'My sons' hearts are broken but mine is full': The unexpected impact of the Matildas on boys everywhere.

It was a tense and emotional 90 minutes at our place last night as my two sons and I watched the Matildas play the Lionesses in the semi-final of the FIFA Women's World Cup. My boys ages 12 and six spent the match either cheering at the great play, throwing cushions at the TV (and each other) or literally hiding behind the sofa. 

After a day of wearing green and gold colours to school and shouting 'Aussie, Aussie Aussie' at anyone who would listen, my youngest went to bed with a tear-streaked face. 

His devastation at the loss was a full-body experience that he still felt at breakfast this morning. My eldest wore his sadness with the stoicism I expect of his almost 13-year-old self, but there was no mistaking his deep disappointment.

Watch: The trailer for the Matildas documentary. Post continues below.

I hate seeing my boys upset and yet, strangely my heart is full. 

Full, because I could see their passion for the game and the women who play it. 

Full, because it is normal for my boys to see stadiums overflowing with fans cheering these incredible women on. 

Full, because they watch women's and men's soccer, women's and men's cricket and women and men's NRL and enjoy all of it equally.

And full, because my two boys are far from alone in their passion for this year's FIFA Women's World Cup.

According to recent television viewing statistics from OzTam, the Matildas versus the Lionesses semi-final set a new national record. 

"In the five metro capital cities, the game was watched by an average audience of 4.495 million," Thomas Mitchell and Karl Quinn write in The Sydney Morning Herald. 

"In the regional markets another 1.67 million tuned in, while on 7plus the audience of 957,000 set a new record for the most streamed event in Australia."

And not only that, but this record-smashing, heart-breaking, semi-final was the second time in a week that a women’s soccer match featuring the Matildas became the highest-rating TV program of 2023. 

A women's soccer match became the highest-rating TV program of 2023. TWICE.

Growing up in the UK in the 1990s, a women's soccer match on mainstream television, let alone the highest-viewed program on TV, was unthinkable. Boys of my son's age of my generation wouldn't have been able to watch women's soccer even if they wanted to, because it simply wasn't available.

I grew up not knowing women even played soccer at a professional level because until Bend It Like Beckham came out in 2002, it just wasn't part of the culture.  

Of course, there were women playing soccer then, but they were poorly paid and their matches were not shown on mainstream TV. Thankfully, those women didn't give up. They kept pushing and playing so that the Matildas team my boys cheered and watched on TV last night could achieve national treasure status.

And visibility matters. And as my two boys watched every single Matildas game and praised the athleticism and skills of Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler, Cortnee Vine, Katrina Gorry and their team, so did all their friends and schoolmates.

Legions of boys and girls were watching as the Matildas played hard but also comforted each other and showed care and compassion for players from opposing teams. They watched the hugs, tears, laughter and sorrow.  

They watched as they celebrated the big moments with each other and their families and it gave us the opportunity to speak about how some of them love women and some love men. 

According to Pink News, the Matildas stand alongside Brazil as the 2023 World Cup team with the most confirmed out and proud LGBTQI+ players. 

Compare nine players on just one women's team with only ONE active male gay footballer in all of Australia; Josh Cavallo who only officially came out in 2021. In 2022 Jake Daniels was the first active male footballer to come out as gay in the UK. The first in over 30 years.

Statistics show that there are plenty of gay men in the world so there is a disconnect somewhere if so many of them feel unable to be fully themselves on and off the pitch because of fear, homophobia or both.

And this is incredibly sad. Because men's soccer teams might be full of skilful athletes but the hyper-masculine, hetero-normative culture of the men's game seems stuck in a quaint and bygone era. 

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There is much work yet to be done for the game to truly be equal but looking back, it is also clear how far we have come. 

While my boys' hearts are still sore from the Matildas' loss, my heart is full of hope for the future thanks to the Matildas' skill and the national outpouring of love and support for them.

I know that Kerr, Vine, Fowler and the team will inspire the next generation of girls to go and play a sport they love with passion and power. 

But I also know they will inspire the next generation of boys like mine to see that there are many ways to be a good soccer player or sports person.

They can love who they want to love. 

They can laugh but they can also cry. They can have moments of strength, pride and fear but they can also be kind and nurture other players.

They can experience a range of emotions all while being watched, cheered and adored by a crowd.

And they can do all these things while playing their very best soccer — just like the women do.

Laura Jackel is Mamamia's Senior Lifestyle Family Writer. For links to her articles and to see photos of her outfits and kids, follow her on Instagram and TikTok.

Feature image: Supplied.