Manny goes to the synagogue and prays. “Sir,” he says. “The business is collapsing. I can’t afford to put gas in my car. I can’t afford to pay the mortgage. I think my wife might leave me. Please let me win the lottery.” And nothing happens. Next week, he returns. “Sir, it’s worse,” he says. “The business is closed. My savings are gone. I am desperate. Please, please, let me win the lottery.’ Nothing yet. Week three, Manny returns. “Sir, the bailiffs are coming tomorrow. They have already taken the car. My wife is packing her suitcase. Please, please, it’s my only hope. Let me win the lottery.’ And the clouds part, and God looks down. He shrugs his strong shoulders. “Manny,” he says, “meet me halfway. Buy a ticket.’ There has never been a better time to support women’s football after England win Euro 2022 So that’s today’s sermon. Buy a ticket. If you want this to be a game-changer for women’s football, if you want it to be more than a match, more than an event, more than a flashy occasion like a jubilee or a royal wedding, it will take more than smiles, slogans and benevolent positivity. “They think it’s all over,” concluded Gabby Logan before the BBC dedicated the biggest moment for women’s sport in this country to a glorified school sports day in Birmingham, “but it’s only just beginning.” And it’s been a great series, a great series, and we all hope it’s true. But is it? On Sunday, BBC 5 Live broadcast their program previews from the far corner of the bar at the Wembley Hilton. The place wasn’t full, but it was busy. Down in the lobby, friends and families of the players lined up to pick up their tickets. The little girls carried signs wishing the best for their aunts, who would be playing the biggest match of their lives that afternoon. And the great and the good of the women’s game in England dutifully climbed the escalator two floors to tell the nation their hopes, dreams and excitement for what was to come. Just before one Emma Hayes appeared. There is probably no more recognizable figure in women’s football. Hayes is the manager of England’s best team, Chelsea, and a respected insider in the men’s game, too, with a national television profile. And, yards from Wembley Stadium, hours before the biggest match in the history of women’s football here, she went relatively unnoticed and unmoved. Maybe fans of the women’s game are just kinder. Maybe they didn’t want to interfere. Hayes is a no-nonsense figure, but almost unapproachable. A lady in a blue dress asked for a selfie, and she happily obliged. But that was it. When he left, Hayes walked unhindered in the public space. Now there is so much invested in this victory, so much expectation, so much hope that one wonders if a single game – any game – can change the landscape so spectacularly So did former Manchester City goalkeeper and 81-capped England international Karen Bardsley soon after, until the same lady in blue stepped up again. And this is a vignette. Perhaps both women were imitated in their short walk to the ground. Perhaps at Costa Coffee their appearance had caused chaos. Yet now so much is invested in this victory, so much expectation, so much hope that one wonders if a single game – any game – can change the landscape so spectacularly. Of similar importance was Jonny Wilkinson’s drop-kick and England’s World Cup win in 2003. It will turn us into a rugby-playing nation like New Zealand. Then there were the victories – both men’s and women’s – in the Cricket World Cup that were supposed to send us all flocking to the counties again. And every four years an Olympic medal is thought to inspire a rush to see rowers, canoeists, hockey players and cyclists. The caravan then moves up and down East Grinstead with its back to the friends, families and veterans who would always come for hockey, with or without a podium finish. It is feared that the Wembley final was packed with many happy day-trippers The millions watching from their couches don’t turn into the capacity stadiums we find. Leander Rowing Club, home to Sir Steven Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent and James Cracknell, was still crouching unnoticed along the Thames. And while you may occasionally get excited about the sport of curling, try to find a tournament outside of Scotland. There seemed to be quite a few happy day trippers at Wembley on Sunday. We are like the United States now, in our love of a great event. The 1994 World Cup remains the best-attended, even if many of the locals had no idea what they were watching. They cheered field goals because kicking a ball downfield is a big deal in the NFL, and they thought the same logic applied. But they had been told the World Cup was huge and they bought it. As do we. Events that can prove disappointing draws elsewhere – the Paralympics, the Commonwealth Games, the World Athletics