Like millions of Americans, I was tremendously proud of the U.S. Women’s national soccer team for their 5-2 dismantling of Japan to win the 2015 Women’s World Cup. For those around the world who don’t believe Americans can play the beautiful game…well, whaddya think of us now, eh??? The final, which really wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicates, was a masterful display of the American penchant for attacking, knocking an opponent down, and stomping on their throat. It’s a style the American men’s team has yet to establish, much less perfect, but the women rose to the challenge throughout the tournament and put the lie to the argument that what Americans call “soccer” is by rights really a European game that Americans struggle to understand but can never really come to grips with.
More than anything, I admire the American women for their commitment to play every bit as hard as men and attack, attack, attack for 90 minutes. They played hard, they played well, and the played the game the way it’s supposed to be played- cleanly, fair, and with respect for the game and their opponent. If you’re a parent and have a daughter who wants to play soccer, you couldn’t find a better, more complete collection of role models. Between the lines, the American women would rip out your still-beating heart and leaving you bleeding out at midfield as they attack the opposing goal. As hard as they play, when the moment calls for it, they help opponents up and treat them with respect…and they’re a team in every sense of the word. They play for one another, they pull for one another, and they place their self-interest below that of the team. THAT’S how you win championships, y’all.
Men’s teams the world over could stand to take those lessons to heart. You can compete hard without taking your opponent out in ways that might result in serious injury. You can be hurt without going down as if a sniper shot you from the press box. You can draw a foul without flopping dramatically. You can state your case by letting your game do the talking and treating officials, opponents, and the game with respect. You can be a winner without being an asshole (Et tu, Luis Suarez??)
It seems Americans- at least the distaff side of the population- CAN play the beautiful game…and quite well. They can do it with class and dignity. During their run to the World Cup title, they demonstrated to the world how to play the game the right way- hard, fast, clean, and respectfully. That’s something all of us should be proud of.
And while we’re at it, full credit to the Japanese women’s national team for absorbing some brutal early adversity without giving up. They played hard and against very long odds after going down 2-0 in the game’s first five minutes. It would have been easy to mail in the rest of the match, but they played hard and did everything they could to make a game of it. In the end, they couldn’t recover and on this day just didn’t have enough to keep up with the Americans…but they played hard and they played well after some early mistakes. They respected the game, the moment, and their opponent by never giving up; on this day, they simply came up short.
I suspect that little girls from coast to coast are waking up this morning and asking their parents if they can learn how to play soccer. Not a bad legacy for the likes of Abby Wambach and Christie Rampone, eh? Turns out girls CAN kick ass.
