But as she and teammates at both the professional level and the U.S. Women’s National team addressed issues ranging from equal pay with men’s teams to equal practice and field facilities, Krieger began noticing fans asking for items that weren’t there and promotional items for special events like Pride matches showing up late. While Krieger said underestimated demand is part of the problem, brand partners like Klarna are presenting a solution.
“Now you have that support from big brands and companies who are saying, ‘OK, this is an issue. Somebody needs to step in to take care of the problem, and we’re going to start finding a solution for it—and it shouldn’t be the players,” Krieger said. “I feel like every issue that we come across is the players’ problem, and I’m like, ‘What more can we take?’”
Meeting the moment
Krieger joined Klarna, Togethxr and designers Mellany Sanchez (a former stylist and design director for Drake) and Sophia Chang to create the “A Movement, Not a Moment” collection. The merchandise line follows up Togethxr’s ubiquitous “Everyone watches women’s sports,” created by former University of Tennessee softball player Justine Brown and worn throughout March Madness by Sue Bird (who gave one to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show), Jason Sudeikis and coach of eventual champion South Carolina, Dawn Staley.
The “Everyone watches women’s sports” line sold out three runs, drove $3 million in revenue for Togethxr and tied to both Sports Information Lab and broadcaster data about growing women’s sports viewership and heavily engaged fanbases.
