Women’s soccer is That Bitch

July 16, 2026

A big night at the Queens Classic ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

June 26, 2026

Greetings, Meteor readers,

Last night, I went to a historic soccer match, so in today’s newsletter we’re going to relive that experience together and really appreciate what women are doing for the beautiful game. Plus, at some point, we’ll also talk news and have some brutal honesty about the U.S.’s relationship with ICE.

But before we get to that stuff, a little announcement: Everyone’s been talking about the new film “The Invite,” a comedy about an awkward dinner party starring Olivia Wilde (who also directed it) and Penélope Cruz, and co-written by Rashida Jones. So let’s talk about it together! The Meteor will be gathering for a virtual “movie club” about “The Invite” on Monday, July 27th, at 1 pm. If you’ve seen it, join us—or go out and see it, then join us. (Not an ad, we’re just dying to talk to all of you again.) Click here to RSVP!

From beneath the hazy skies,

Shannon Melero

WHAT’S GOING ON

It’s good to be Queens: Under a blanket of Canadian wildfire smoke, with about 42,000 of my fellow soccer fans, I had the pleasure of sitting in Citi Field for the Queens Classic, a face-off between Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit.

It was a far cry from the first professional women’s soccer game I ever attended in 2019, featuring the same two teams, on the Rutgers campus in Piscataway, New Jersey. On a relatively small soccer field, absent the many bells and whistles of a proper stadium, I watched national treasure Rose Lavelle and my woman-crush Caprice Dydasco speed across the grass and thought, Where the hell is everyone? Why were these women, some of whom had just gotten back from winning another World Cup, playing a venue where they didn’t even have a designated changing area?

A SNAPSHOT OF THAT 2019 GAME, WHEN GOTHAM FC WAS INITIALLY NAMED SKY BLUE. LOOK VERY CLOSELY AT THE FAR END OF THE FIELD. THOSE ARE FANS SITTING ON BEACH CHAIRS THEY BROUGHT TO THE GAME. THAT’S DEDICATION. (COURTESY OF SHANNON MELERO)

The Queens Classic was quite an upgrade from Piscataway (no shade). The sellout crowd was the largest audience gathered for women’s sports ever in New York, the first women’s sporting event ever held at Citi Field, and the second most-attended game in NWSL history. Gotham FC won the night with Lavelle scoring the only goal of the match. Superstar Sam Kerr also made her grand return to the NWSL, and when she took to the field, the crowd became unhinged.

It wasn’t just a great game with great energy. It was a statement ringing through the smoke-filled air for all to hear: We have nothing left to prove.

We the fans, we the league, we the players, we the writers dying to convince everyone that this is the place to be, have finally reached the promised land. The one where a massive event like last night’s can be held at the height of World Cup season—the same day as the semifinals—and still post record numbers. The place where you don’t have to justify being a women’s soccer fan, where you don’t have to utter the words See, it’s just as good as the men’s game—where, honestly, no one is even thinking about the MLS. The NWSL has shaken off the tiresome yoke of trying to be “just as good” and in a short 14 years become That Bitch.

VERY DIFFERENT SEATING ARRANGEMENTS JUST A FEW YEARS LATER. (COURTESY OF SHANNON MELERO)

Last night’s match was also designed to be an introduction of sorts. Gotham FC was originally formed in New Jersey and played its home games at Sports Illustrated Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. They are, however, considered an NJ/NY team, and earlier this month, the front office announced that Gotham would be making a permanent move to Queens’ Etihad Stadium in 2028. The response has been mixed. New Jersey loyalists don’t see themselves making the hour-plus-long journey to Queens for regular-season games, while New York fans blame New Jerseyans for not filling the seats at Sports Illustrated. (Just to be an angry fan for a moment, this team would not even be in Sports Illustrated if it weren’t for those of us who kept up the support in the no-win years!!! But now that our girls have two stars on that crest, you wanna take them away??!!)

The stadium change is all anyone can talk about, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when the woman sitting next to me leaned over and asked, “So, what do you think about the move?” We went back and forth animatedly for a solid ten minutes about the risks and rewards of essentially abandoning an entire fan base in hopes of finding a better one in a more lucrative market. Between the two of us, we couldn’t come up with a firm answer. “Maybe there’s a new subway line coming that none of us know about,” my new pal mused.

It seems that the only thing anyone can agree on is that the league is making a huge bet on itself—not just with this move into the most desirable sports market in the country but with a two-team expansion slated for the same year. The NWSL is finally moving like a woman who knows her worth, even if it means pissing off a couple hundred soccer moms in Central Jersey. You almost can’t be mad at it.

AND:

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