All but two teams began their 2024 regular seasons on NWSL’s kickoff weekend, and it was a glorious occasion. From new broadcast partners to a ton of goals plus well-known league menaces popping off, it was an incredible kick-the-door-in start to the season.

Match breakdowns will come in the future but a brand new season – for this league and in this moment in particular – deserved reflection. Don’t tell the nerds (it me, i am nerd) but some things are bigger than xG, so let’s talk about a few.

nwsl’s espn debut made a thug emotional

The players in this league have been through a lot. From leagues folding to perennial underinvestment and artificially suppressed/broke boi spending, to more directly devious verbal abuse and sexually predatory behaviors from some with authority (and without any mechanism for accountability) – players have been through it all and then some.

The tipping point for the league was a public reckoning that reached across the ocean. Finally, the league was forced to root out bad actors, prioritize competent leadership, codify and enforce a code of conduct, and agree to a league-first CBA.

Hope was flickering on the horizon but we still had no idea how long it would take to get there. This weekend’s debut felt like the reaching of a significant landmark. Even setting aside the calamity to parking around Kansas City’s new stadium, it was a big event, and ESPN helped to meet the moment. Ali Krieger debuted as the lead for coverage and was a necessary voice in putting it all in perspective.

“This is what players deserve. This is what women deserve. This is what footballers deserve, and this is what the NWSL deserves,” Krieger said during the pre-game show. “We were fighting for the littlest things, we were fighting for socks and constantly washing our own uniforms and training gear … and now players can feel supported and feel that investment … you have all the things needed in order to perform your best.”

While it was a moment of relief and celebration, we can’t forget what it took to get here. Players had to endure and suffer. Some are still in the league to experience this turnaround, others are not, and we should think of them all. We should also never feel that the job is done.

As long as we live in a society built on the suppression of labor rights, patriarchy and white supremacy, we must be aware and prepared to speak up. But that doesn’t mean it’s not ok to smile and experience joy in moments like this.

goals in ya mf’n face

I dunno if the league sent a memo or if it’s a coincidence that just about everyone chose violence by prioritizing attacking talent this offseason, but the scoring across opening weekend was outta control in the very best way possible. Purveyors of defensive arts likely shed tears at the onslaught, but the rest of us got to kick our feet and be giddy.

It’s always been funny to me that a league synonymous with the word ‘transitional’ would have so few 15+ goal scorers and 10+ dime droppers. It suggests that though attacking opportunities come at a faster rate, our defenders and goalkeepers are every bit the sickos attacking players are – if not sometimes more.

This has never been more evident than in Sarah Gorden’s response to matching up with Asisat Oshoala for the first time.

No center back likes marking Oshoala. She’s ultra quick, makes smart runs, and is relentless. Normally once she gets a step on a defender, she’s gone. Against Gorden, a step was just the start, and she relished whatever came next.

Typically defenses are the quickest units to settle, but aside from Oshoala v. Gorden (which I need several more of), that wasn’t the case. Who knows if this will be the case long-term, and in fact I doubt it, scoring goals is still an extremely hard thing to do, and this league’s defenders, and goalkeepers, aren’t easy to consistently beat. They’re the reason this league hasn’t seen a 20-goal scorer since Sam Kerr and 10-assist player since 2016.

Leagues are living organisms and therefore undergo phases, trends and various metamorphoses, so if this continues it’ll take some time to identify the root cause. But a couple things are true. There’s been more focused scouting and recruitment to identify attacking profiles likely to succeed in the NWSL. Also a lot of young attackers that have entered (and are entering) the league seem to have been prepared to face the chaos since birth, are unafraid, and have been created by science and/or Tony Stark to face NWSL defenses.

