rebound, Solo recovered and blocked the point-blank.

The second half was quiet for both teams as Boston had three shots to Athletica’s five. Neither could capitalize on their chances.

“Another hard fought match between two even teams,” said Breakers head coach Tony DiCicco. “Overall I’m pleased with the performance and if our players continue to invest that much into our matches we will earn points.”

The St. Louis Athletica struggled through poor conditions to earn a tie against the Boston Breakers today at the Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park in Fenton, Mo.

On a sloppy, muddy pitch, the Athletica came from behind to earn their tie with the Breakers in front of 3,300 brave fans.

Boston’s goal came from a corner kick setup by midfielder Kristine Lilly. Defender Kasey Moore struck a one-touch shot low at the 18-yard box, sending it whistling past the St. Louis defense and goalkeeper Hope Solo.

The equalizer came only six minutes later when rookie Carolyn Blank netted the goal for St. Louis, redirecting a header from Tina Ellertson off her upper body. It was Blank’s first goal as a professional soccer player.

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Atlanta Beat General Manager Shawn McGee sat down again this week before the Beat’s match against FC Gold Pride to talk about the team’s progress and what goes on behind the scenes in working for the team.

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