I think the success the Lionesses is having is great and will be fantastic for grass roots football. My daughter played football for 7 years and the state of the game for girls, especially outside of London was quite frankly depressing. Kick off after the boys had finished, playing up an age group because not enough teams at the appropriate level. Those lucky enough to have subs loaning players to the opposing team so that there were enough players for the match to start. We spent a couple of years travelling travelling almost 25 miles each way to get regular games.
I think its no mean feat to have produced a team like the Lionesses given the state of what has been available for girls and women. Despite their success, ot still feels like there is a large element of going through the motions rather than substance to the support they receive from Sponsors, governing bodies and the press. There are some genuine supporters, but lets face it, there will never be a Men's' world cup where the Keepers kit is not produced. That's before we even get onto replica kits. Nike don't even seem shamed by their decision, they like other sponsors have shown time and time again that they are not there for women. It will be interesting to see which of the lionesses get the most sponsorship deals. There is a reason that Anna Kournikova earned more than Serena and it wasn't her ability.
As for even watching the game, there would also have been a licence extension in place case, from the outset of the Mens' competition. As for the Australian League scheduling football matches on the day of the final and fascination with how many gay women football players there are...