The 2015 Women's World Cup Starts Today

I haven't talked about this nearly enough, so here's a quick post to kick it off. (Er, no pun intended.)

Later today, the 2015 edition of the Women's World Cup starts, with Canada and China starting at 6:00 Eastern on FS1.

"Why should I watch?", you may find yourself asking. Well, here are my reasons:

• It's more soccer! International soccer is my favorite kind of soccer, and in the international game meaningful games of any sort are rare. 
• U-S-A! U-S-A! Unlike on the men's side, where the US is generally thought of as scrappy underdogs trying to prove themselves against the world's European and South American elite, in the women's game we are the elite. While rooting for the underdog is fun, this is your chance to root for a front-runner.
• It's on during the day! Yes, unlike the next two men's World Cups, this one is taking place in US timezone-friendly Canada. (Well... probably.) Games will generally start in prime time during the week, at least if you're on the East Coast.
• This is not a "yes, but did you explain how the women's superior fundamentals makes up for their inability to dunk?" situation. While the women's game isn't as deep as the men's (in terms of the competition), there are still a lot of good players out there who can cross and hit the through-ball as well as anyone. I watched the last World Cup and the Olympics (where the women field full-strength sides, unlike the men) and enjoyed it thoroughly.
• Besides, do I really need to give you any more reasons to skip work again this summer and down some beers and wings? I think not.

So, yeah, get out there and enjoy some soccer.