VANCOUVER, BC – JULY 05: Abby Wambach #20 and Christie Rampone #3 of the United States of America hold the World Cup Trophy after their 5-2 win over Japan in the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 Final at BC Place Stadium on July 5, 2015 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
By Dan Levy on

Sunday is a big day in American soccer, as MLS is featuring their #DecisionDay doubleheader on FS1 and ESPN at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., preceded by the United States Women’s National Team taking on Brazil at 3 p.m. on FS1 as well.

This particular USWNT match, yet another in a long line of championship celebration matches as part of the months-long tour of the U.S. after winning the World Cup this summer, is notable for several reasons.

First, the two teams just played to a 1-1 draw this week, with the U.S. needing a late-game equalizer from Carli Lloyd to secure the result. This game won’t be a typical USWNT blowout.

Second, the match marks the final game for both Lauren Holiday and Lori Chalupny, who are both retiring after the match. Third, and pershaps most importantly for Fox—and for sports media—the match will be covered by an all-female crew for the first time.

Pregame coverage on FS1 is hosted by Jenny Taft, who for much of 2015 through the USWNT’s FIFA World Cup Final, was an embedded reporter with the USWNT. Taft is joined by former USWNT stars Leslie Osborne and Heather Mitts, while Jenn Hildreth, Kyndra de St. Aubin and Julie Stewart-Binks call the action from the Citrus Bowl. All six women were major contributors to FOX Sports critically-acclaimed FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 television coverage in Canada. [Fox Sports]

The Fox release also points out that another member of the Fox soccer crew, Christen Press, will be on the field with the USWNT. Press recently joined Fox as part of the @TheBuzzer crew.

Awful Announcing reached out to Julie Stewart-Binks, one of the reporters part of the Fox crew and friend of the site, for her thoughts on the notable occasion.

“In my mind, I’ve done countless games with Jenn and Kyndra at World Cup, NWSL and now USA women. It’s just people doing their job.

“I hosted the World Cup qualifiers with Leslie Osborne and Monica Gonzalez. Fox has been doing it for a bit, but honestly it’s just normal. I hope we can get to the point where having an all-female crew isn’t a press release. But Fox has been leading the way with it for a while.”

Stewart-Binks brings up a good point in acknowledging the match is news, but wishing it wasn’t. And yet, on some level you can tell she’s happy it is, as we all know women in sports media get far fewer opportunities than men, so more opportunities for any woman—let alone an all-woman crew—to get a prominent role in match-day coverage is a great step. It’s also fair to remember this all-female crew is hosting a women’s soccer game on during the heart of an NFL Sunday, but it’s certainly a step, albeit small by comparison. That said, as JSB pointed out, it’s good to see Fox leading the way.

About Dan Levy

Dan Levy has written a lot of words in a lot of places, most recently as the National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. He was host of The Morning B/Reakaway on Sirius XM's Bleacher Report Radio for the past year, and previously worked at Sporting News and Rutgers University, with a concentration on sports, media and public relations.

View all posts by Dan Levy