Jaeyn Shaw scored an opening goal for Canada using a ball that could not travel on the ground due to rainy conditions.
The USWNT won the Gold Cup vs. Canada in San Diego despite extreme weather conditions.
The USWNT fought ridiculous conditions, history and more in Gold Cup win vs. Canada on Wednesday night at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Ca. Despite the extreme weather conditions that marred the match, including steady and heavy rains that flooded the field before kickoff, Jaeyn Shaw scored an opening goal for Canada using a ball that could not travel on the ground farther than a couple of feet due to conditions making it impossible to play at anything close to normal. The game was played in rainy conditions with both sides failing to do much with a ball that became stuck every few yards in a 2-2 stalemate that was decided in a shootout.
The USWNT fought ridiculous conditions, history and more in Gold Cup win vs. Canada
Jaedyn Shaw scored the opening goal despite the conditions
Winning commanded raw might and a willingness to get a little ugly
Accuracy
<https://theathletic.com/5324232/2024/03/07/>
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(85%)
The article contains several examples of informal fallacies. The author uses an appeal to authority when they mention that the decision to play was not in either team's control and cites a CONCACAF spokesperson as saying so. They also use inflammatory rhetoric when describing the conditions on the field, calling them 'absurd', 'questionable at best', and rife with threats to players' safety. The author uses an example of a dichotomous depiction when they describe Jaedyn Shaw feeling embarrassed about playing in rainy conditions but then using those same conditions to her advantage by intercepting waterlogged passes and firing off early shots. They also use an appeal to authority when mentioning that the decision was ultimately up to the referee, citing professional referee Christina Unkel as saying so.
The author uses an appeal to authority when they mention that the decision to play was not in either team's control and cites a CONCACAF spokesperson as saying so. They also use inflammatory rhetoric when describing the conditions on the field, calling them 'absurd', 'questionable at best', and rife with threats to players' safety.
The author uses an example of a dichotomous depiction when they describe Jaedyn Shaw feeling embarrassed about playing in rainy conditions but then using those same conditions to her advantage by intercepting waterlogged passes and firing off early shots.
Bias
(85%)
The article contains examples of bias in the form of a lack of objectivity and an emphasis on personal experiences. The author uses language that dehumanizes the players by referring to them as 'slipping', 'splashing' and 'trudging'. They also use quotes from Jaedyn Shaw where she expresses her embarrassment at playing on such conditions, which is not a neutral or objective perspective. Additionally, the article contains examples of sensationalism with phrases like
Jaedyn Shaw scored the opening goal despite the conditions.
The steady drizzle that had fallen through much of the previous semifinal
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The author has a conflict of interest on the topic of pitch conditions as they are an employee of The Athletic which is owned by Major League Soccer (MLS). MLS owns several teams in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) including USWNT and Canada, so there may be a potential for bias when reporting on NWSL games.
The article mentions that the pitch conditions were 'ridiculous', but does not provide any specific details. It also mentions that MLS has been criticized in the past for poor field conditions and this could potentially influence their coverage of NWST games.
The USWNT-Canada match continued despite extreme weather conditions. In the case of the U.S women's national team's Gold Cup semifinal match against Canada, steady and heavy rains flooded the field at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Ca before kickoff on Wednesday.
The ball could not travel on the ground farther than a couple of feet in most parts of the field due to conditions making it impossible to play at anything close to normal. This played a direct role in Jaeyn Shaw's opening goal for Canada.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(80%)
The article discusses two instances of extreme weather disrupting professional games in the last week. Despite conditions making it impossible to play at anything close to normal, both games went on. The most recent instance was a USWNT-Canada match that took place on Wednesday at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, CA. Conditions meant the ball could not travel on the ground farther than a couple of feet in most parts of the field which played a direct role in Jaeyn Shaw's opening goal for Canada. The article also discusses an MLS match between Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles FC that was similarly affected by high winds, lightning, and snow.
Jaeyn Shaw's opening goal for Canada played a direct role in conditions making it impossible to play at anything close to normal.
The ball could not travel on the ground farther than a couple of feet in most parts of the field
Fallacies
(85%)
The article discusses two instances of extreme weather disrupting professional games in the last week. In both cases, despite conditions making it impossible to play at anything close to normal, the games went on. The most recent instance was a USWNT-Canada match that took place on Wednesday at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, CA. Conditions meant the ball could not travel on the ground farther than a couple of feet in most parts of the field which played a direct role in Jaeyn Shaw's opening goal for Canada. The article also discusses an MLS match between Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles FC that was similarly affected by high winds, lightning, and snow.
The ball could not travel on the ground farther than a couple of feet in most parts of the field
Jaeyn Shaw's opening goal for Canada played a direct role in conditions making it impossible to play at anything close to normal.
Bias
(85%)
The article discusses two high-profile instances of extreme weather disrupting professional games in the last week. In both cases, despite conditions making it impossible to play at anything close to normal, the games went on. The most recent of these was a USWNT match against Canada that took place on Wednesday at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, CA. Conditions meant that the ball could not travel more than a couple of feet in most parts of the field which played a direct role in Jaeyn Shaw's opening goal for Canada. The article also discusses an MLS match between Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles FC on Saturday that was similarly affected by high winds, lightning, and snowfall.
