Women’s US World Cup team takes America by storm – set sights on the Capital to use the “special” platform they now own. Really?

Perhaps they were misinformed by the liberal news media obsessing to have them as guests, but as great as the victory in France might be, the high-charged egos might need a bit of humility before they get to the swamp in Washington, DC.

 

So, hold on Women’s World Cup Soccer champions, you were good but not that good when it came to actual television ratings, which mean everything in politics.  You may be receiving the VIP treatment from NYC which was well earned for your play, but your adoration from the liberal television networks and Democrats is a bit over the cliff.

America may not be ready to hand over the keys to the White House just yet, nor can Nancy Pelosi or AOC promise you any action on your causes because they cannot deliver anything without the approval of a Republican Senate and Republican President.

You are the pride of the pitch but do not let the progressive, liberal news media or politicians hoodwink you, they are still far on the outside of power looking in.  I suspect you might be caught up in the adoration which was well deserved for your play on the field but your demands for change have little chance for success without the help of the dastardly GOP.

Here are a few facts regarding the relative power of the performance of the team.

The Netherlands saw record figures, with 5.5 million people, or 88 percent of the viewing public, tuning in to watch their side go down 2-0 to Team USA.

The United States' 2-0 victory over the Netherlands, its second straight title and fourth overall, on Sunday delivered an average of 13.98 million viewers on Fox.

Streaming added an average minute audience of 289,000 (a 400 percent increase over 2015), bringing the total to 14.27 million on Fox Sports platforms. Telemundo added 1.6 million viewers — the most ever for a Women's World Cup match on a Spanish-language network — for a total of 15.87 million on all platforms.

Sunday's broadcast, which aired at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT, is down considerably (almost ten million) from that of the 2015 final. That match is the most-watched in Women's World Cup history in the U.S. with 25.4 million viewers on all platforms.

The U.S. audience for this year's final is third all-time for Women's World Cup games, behind the 2015 final and the final match of 1999 (18 million).

What does it all mean?

The population of the Netherlands is 17.08 million (2017), which means 32.2% of the nation’s entire population was tuned in.

The population of the US is 327.2 million (2018), which means just 4.2% of the entire US population was tuned in on television.

For comparison purposes, the 2019 Super Bowl drew a TV audience of 98.7 million viewers, which was the smallest audience in eleven years.  Still it was seven times more than the World Cup finals.

As for the President you seem inclined to reject, Donald Trump’s inauguration ratings were the second-highest in 36 years, according to Nielsen.  The swearing-in of the 45th president in 2017 was seen by 30.6 million viewers.

Even more ominous, the President’s State of the Union address - TV Ratings: 46.8 million watched Trump’s 2019 State of the Union, up slightly from 46.79 million in 2018.

Soccer team appearances on Rachel Maddow (MSNBC) and CNN, the liberal bastions of cable news, might not help much.  The June ratings tell the truth.

    

As for the Top 5 cable news shows, June was a lot like last year, with the exception of Tucker Carlson moving up to the second slot previously held by Dems debate co-moderator Rachel Maddow. Other than Tucker’s uptick, everyone else in the Top 5 took a little hit, with the final tally being Hannity - Fox (3.2 million), Tucker Carlson Tonight - Fox (2.8 million), The Rachel Maddow Show - MSNBC (2.5 million), The Ingraham Angle - Fox (2.4 million) and The Five - Fox (2.3 million).

Then there was lowly CNN.  Down 18% in both total day and primetime viewership from Q2 2018, not a single one of the Warner Media-owned net’s shows made it into the cable news Top 20. Cuomo Prime Time was the most watched CNN show, sitting at No. 25 among cable news offerings.

Did I mention Trump got over 62 million votes for president and has 61 million followers on Twitter?  That is reality.  That is the truth.

Germany wins World Cup - a New Star emerges - Christ the Redeemer

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A great soccer game decided the World Cup with the superior precision and physical stamina of Germany finally winning out in overtime.  Argentina had several chances to score and take the lead but exhaustion was evident after the grueling World Cup series.

My suggestion that FIFA allow unlimited substitution and perhaps add a few more players to the roster would go a long ways toward improving the speed and increasing the scoring in football since the entire game strategy right now is to be tied at the end of the match and win in overtime or kickoffs.

So many games in the final rounds ended this way a rule change might make it a lot more interesting to fans and certainly will eliminate the need for the Broadway theatrics of faking injuries to rest or try to trick the umpires into a penalty, either of which is downright unethical and hypocritical.

But in the end the true new superstar was none other than the amazing statue of Christ the Redeemer overlooking the stadium for the finals.  Here is the story on the star.

Christ the Redeemer, Portuguese Cristo Redentor,  colossal statue of Jesus Christ at the summit of Mount Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. It was completed in 1931 and stands 98 feet (30 metres) tall, its horizontally outstretched arms spanning 92 feet (28 metres). The statue, made of reinforced concrete clad in a mosaic of thousands of triangular soapstone tiles, sits on a square stone pedestal base about 26 feet (8 metres) high, which itself is situated on a deck atop the mountain’s summit. The statue is the largest Art Deco style sculpture in the world and is one of Rio de Janeiro’s most recognizable landmarks.

In the 1850s the Vincentian priest Pedro Maria Boss suggested placing a Christian monument on Mount Corcovado to honour Isabel, princess regent of Brazil and the daughter of Emperor Pedro II , although the project was never approved. In 1921 the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro proposed that a statue of Christ be built on the 2,310-foot (704-metre) summit, which, because of its commanding height, would make it visible from anywhere in Rio. Citizens petitioned Pres. Epitácio Pessoa to allow the construction of the statue on Mount Corcovado.

Permission was granted, and the foundation stone of the base was ceremonially laid on April 4, 1922—to commemorate the centennial on that day of Brazil’s independence from Portugal—although the monument’s final design had not yet been chosen. That same year a competition was held to find a designer, and the Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa was chosen on the basis of his sketches of a figure of Christ holding a cross in his right hand and the world in his left. In collaboration with Brazilian artist Carlos Oswald, Silva Costa later amended the plan; Oswald has been credited with the idea for the figure’s standing pose with arms spread wide. The French sculptor Paul Landowski, who collaborated with Silva Costa on the final design, has been credited as the primary designer of the figure’s head and hands. Funds were raised privately, principally by the church. Under Silva Costa’s supervision, construction began in 1926 and continued for five years. During that time materials and workers were transported to the summit via railway.

After its completion, the statue was dedicated on October 12, 1931. Over the years it has undergone periodic repairs and renovations, including a thorough cleaning in 1980, in preparation for the visit of Pope John Paul II to Brazil that year, and a major project in 2010, when the surface was repaired and refurbished. Escalators and panoramic elevators were added beginning in 2002; previously, in order to reach the statue itself, tourists climbed more than 200 steps as the last stage of the trip. In 2006, to mark the statue’s 75th anniversary, a chapel at its base was consecrated to Our Lady of Aparecida, the patron saint of Brazil.

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World Cup Brazil Images - Thanks for the Memories

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To our friends in Brazil we say congratulations on a great World Cup, thanks for the many memories and we will see you at the Olympics.

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