Women? Playing a sport? Why would anyone watch that? Contrary to the unfortunate popular opinion of the American public, the US Women’s National Team (USWNT) and  the upcoming Women’s World Cup are definitely worth everyone’s time. If you like sports, America and winning, here are some reasons to watch this summer’s tournament:

The USWNT is way better than their male counterpart.

No one knows it, but our women’s team has been the best in the world for over a decade and was ranked first for seven straight years before falling to second last December. They’ve won seven CONCACAF Gold Cups, two World Cups and have finished no worse than third place in the other four WCs they’ve participated in. And oh yeah, the current squad is supposed to be their best ever. So if the men’s success (as some would call it) in the 2014 World Cup whetted your appetite for American soccer, the USWNT is likely to completely satisfy that hunger come summer 2015.

They’ve landed in the group of death.

All soccer tournaments have that one group that consists of more quality than all the others, hence the name “group of death.” Sweden (ranked 5th), Australia (10th), Nigeria (35th) and USA (2nd) make up Group D. That’s the third best European team against the best Oceanic team against the best African team against the best North American team. It’s no secret there may be a gap in quality between US and it’s competitors, but nevertheless it will create a wildly entertaining group stage.

To watch the turf field saga unfold.

The Cup, which will be hosted by Canada, is set to be played on astroturf fields, which has caused an uproar among the participating nations. But what’s the big deal with turf fields? Well, it is such a big deal that some of the biggest names set to play this summer have filed a legitimate lawsuit against FIFA in protest. Astroturf affects the way the ball rolls and bounces on the ground and it’s absolutely awful on the body, as it creates an increasingly higher chance for injuries. Some squads, including the USWNT, intend to balance World Cup preparation by practicing on both turf and dirt fields, so the way teams react to and cope with the turf fields could have a surprisingly large effect on things.

If not for the soccer, for the close up shots of players.

Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan, Christen Press, Hope Solo. The list goes on through the majority of the squad. They would at least win in a beauty pageant, if not the WC.

Abby Wambach is the best player on earth.

Bonus: she’s also openly gay.

Although they’ve been running somewhat under the radar, the USWNT won’t fail to entertain this summer, and won’t fail to satisfy either.