The NWSL playoffs kick off this weekend, with Sunday’s quarterfinals deciding who will meet the Portland Thorns and OL Reign in the semifinals. Club soccer also heats up across the pond as Women’s Super League powerhouses Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United take the pitch.
Here’s what to watch this weekend in women’s sports:
1. NWSL: CHICAGO RED STARS VS. NJ/NY GOTHAM FC
Sunday, Nov. 7 at 3 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
The Reds Stars and Gotham FC will face off in the NWSL quarterfinals, with the winner advancing to take on No. 1 seed Portland. Gotham has gotten the better of the team’s last two matchups, banking a win against Chicago in July and settling for a draw in September.
2. NWSL: WASHINGTON SPIRIT VS. NORTH CAROLINA COURAGE
Sunday, Nov. 7 at 5:30 p.m. ET on Paramount+
The weekend’s other quarterfinal match will take place in D.C., with the Spirit hosting the Courage as OL Reign awaits the winner. The Spirit enter Sunday’s matchup on a four-game winning streak, while North Carolina is coming off a rocky end of the regular season.
3. FRAUEN-BUNDESLIGA: BAYERN MUNICH VS. SGS ESSEN
Saturday, Nov. 6 at 8 a.m. ET on atafootball.com
Bayern sits atop a tight Frauen-Bundesliga table as the team gears up for Saturday’s contest. SGS Essen only has one league win on the season and will look for a big victory against top-ranked Munich.
4. FAWSL: TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR VS. MANCHESTER UNITED
Sunday, Nov. 7 at 7:15 a.m. ET on atafootball.com and NBCSports.com
Two points separate Tottenham and Manchester United on the FAWSL table ahead of their Sunday match. Tottenham enters the game following a tough loss to Brighton, while Manchester United is coming off a 1-1 draw with Manchester City.
5. FAWSL: ARSENAL VS. WEST HAM UNITED
Sunday, Nov. 7 at 1:45 p.m. ET on atafootball.com and NBCSports.com
Arsenal is the heavy favorite heading into their Sunday matchup with West Ham, boasting a 5-0-0 record on the season. Vivianne Miedema has been on a tear with the Gunners, notching four goals and two assists in five matches.
6. TENNIS: BILLIE JEAN KING CUP
Saturday, Nov. 6 at 6:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. ET on Tennis Channel
The Billie Jean King Cup continues into the weekend, welcoming 12 teams to the Czech Republic to compete for an $18 million purse.
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originally appeared on JustWomensSports.com and was
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Here’s how these 19 famous sports traditions started
Ever done The Wave? Seen Gatorade get dumped on an MVP? Ordered Ballpark hot dogs?
No matter what teams you root for or even what sports you follow, the odds are high that there’s at least one tradition you or your favorite team takes part in without even thinking about it.
So, if you’ve ever wondered about things like why hockey players shake hands before beating each other to a pulp, keep reading!
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Many people believe The Wave first started in 1986 during the televised FIFA World Cup in Mexico. However, ESPN tracked down its origins to cheerleader George Henderson via a tape owned by Oakland Athletics of a game in 1981 at San Jose State University.
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For this sticky sports tradition, hit the highlight reels of a 1984 game when the Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings. Then-Bear head coach Mike Ditka was drenched in Gatorade for leading the team to victory.
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Well, are you? For over 20 years, ABC used Hank Williams Jr.’s “All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night; as its theme song. In fact, the phrase “Are You Ready For Some Football?” is trademarked by ABC.
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While tailgating is a large part of the fun during football season, this tradition’s roots can be traced back to 1906. Unsurprisingly, this tradition started on a college campus — Yale, to be precise — and has stuck ever since.
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Before the bottom of the sixth inning at every home game, Milwaukee Brewers can see an array of sausage-themed mascots race around the track. This tradition started as a simple scoreboard animation in the 1990s, but by 1992, physical mascots were created so bored kids could watch people race in about 7 feet tall sausage costumes.
