Nike Submits the Jaw-Dropping National Women's Soccer League for a Golden Globe

Move over TV’s hottest dramas! The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has a new television heavyweight to battle with for top contender at the Golden Globe Awards this year. For the first time in the league’s 11-year existence, PAPER can exclusively confirm that Nike has submitted the 2023 season of the National Women’s Soccer League for “Best Television Series, Drama.”

Rumors of the nomination first surfaced on DeuxMoi, who hinted that something was afoot for the NWSL at the 81st Golden Globe Awards. As the 2023 NWSL Championship looms closer for the league, an unnamed source has corroborated a DeuxMoi rumor that Nike submitted this year’s NWSL season for awards consideration.

No word yet on how the submission will be received by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, but there’s never been this many eyes on the National Women’s Soccer League. Megan Rapinoe’s final OL Reign home game before the soccer legend’s retirement set a new benchmark of most ever viewers for a regular season match, with 683,000. Back in June, the league also reported attendance had risen by 48% since 2022.

The submission will likely come as a surprise to more seasoned TV critics and viewers alike, as the NWSL season being up for “Best Television Series, Drama” might certainly shake things up. Speak to fans of the NWSL, however, and you’d probably hear a different story. Only 11 years into its existence, the league has swiftly gained both popularity and international renown for its stable of established stars, like San Diego Wave’s Alex Morgan and Naomi Girma, or Gotham FC’s Midge Purce and Lynn Williams.

Portland Thorns forward and Nike athlete Sophia Smith nabbed the 2023 NWSL Golden Boot — for most goals scored in the season — with 11 total goals scored over 16 games. She also missed part of the season while competing with the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which makes her Golden Boot that much more impressive.

Beyond its individual players, this season of the NWSL has been the most competitive to date, with only 13 points separating the first and 12th place teams at the end of the regular season. This sort of parity between the top and bottom ranking teams is indicative of the dramatic highs and lows of the 2023 season. On the final game day of the season, 10 of those teams were still in contention for the playoffs. In Golden Globes terms, the cliffhangers kept on coming.

The playoffs have continued this trend of dramatic, on-field storytelling in a series of stunning wins, and to soccer fans immense shock, some genuinely shocking upsets. Angel City FC, who rallied in the mid-season, lost in the quarterfinals after OL Reign made a goal with only three minutes left before the final whistle — in TV terms, when the credits roll after a dramatic needle drop.

With such close competition going into the finals, who will nab the coveted Championship trophy... or that coveted Golden Globes statue? Tune into the Finals this Saturday at 8PM ET, this is a season finale you won’t want to miss.

Created in partnership with #TeamNike