With the title finale between Washington Spirit and Orlando Pride in full flow, fans were expecting a good 90+ minutes of football action but found themselves frustrated over the poor broadcasting. With NWSL being the pinnacle of women’s soccer in the United States, fans at home struggled to follow the game because of the ‘star camera’. 

The game did not fail to deliver some adrenaline-filled moments fit for a final. In the 37th minute of the match, scoring from a ball over the top courtesy of Angelina. The goal was the Zambian’s 4th in the playoffs and the Orlando defense ensured her efforts were not in vain. Goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse made 5 saves and notched another clean sheet, having 13 in the regular season. 

However, the major highlight was that the win meant a lot for soccer legend Marta, who has been at the club since 2017. She has been through the club’s ups and downs, finally getting the fairytale ending that she truly deserved. Her 11 goals and one assist have been crucial to the Orlando side which finished top of the NWSL table. 

Yet, not everything went off without a hitch, and fans wasted no time in calling that out.

The broadcast kept switching from the overview of the entire field to the ‘star camera’ which focused on individual players, especially Washington Spirit’s Trinity Rodman. This left a lot of viewers frustrated with many taking to X to voice their concerns. 

Fans call foul on ‘Star Camera’- Trinity Rodman-focused broadcast sparks outrage on X

Many users started calling out broadcasters Paramount and CBS, complaining about not getting the full game. With stars like Marta and Barbra Banda also on the pitch, it was surprising to not see the star camera switch to other players. ‘Fix the camera’ was one of more the popular keywords making the rounds on X. 

One exclaimed that the ‘star cam’ had them feeling like they were on a rollercoaster—without the fun part! “I’m literally getting motion sickness trying to watch the star cam” read the tweet on X. 

It’s no surprise to see people complaining about missing out on key moments of the match because the camera remained fixated on one person. For one, it was “Actually the worst @paramountplus and @NWSL for not letting fans know that the #NWSLChampionship game was changing to only being on CBS and just have a Star Cam on Trinity Rodman (love her but like??!!) Poor communication- Anyways watch the game on Fubo you can see the whole game.” It seems the only ones able to fully enjoy the action were fans attending the game at CPKC stadium, or Fubo. 

No shade to Rodman, but too much spotlight on one star feels off. “uhhh not that I don’t love her, but can we see some other players besides Rodman?,” wrote another supporter.

Notably, Paramount’s been in the hot seat before—fan backlash is nothing new for them. In the 2024 Olympics final, they ended the show before Emma Hayes’s golden gals won the game against Brazil. And this time, it was the camera being fixated on the fan-favorite- “This is so annoying!!,” wrote one. The audience was having none of it.

The match was extremely anticipated, especially since Orlando Pride was playing in their first-ever NWSL title match. While the star camera was fixated on one player, it was an opponent who stole the show, Barbra Banda, and considering the form she was in, there was no surprise she found the back of the net. 

Going into next season, Washington Spirit surely looks to be the favorite to win the cup, but fans are hoping to see the Brazilian no.10 dazzle the pitch one more time. And of course, for Paramount and CBS to do better.