Either way, this season is off to a fun start, and there are a lot more intriguing battles – and, hopefully, goals – to come.

the kids said tysm for this stage we’ll take it from here

On opening weekend Claire Hutton (18) started and Alex Pfeiffer (16) came on as a sub and scored for Kansas City, Amanda Allen (19) subbed on for Orlando, Manaka Matsukubo (19) and Riley Jackson (18) subbed on for North Carolina, Emeri Adames (17) debuted for Seattle Reign, Alyssa Thompson (19) and Kennedy Fuller (17) started for Angel City with Gisele Thompson (18) debuting from the bench, and Savy King (19) began her pro career as part of Bay FC’s first ever starting XI.

The fun part was, aside from moments when a noticeably smaller person was darting around on the pitch, it wasn’t obvious that these were teenagers in a professional league. In fact, Alex Pfeiffer scored on her debut then hit an ice cold knee slide like she’d been doing this for years.

There’s valid concern over clubs being capable of handling minors, but the CBA has important requirements and protections that can hopefully be strengthened as the league continues to invite these talents, and discussions of academies swirl in the background. It’s clear a lot of young talent is ready, and it’s been fun watching kids step on the pitch with their violence dials turned all the way up.

sophia smith remains absurd

Portland Thorns had a difficult task given everything around the new stadium and crowd turnt up by their team scoring multiple goals. But Kansas City’s defense was also there for the taking, and Sophia Smith exploited it for a brace.

Her first goal was a mf’n rocket from just outside the box that makes me wonder why the USWNT refuses to high press to get her the ball in these positions, but I’m not going to get into all of that now.

While I love an outside of the box banger, Smith’s second goal is a perfect summary of what makes her such a unique talent. Yes, defensively things could have been done to prevent this situation from unfolding, but that’s kinda the thing: Smith moves so quickly, and with such direct intention that it creates panic scenarios she’s comfortable in and can manipulate. Strength, balance, touches, a quick shot and penchant for finding angles to score (with her right or left) makes her genuinely this impossible to mark at times, even with several defenders.

ally sentnor is the mf’n truth

Ok, maybe just a little nerd, as a treat.

It may be a bit silly to sit here and type ‘hey y’all the #1 draft pick might be good’ but uh, hey y’all the 2024 #1 overall draft pick might be pretty dang good. Utah had a lot of problems, including Agnes Nyberg being rudely welcomed to the NWSL, but the one player who stood out in a good way was the one logging her first minutes as a professional.

Sentnor still had her rookie’ish moments, including a nasty late tackle on Maximiliane Rall that could have gone very poorly had VAR decided to get involved (or not given NWSL refs, but whatevs). Overall though, she was more than a youthful spark, she was Utah’s most creative and most dangerous player.

Every time she got on the ball there was energy and directness. She has the efficiency of thought along with efficient touches that instantly forces defenders to grow tense. A veteran backline kept her from notching anything official on the stat sheet, but if Sentnor can have a similar impact in most games it won’t be long until she’s racking up goal contributions. (Also she very much gives me the vibe that her first pro goal is gonna be a banger.)

bonus thing: ion are doing the thing we want them all to do

A new season in the first year of a new broadcast deal with multiple partners is going to create some understandable havoc. There were tweets from players and other NWSL-adjacent folks seeming to have a hard time figuring out NWSL+ or what and where ION was. I get it, until it becomes routine – which, smartly, will happen thanks to some outlets claiming specific time slots for the duration of the season – it’ll be new and annoying.

However, ION is worth getting familiar with and spreading the word about. They’ve been an excellent partner with the WNBA, and are as accessible as a non-commercial network gets. Also, they seem very serious. For their Saturday night game they unveiled a quality pregame show, a crispy broadcast, and a postgame show with former ballers – and Black voices in soccer – Darian Jenkins and Jessica McDonald.

ION is also a free over-the-air channel. Over the weekend I dropped a tweet and had a bunch of people in the replies discussing all the places the channel can be viewed. From Roku to Freevee to Pluto TV and even via antenna, ION is everydamnwhere and chances are there’s an easy way for you to access it.

So find it, bookmark it, and share it. They’re doing everything we say we want in women’s sports coverage, and consistent, engaged viewership can show other broadcasters that they should follow suit.