On Sunday afternoon, a number of people spent their time at home watching sports. Some were watching golf – for others it was NASCAR. But the biggest sporting event yesterday didn’t involves clubs or cars. The big event was the women’s World Cup final, in which Japan silenced the American faithful by defeating the U.S. team in a penalty shootout.
The final, which aired on ESPN, became the second-highest-rated women’s soccer game ever in the U.S. Overnight ratings have the game drawing an 8.6% ratings share. As impressive as that number is, the 1999 final, where the United States defeated China (and Brandi Chastain couldn’t sustain her jubilation any more), set the all-time high with 11.4% of U.S. households tuning in. But that game aired during primetime, while Sunday’s contest was played in late morning to mid-afternoon in some parts of the country.
However, the women’s World Cup final did break one record. With 7,196 tweets per second sent after Japan claimed victory 3-1 in penalty kicks. The number of tweets sent is more than the death of Osama Bin Laden (5,106 per second) and results of the Steelers/Packers Super Bowl (4,064 tweets).