Championships – do very well in the UK. All sorts of visitors dropped in during this summer’s European Women’s Championship. It was thought that England’s triumph in the 2003 Rugby World Cup would turn us into a nation of rugby players In terms of keeping the momentum going, the start of the Women’s Super League season is well set. On Saturday, September 10, Tottenham will play Manchester United at Tottenham Stadium rather than at Brisbane Road, Leyton or The Hive, Barnet, where their games are most often played. Tottenham did not have a player in the England squad, but United boast Mary Earps, Ella Toon and Alessia Russo, three heroes of this competition, in a 62,850-capacity home. It should be another great filler for women. However, it is the following day, at Brighton v Aston Villa or Everton v Leicester, where we can hope the impact will be felt most keenly. And that brings us back to Manny, and the need to at least get in the game. To, quite simply, buy a ticket. Because there’s really no reason now. No reason, without support, to expect the rest of the sport, or the media, or the managers, to drag women’s football to where it is supposed to be. These players deserve much more than a half-empty stadium – the fans need to be the catalyst It has the profile, it has the product, it has the success. If, from this, you believe the women’s game deserves more than anything else, it’s time to be a catalyst. Not everyone can love women’s football every two years from their couch. “Hopefully the crowds we’ve had this summer we can get into our stadiums at club level to travel with us,” Toone (below left) said. He is right. It’s better than a half-empty arena. She deserves more. This is not the man’s game where tickets are extremely expensive and often scarce. Commitment to women’s football is not destructive. And as the women of England increase, so the empty excuses fall. It’s no excuse that goalkeepers aren’t good enough because, increasingly, they are. It is not an excuse that the ability is lacking because as Russo, Toone and others have proven, it is not. It is no excuse that the game is soft, because England against Germany was as wild as it looks. it’s no excuse that it’s not men’s football because how can it be? However, it’s no excuse to stay away because Chloe Kelly isn’t paid the same as Erling Haaland. or because something rotten happened in 1921? or plus the patriarchy? or because your newspaper doesn’t cover it with the depth it devotes to Manchester United’s men. These are all just excuses for the reigning European champions to explode at Wembley. These are all rationalizations that are no longer relevant. If there is to be change, those who have been excited by this summer’s achievements need to meet these bold players at least halfway. Having finally won the lottery, English football now has to buy a ticket. HERE’S SOMETHING MEN CAN LEARN FROM CHLOE’S JOY Notice the real difference with the women’s game? When they score, instead of looking sullenly down the camera lens or telling the crowd to shut up, they smile, as if they’ve done something that pleases them. Men should try it. England’s men could learn something from the joy on Chloe Kelly’s face as she celebrated IGNORE REBECCA VARDY, LET’S PROMOTE THE LIONS The irony of the BBC positioning itself as the home of women’s sport is that if this turns out to be the huge game-changing event they desire, the Corporation could no longer afford football. Then again, if it’s true that the broadcasters are now competing for the story of insidious liar Rebecca Vardy, maybe they could consider siphoning off some of that football money. DO NOT COMPARE WHITE’S RECORD WITH ROONEY’S RECORD One of the qualities of this winning England team is its self-destructive nature. Alessia Russo called her superb back-heel goal against Sweden lucky, and was criticized for a soft first-time shot that was deflected by goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl. Meanwhile, probably the only person who didn’t do a song and dance about Ellen White breaking Wayne Rooney’s England goalscoring record was Ellen White, who seemed to accept that statistics in men’s and women’s football mean more if kept separately. After all, being the all-time top scorer for a team that is now European champion doesn’t seem such a lowly accolade. White hardly needs Rooney’s name to make her relevant. Ellen White appears to accept men’s and women’s football statistics mean more if kept separate as she closes in on Wayne Rooney’s goalscoring record BANNING WOMEN WAS FOOTBALL’S BIGGEST MISTAKE Imagine if, instead of banning women’s football for half a century, the FA had encouraged it. Where would we be now? Forget the professional side for a moment. It would obviously have been much more developed without prohibition, but the famous program of 1920…
