Sometimes it can be hard to be a soccer fan in America.

Not only because of the general disinterest from others, but the outright hostility. A casual soccer conversation can be met with the general sports fan replying "I will never watch a soccer game.", "Most boring sport ever."

But the one that always gets me is, "It will never be as big as the NFL, NBA or baseball here in the U.S.!!"

Okay. Fine.

Soccer fans in America don't want the sport to take over yours. Simmer down. We don't care if it's "bigger", we'd just like it to be up there. We're not trying to take away what you love, we just want to share what we love.

And today, is a special day for soccer. A special day for the sport I love.

Today, the new women's soccer league begins (WPS). Now, we all know that the women's game will never be a mainstream thing... but they'd be satifisfied with carving a niche. And it means something, to have a women's pro league here. It means that a young girl can have sports hero that isn't a man. She can hang a poster on her wall and dream, "I can be like her". This league means that a woman can make a living in the sport. This league means that we are a country that really IS a land of opportunity.

It means that I can tell my little girl that she can grow up to do and be anything she wants. And mean it.

This is a special moment, and I am proud to be a part of it. The company I work for, AEG, has many sports and entertainment interests, yet I was chosen to take on the Women's Pro Soccer project, the Los Angeles Sol. And even if they hadn't asked, I would have begged for the shot. And I feel that it has brought out some of the best design work of my career.

I was there in '99 when the U.S. Women's team won the Women's World Cup. There were over 90,000 people in the stands that day. The President and his family (the Clintons) showed up to watch the game and meet the team.

That game is widely regarded as one of the great sports moments in history.

And today, is another special moment. Here it begins again. A new dream. A new promise.

Plus, it's gonna be one helluva match. The Los Angeles Sol signed Marta a Brazilian superstar who the media often refers to as "Pele in a skirt". We face the greatest player in the U.S. today, Abby Wambach "The Next Mia Hamm".
If you're not gonna a come to the game (tickets are pretty cheap, just for the record) then please take a moment to tune in if you can. It will air live today at 3:00pm (pacific time) on Fox Soccer Channel (FSC). There's even an hour of pregame programming.

This will be something. And I'm looking forward to sharing it with my wife, my mom, my friends and most of all my little girl. Because this is also a moment for her.

Game on.

WPS Inaugural Game
Los Angeles Sol vs. Washington Freedom
3:00pm @ The Home Depot Center
Carson, CA
live on FSC
http://www.LosAngelesSol.com