Jaeyn Shaw's opening goal for Canada
The ball could not travel more than a couple of feet in most parts of the field
Site
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The article discusses the rules around postponing games in soccer and how they apply to the USWNT-Canada match. The authors have a financial stake in Major League Soccer (MLS), which is mentioned as one of the leagues that may be affected by weather conditions.
The article mentions MLS, which is owned by Major League Soccer LLC.
Author
Conflicts
Of
Interest (50%)
The author has conflicts of interest on the topics of weather and soccer. The article discusses how postponing games due to bad weather can be difficult for teams to plan around, but it does not disclose any financial ties or personal relationships that could compromise their ability to report objectively.
The author mentions in passing that the USWNT has a history of playing in rainy conditions and winning games. This suggests a bias towards soccer as an exciting sport rather than just reporting on the rules around postponing games.
Both sides failed to do much with a ball that became stuck every few yards in a 2-2 stalemate that was decided in a shootout.
Canada coach Bev Priestman said it was unplayable after minute one
ESPN reached out to Concacaf and asked whether the confederation or officiating crew were responsible for deciding whether the game should be paused or postponed due to weather. A response from a Concacaf spokesperson stated that it is solely at the discretion of the referee as to whether the field is safe and playable.
Former USWNT player Sam Mewis and legend Julie Foudy both expressed concerns about the safety of playing in such conditions
An AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup match between Australia and South Korea was played on snow that was reportedly 6 inches deep. Real Salt Lake hosted LAFC amid snow and thunder, with coach Steve Cherundolo fined $10,000 for his comments.
Snapdragon Stadium has been heavily criticized for the poor state of the field in previous high-profile women's matches
Days later after hosting a semifinal match between San Diego Wave and OL Reign, Snapdragon Stadium made significant improvements when it hosted NWSL championship game. However, former USWNT winger Megan Rapinoe suffered an Achilles tear in the final match of her career.
Snapdragon Stadium will host a women's championship Sunday with forecast calling for type of weather expected in San Diego.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(90%)
The article is deceptive in several ways. Firstly, it presents the game as a bizarre spectacle due to the rainy conditions but fails to acknowledge that these conditions were not unforeseen and should have been taken into account when planning for the match. Secondly, it quotes Canada coach Bev Priestman saying that they put in a lot of work in their game plan only minutes after kickoff, which suggests that there was no prior preparation or consideration given to the weather conditions. Thirdly, it presents ESPN's decision not to pause or postpone the match as an example of poor judgment when it is actually within the referee's discretion and based on safety concerns. Finally, it quotes former U.S player Sam Mewis saying that they should have called off the game but fails to acknowledge that this was a subjective opinion and not necessarily reflective of objective reality.
The article presents the rainy conditions as a bizarre spectacle despite being aware of them beforehand
Canada coach Bev Priestman's statement about putting in work on their game plan only minutes after kickoff suggests that there was no prior preparation or consideration given to the weather conditions.
ESPN's decision not to pause or postpone the match is presented as an example of poor judgment when it is actually within the referee's discretion and based on safety concerns.
Fallacies
(80%)
The article contains several examples of an appeal to authority fallacy. The author cites the opinions of multiple people without providing any evidence or reasoning for their claims. For example, when discussing the decision to play the game despite bad weather conditions, the author quotes a spokesperson from Concacaf and referee Katia Garcia without providing any context or explanation for why they made those decisions.
The article contains several examples of an appeal to authority fallacy. The author cites the opinions of multiple people without providing any evidence or reasoning for their claims. For example, when discussing the decision to play the game despite bad weather conditions, the author quotes a spokesperson from Concacaf and referee Katia Garcia without providing any context or explanation for why they made those decisions.
Bias
(85%)
The article is biased towards the idea that the game should not have been played. The author repeatedly states that it was unplayable and a waste of time to attempt to analyze or make sense of what was happening when the ball sporadically stopped in ponds or zipped past shallow areas. They also quote Canada coach Bev Priestman saying 'It's obvious that the game was unplayable'. The author then goes on to say that ESPN reached out and asked whether Concacaf or officiating crew were responsible for deciding weather conditions, but a spokesperson from Concacaf said it is solely at the discretion of referee Katia Garcia. This implies that there may have been other factors involved in the decision to play the game, which could be seen as biased towards not playing.
The author also quotes Christina Unkel saying 'Technically and practically, by law, it is always in the ultimate decision of the referee to make that decision'. However they then go on to say that this does not mean Garcia should be questioned for not stopping the semifinal.
The author repeatedly states that it was unplayable and a waste of time to attempt to analyze or make sense of what was happening when the ball sporadically stopped in ponds or zipped past shallow areas. They also quote Canada coach Bev Priestman saying 'It's obvious that the game was unplayable'.
The author then goes on to say that ESPN reached out and asked whether Concacaf or officiating crew were responsible for deciding weather conditions, but a spokesperson from Concacaf said it is solely at the discretion of referee Katia Garcia. This implies that there may have been other factors involved in the decision to play the game.
