Ranking Every NWSL Team's Schedule Release Video
From the hits to the flops, I've got you covered!
At last, the long awaited answer to the National Women’s Soccer League fan’s most burning question: is the schedule out yet?
Why, yes — yes it is!
You can find the full link to the schedule here.
But that’s not why you’re here. No, you’re here for something much, much more. I present to you, The Jenna’s Sources Definitive Rankings of the NWSL schedule announcement videos!
(Substack won’t let me embed X/Instagram videos so you’ll have to click the links on each team’s name to watch!)
No schedule video, but they did post one yesterday at the start of their pre-season. Bummer!
I’m pretty sure this video is AI? It does feature some nice shots of San Diego, but otherwise a bit of a dud.
The Houston Dash takes a fun angle with their announcement video, utilizing a yearbook style collage to introduce the schedule played over highlights from the 2024 season. While the visuals are certainly fun and clever, the video definitely leaves fans (and me!) wanting a little bit more.
Ok I have to admit this one cracked me up. Recreating a classic TikTok layout of someone speaking in front of a notes app screenshot next to recorded gameplay of Subway Surfers, Bethany Balcer reads off Racing Louisville’s schedule in a funny, efficient way. It feels a little phoned in, but it did make me laugh.
It’s always fun to include the players in these announcement videos, and the Current delivers. It’s a simple yet effective video where a group of players have to guess each opponent using only emojis as clues. Plenty of laughs and friendly competition abound as the players compete with one another to try and guess the clues first.
Bay FC takes to the street with trivia about other NWSL cities in a video that servers partially as a schedule announcement and also as a way to give out tickets in the local community. A fun, straight forward video starring Brandi Chastain and Tess Boade.
The newly rebranded Chicago Stars went simple, much like their parred down name. Utilizing Chicago’s “Poems While You Wait” complete with the typewriter, the video serves as not only an introduction of the schedule but a love letter to the city of Chicago and the newly rebranded team. Part hype video, part announcement, a solid showing from the Stars.
This one is hard not to enjoy! Opening with the recently retired Becky Sauerbrunn and Christine Sinclair hiding out at Powell’s (a beloved Portland bookstore), they’re hilariously chased around the store by the social media manager unwilling to participate. We’re then taken around Portland, including to the iconic Sports Bra, to have members of the community answer questions and wins Thorns tickets to help announce the schedule. Very cute.
Gotham FC capitalizes on their New York location to have Taryn Torres “steal” the NWSL schedule from league headquarters in midtown. It’s a very fun video that has Torres figuring out that the schedule is locked inside a soccer ball at the league HQ and even features a cameo from commissioner Jessica Berman. It showcases bits of the city and definitely provides a fun way to introduce the season, but in the end suggests fans go to the website to see the schedule.
But wait… there’s a second video! In it, Gotham’s admin takes to the streets of the city to get people to guess the names of NWSL teams based on their logos, something that has been done before in other leagues. While there are definitely some funny ones (Arizona Desert Queens), I kind of don’t love drawing attention to the fact that people aren’t familiar with the NWSL.
For some reason, a rage room seems like the perfect location for the Courage’s announcement. Along with mascots from other area teams, the Courage mascot can be seen smashing glass with NWSL team logos on it as the schedule flashes on the screen. Definitely hype-worthy and was probably super fun to film.
The defending champs utilize the incredible acting skills of Summer Yates and Cori Dyke going through their bags as the season begins. They cleverly pull out objects related to various NWSL cities. My personal favorite is when they pull out a shuttle and say “Houston, we have a problem,” before tossing it to the ground (LOL??). At the end, they pull out the Shield and the Championship Trophy to display proudly at their facilities. My only critique is that they didn’t pull out objects relating to every team — missed opportunities!
Angel City finds a fun way to integrate one of their sponsors, Sprouts, by having their admin take a little shopping trip. As they go along, they pick up items that correlate to each team (roses for the Thorns, oranges for the Pride, coffee for Seattle, etc. My favorite part is when they pick up tea in anticipation for Boston next year (love a historical reference). At the end, the schedule is printed off as a receipt.
Ok, the Sprit killed this one. “Now That’s What I Call Spirit” is an infomercial straight out of the 90s. The schedule scrolls over highlights from the previous season while a classic infomercial voice tells you why you should go to Spirit games, including the following zinger: “Don’t wait, these tickets disappear faster than a Gotham crowd after a Spirit win.” YIKES LOL
Immediately, yes. It’s Bridgerton meets Gossip Girl starring Mandy McGlynn narrating in a British (?) accent. She spells out a story of an upcoming royal banquet with a little bit of gossip (TEA!!!) about each banquet “guest,” which represents an NWSL team. High production value, lots of laughs, and McGlynn’s hilarious accent make this my absolute favorite video of the day. A+!
Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think in the comments!