A letter to the editor in Stripes' Sept.30 issue decried what was pictured as the paper's paltry coverage of the U.S. women's soccer team, which competed in the women's World Cup in Shanghai, China. "Is anyone else aware that the U.S. women's soccer team reached the semifinals of the World Cup (and played in the consolation game)?" asked Angela Torres of Heidelberg, Germany.

She continued: "Why is more coverage being given to Michael Vick's brainless exploits than to the winning prowess of this incredible team?" Not only Stripes but American Forces Network "should be ashamed of themselves for not giving equal coverage, especially in light of the '39-point rule'," Ms. Torres wrote.

There was more coverage of the team's Shanghai matches than you might think.  There were substantial stories for four straight days, from Sept. 28 through Oct. 1, covering the team's loss to Brazil in the semifinal game and victory over Norway for third place. References to the stories of both games were highlighted on the main sports page.

The letter writer was correct that the coverage of the controversies over Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick's dog abuse charges, and the DoDDS policy of minimizing high school sports blowouts, far overshadowed coverage of the women's World Cup. It's a fact of media life that newspapers, television and the internet chatter all gravitate toward (a) the controversial and (b) those events that interest news consumers the most. 

There is no question that U.S. women competing in a World Cup is, or should be, major news. But that story can't compete with the kind of water-cooler arguments  the Vick story created nationally, or the 39-point rule generated locally. Also, the sport in question, soccer, has no where near the followers among Americans that baseball, football and basketball have. Finally, among a predominantly male readership, women's sports in general take a back seat.

This is how things are, not necessarily how they should be. For champions of women athletes, however, there is a bright spot on the horizon: The Olympics. I cannot recall any Olympiad when the medal achievements of American women were emphasized any less than those of men. The summer Olympics are just 11 months away -- to be held in the same place the U.S. women's soccer team won the bronze: China.

Stay tuned.