Denver NWSL’s presence looms over USWNT return to Colorado: ‘We already feel like this team is ours’

Walking over the chalk pointing to the unmarked tents of Denver NWSL’s small, but budding supporters’ group felt like a treasure hunt outside of Dick’s Sporting Goods Park ahead of the U.S. Women’s National Team’s match against the Republic of Ireland on Thursday night.

The supporters’ group, yet to be named just like the club itself, was marked mostly by white T-shirts with the Denver NWSL logo, and brought out hundreds curious for what’s next. The most popular tailgate host — perhaps slightly ahead of the guy giving out water in the 85-plus degree heat — was the face-painter stenciling stars and stripes on children’s cheeks.

The adults, if not congregating in small circles with beers in hand, made the rounds to talk to the club’s leadership, including owner Rob Cohen, president Jen Millet and general manager Curt Johnson, under one of the tents. The three engaged with every last fan who approached them, talking ball and visions for the club.

Ptarmigan Emery, a member of the supporters’ group, was one of them. She’s played soccer most of her life and runs a Facebook page with hundreds of members dedicated to meeting for pickup soccer games. Most members, she said, are women.

Shocked at how long it took for Denver to be granted a women’s professional sports team, she felt relief when the club was announced earlier this year. So far, her expectations for the club’s actions have been exceeded.

“We don’t even have a name, but we already feel like this team is ours,” she said. “When I was growing up, it was that you either made it to the national team or you didn’t, there was nothing in between and there were no leagues. But now, just to have somebody who looks like us, and for these little girls to see these women who are killing it, it can make such a big impact.”

When the USWNT played at DSGP a year ago, the grassroots effort “For Denver FC” wasn’t much more than a dream. It eventually gained traction, turned into a formal bid and was awarded the NWSL’s newest expansion franchise.

Even then, when the other two finalists for expansion — Cleveland and Caitlin Clark-backed Cincinnati — were announced, some felt Denver was a longshot.

Now, it’s a reality that hung over the USWNT’s 4-0 victory over Ireland in Thursday’s friendly. The anticipation and love for women’s soccer in Colorado — the type that makes a crowd cheer when USWNT coach Emma Hayes picks up a ball and gives it to a player for a throw-in — won’t be a once-every-year-or-two thing anymore. It’ll be every week from March to November, starting next year.