Now called The Sausage Race, competitors include The Bratwurst, The Polish, The Italian, The Chorizo and The Hot Dog. As of June 2021, The Hot Dog has won the most number of races (12 total).
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Legendary Indy 500 driver Louis Meyer would drink buttermilk on every race day after he did it in 1936 and won. The superstition has since become a tradition carried out by many Indy 500 winners, although the winner now can choose from whole, 2% or whichever other type of milk they want.
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If you’ve ever wondered why people throw octopus at a Detroit Red Wings game, wonder no more. This tradition started in 1952 after the Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens. A local fish seller threw an octopus on the ice in celebration, creating a longstanding tradition. Fans still throw octopuses out on the ice.
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Also called the Iowa Wave, this University of Iowa tradition started in 2017. That’s when a UI Children’s Hospital opened up near the football stadium. Ever since, you can catch fans waving hello to the hospital at home games.
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This tradition comes courtesy of THE Ohio State University marching band. The marching band members have been forming “Ohio” during its halftime performances since 1936. If you look closely, you can see they even dotted the “i.”
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The “toast” toast is another tradition you’ll have to go to a college campus to see. University of Pennsylvania fans got cheeky during a rendition of the school song, “Drink a Highball,” in the 1970s. After alcohol was banned in stadiums, fans started throwing toast, bagels and other bready goods during the lyrics, “Here’s a toast to dear old Penn.”
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If you’re not familiar with WWE, this tradition may have you saying, “What?” In 2001, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin first annoyed his opponents by interrupting their sentences with, “What?” You can still hear fans chant “What?” during WWE matches.
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While people have been wearing hats to the Kentucky Derby since its formation in 1875, the hat craze escalated quickly in the 1960s. A combination of loosening fashion rules for women and the emergence of TV screenings of the Derby gave many women the chance to get noticed, so Derby hats got bigger, bolder and brighter.
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Grabbing a hot dog during the season opener is a tradition held by many baseball fanatics. This tradition started in 1893 during Louis Browns games in Milwaukee. However, the now famous Ball Park Franks wouldn’t appear until 1958 at a Detroit Tigers game.
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Every year, the current golf master prepares to “hand off” The Green Jacket to the winner of the next tournament. This tradition started in 1937, although each winner actually keeps the jacket. It’s stitched with the winner’s name on the inside label and takes about a month to make.
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Since 1908, hockey players have been shaking their opponents’ hands before beating each other up. Canadian hockey player shook his opponent’s hand after a game, creating a tradition that lasts today. Hockey is the only sport that regularly does this handshake.
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Wimbledon’s been serving strawberries and cream since 1509, according to some accounts. Historians found that Thomas Wolsey was the first person to pass out the sweet treat to spectators. Wolsey was an administrator for King Henry VII, and part of his duties included serving delicious snacks to the king’s guests at tennis matches. Wimbledon still sells this popular fan favorite.
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Some fans have noticed that soccer players tend to ask their rivals for their jersey after they defeat them. This “jersey swapping” is believed to have first happened in 1931, when French players asked their English counters for their jerseys to remember their sweet victory. However, not all losing teams offer up their jersey, as was the case during the 1966 World Cup when England defeated Argentina.
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Mascots have been around for quite some time, and there’s disagreement over which team had the first mascot. However, most people point to Yale’s bulldog, Handsome Dan, as one of the first team mascots.
He debuted in 1892, and Yale still has both an actual bulldog and someone dressed as a bulldog at every home game. They’re currently on their 19th Handsome Dan bulldog, the latest of whom joined the Yale family in March 2021. Its caretaker is a staff member at the Yale Visitor Center.
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The Haka dance is a New Zealand war dance that their rugby team, the All Blacks, made famous in the 1990s. The team still starts each game with the dance, and other teams have since adopted their own dances and chants.
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