I happen to be quite the soccer nerd when it comes to U.S. soccer, debatably one of the worst soccer countries when talking about the men’s side. However, when it comes to women’s soccer, the United states happens to surpass all the statistics of the men (more goals, more caps, more wins, more tournament championships, etc.).

A couple of months back, the U.S. Women’s National Team (WNT) sued U.S. Soccer for wage discrimination, and rightfully so due to their extensive amount of accolades. In addition, the women’s crowd happens to draw much more spectators than the men’s team; another statistic shows that the WNT earned only $2 million as a team after they won the Women’s World Cup last year in Canada, opposed to the MNT who earned $9 million in the World Cup after being eliminated in the quarters. Yet still, the men’s team gets more advantages, and I didn’t really know why until this past weekend.

For as long as I remember, I have always been an avid women’s soccer fan, often saying how terrible the U.S. MNT team is and always taking pride in my “fanhood” for Heather O’Reilly and Carli Lloyd. I owned two-years-worth season tickets to the Women’s Professional Soccer league back in ’08 and ’09, before folding and reopening again in ’13. But for the past five to sox years, I have really grown fond of the MNT. Is it because I’m getting older? Is it because they are actually super attractive? Is it because they always lose? I didn’t know.

After previously attending three U.S. WNT games, I finally attended a U.S. MNT game this past weekend. Since the United States is hosting the historic Copa America this summer (despite the tournament only happening every four years, this Copa is specially scheduled because it celebrates the tournament turning 100 years old), I thought this would be one of the best opportunities to attend a game. It so happens that two of the venues happened to be very close to my house, so I pounced on the tickets to attend USA vs. Paraguay in Lincoln Financial Field at Philadelphia. And for my first U.S. MNT game, there was no disappointment… in fact, it was the best $105 I have ever spent on a soccer game. I almost cried at one point too because it was crazy!

Now that I have attended both the Women’s AND Men’s U.S. National Soccer Team games, there have been many differences between the two that I have noticed, other than gender. Investigating these differences could also help explain why one team could be favored over the other, or why one of them may seem more enjoyable.

1.The demographic of the spectators:

They do say that the women’s team draws more spectators to their games. However, they don’t really go over who those spectators are.

The Women’s game prides themselves in being a family friendly environment. At a WNT game, you will see a hell of a lot more kids, specifically young girls and women. There are a lot of soccer teams that will buy their whole team tickets and often the spectators will get discounted tickets for buying in bulk. In addition to this, I have heard a lot more stories of people handing out free tickets to women’s games than men’s games, so this could also partially explain the increased attendance for the WNT. Younger kids means more annoying kids, less chanting, less cursing, and more family time. This probably explains why I enjoyed these games so much as a kid.

On the flip, the MNT has such a different feel. It felt like I graduated from being a spectator of the WNT and entered this new world of MNT (it’s kind of like graduating from middle school, and entering a college frat party on your first day). For once, the majority of the spectators were actual adults and men. I did see a lot of kids, but not nearly as much kids as I would have seen at a WNT game. For once, it was nice being surrounded with people my age enjoying the game.

So when it comes to general demographic: The MNT wins if you want the full experience… but had you asked me like eight to 10 years ago, I would have much preferred a WNT game as a young kid.

The men’s crowd was rowdier, and crazy, and just full of excitement, which then leads to my next point…

2. The chanting:

The WNT has a pretty solid fan base. However, it didn’t seem as noticeable as the MNT pride. I think the Outlaws (the U.S. Soccer ultrafans) have a much bigger presence at the men’s games. Their varieties of chants and the people involved in those chants are more noticeable. I would LOVE to see rowdy chanting at a WNT game because it adds to the experience.

It’s also a lot more entertaining to listen to the AO than listening to the crowd half-ass yell “Abby Wambach” with the triple clap at the end.

Winner: MNT

3. Predictability:

The Women’s team always wins for the most part. If they lose, it’s a huge shock. I will never forget when the WNT lost the World Cup Final back in 2011. It was the biggest shock since they were always favored. And with their losses comes a lot of scrutiny, which sucks. Being the best is great! But if you fail at being the best, a lot of disappointment comes from that.

The MNT is very unpredictable. One day, they can lose 2-0. The next day, they could win 4-0. Nevertheless, every time they win it feels unexpected. And every time they win, the crowd goes psycho.

So there’s no winner when it comes to this category. It’s more of a personal preference. Do you want to see a winning team win, or do you want to see a losing team lose or most possibly win? Up to you.

4. Bathroom lines:

Men… but actually, MEN. The men’s bathroom line at the MNT game was ten times longer than the women’s. I LOLed at this one because the last time I saw this happen was during Roma vs Juventus game in Rome. This just comes to show how many more men are at this game…

But let me tell you, women, we are at an advantage here because the women’s bathroom line was not as long.

Winner: women… not even the team… just women win.

5. Beer accessibility:

I don’t know if it was an Eagle's Stadium thing, but the access to beer during the MNT was awesome (which could explain the long bathroom lines for men). There were guys walking around the stands selling and pouring beers for everyone, it was great! EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE had a beer in their hand, which is something I never witnessed at the WNT games, probably due to its family friendliness. I do remember seeing a lot of beer stands when going to the WNT games (the most recent WNT games I went to were at NYRB in 2014 and 2015), but not as many people were drinking. It was definitely much more acceptable to be drunk at a MNT game, and I liked that.

Winner: MNT… because I like beer at sporting events… but if you’re not a big drinker and hate drunk people, WNT is your best bet.

6. Fan dedication:

Both teams have very dedicated fans, so both win in this category. However, I do want to recognize the fans of the MNT because no matter how much they lose or how much they win, their fans are still their fans. I feel like a lot of the WNT fans are only fans because they always win (kind of like how everyone is a Patriots fan at one point). But I can attest to the fact that WNT fans are some of the most dedicated fans not only to the WNT, but to helping soccer grow for the women’s pitch. I can respect them a hell of a lot.

So dedicated fans, they might show it different for both teams, but both fans are extraordinary.

So there you have it folks, a very brief overview of the WNT and MNT experience. Though I may seem slightly biased towards the MNT (probably because I’m still on cloud nine after last Saturday), I do enjoy both teams equally. Each team has a place in my heart and in the end, we are one country.

One Nation. One Team.

*Things to note:

-This past MNT game was my only national team game where the game was part of the tournament. I’m used to friendlies, so this could have affected the atmosphere.

Disagree with what I said? Have an issue with my views? Let me know!

Also, don’t forget to check out the Historical Copa America USA! The quarters are coming up so you should buy you tickets now!