USWNT star Horan says most American soccer fans 'aren't smart'
United States women’s national team captain Lindsey Horan has said that most American soccer fans are not smart. The Colorado native made the comments during a recent lengthy interview with The Athletic. While the discussion covered a plethora of topics on the sport, Horan raised eyebrows with the remark regarding fans here Stateside.
Horan was asked about how players’ performances are misunderstood in the country. The 29-year-old attacker began the conversation by claiming that fans put too much faith in analysis by television commentators.
“American soccer fans, most of them aren’t smart,” proclaimed Horan. “They don’t know the game. They don’t understand. [But] it’s getting better and better.”
“I’m [going to] piss off some people, but the game is growing in the U.S. People are more and more knowledgeable, but so much of the time people take what the commentators say, right? My mom does it! My mom says, ‘Julie Foudy said you had such a good game!’ And I’m here, just going, ‘I was f—ing s— today.’”
Star prefers French fans compared to those Stateside
Horan then compared American fans to those in Europe. The USWNT star previously rejected the chance to play college soccer at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to instead sign with Paris Saint-Germain. After four seasons in France, Horan then moved back home to play with NWSL side Portland Thorns. However, she switched to France once again and signed with Lyon in early 2022.
“From what I’ve heard, people understand my game a little bit more, a sense of my football and the way I play,” Horan continued. “It is the French culture. Everyone watches football. People know football.”
Although Horan initially struggled to adapt back in France, she has since found her form once again. The versatile attacker has racked up 15 goals in her last 30 total matches at Lyon.
Horan says culture needs to change within the USWNT
Along with bashing American soccer fans, Horan also discussed the current state of the USWNT. The Stars and Stripes recently flopped at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. While the team had previously never finished worse than third at the tournament, they could not manage to get beyond the round of 16.
Following the collapse that the Women’s World Cup, veteran stars such as Julie Ertz and Megan Rapinoe retired from the team. As a result, the squad has undergone a bit of a youth revolution in recent months. The USWNT, with help from the young stars, has now focused attention on the upcoming Gold Cup and Olympics in France.
“A lot of these new young players are going to have big freaking roles, even in this Olympics,” stated Horan. “How the hell do we get the best out of them to go put us on the podium? It’s been a crazy place, but this is a really exciting role for me because I’ve felt like this is what I’m meant to do.”
“We need to change every bit of culture that we had prior to the last World Cup and going into this Olympics because we need to win. And that starts now.”
PHOTOS: IMAGO.