Hope Solo's Appearance on DWTS Won't Increase Popularity of Women's Soccer

Between performing well in the World Cup this past summer, appearing in ESPN the Magazine: The Body Issue, and now competing on Dancing With the Stars, United States goalkeeper Hope Solo is at an all-time high in terms of personal popularity.

While her off-the-pitch ventures may be making her a household name in her own right, her efforts are all for naught if she is trying to increase awareness and interest with regards to women's soccer. 

Generally speaking, somebody who isn't a fan of soccer probably isn't going to watch a soccer match unless it's a spectacle such as the World Cup. I just don't feel as though men who find her attractive will go out of their way to watch a match just because she's competing in it.

Also, a notion exists that since Dancing With the Stars has a primarily female viewership, women who previously couldn't care less about soccer will begin watching it if they make a connection with Solo. Again, it just seems unlikely to me that somebody without interest in the sport would begin viewing for one person.

Soccer is the type of sport that takes a great amount of effort to understand and enjoy if you didn't grow up watching that. So, "that hot girl from Dancing With the Stars" will only be able to hold the attention of impatient viewers for so long.

With all that said, I think the biggest issue is the fact that the next World Cup isn't for another four years. Until then, the United States women's soccer team will largely be out of the spotlight. There will surely be friendlies, but there's nothing at stake and those matches won't be hyped in the least.

By the time the next World Cup rolls around, Solo will be old news in all honesty. Her popularity simply won't hold up for four years in this world of sudden celebrities. Solo's rise to stardom simply came too fast, too soon, and it won't have a noticeable effect on women's soccer.