Brooklyn’s Mexicanas Take To The Soccer Pitch

The New York Times ran a story this weekend about a thriving league full of women who are muddling through soggy fields and lacing up cleats every Sunday in Brooklyn. No longer are immigrant women relegated to cooking, cleaning and working long hours, only to take care of the kids, cook and watch their husbands play soccer on the weekends. Now, they’ve got their own games to practice for and their own trophies to win. The Liga Mexicana de Fútbol Infantil is comprised of more than 300 women, 23 teams and some former pros who now have a soccer haven to call their own. Which means the guys have to cook and take care of the kids.

On Sundays, the players and their families gather on the Parade Ground, an expanse of artificial turf on the eastern end of Prospect Park.
For a few hours, the women take the field while their husbands linger on the sideline, looking after the children. Then the women cede the field to the men, and traditional gender roles reassert themselves.
Ask the women why they suddenly decided to play after so many years of standing on the sidelines, and you’ll hear several variations on the same self-evident theme: They were simply tired of watching their husbands and sons have all the fun.

We’ve got a great idea. Beyond great. The Guatamelan ladies who play in Echo Park should get together with the Liga Mexicana de Fútbol Infantil ladies at Prospect Park and have themselves a bomb-diggidy soccer tournament. Sell some tickets, give the proceeds to the winners and have a fiesta to go along with it. We’ve got $10 on presale.
The Soccer Mamas of Summer [NY Times]
Image [NY Times]