ONTD FOOTBALL

this little essay on the USWNT from the new yorker came out last week, but i love it so much i don't care. deal!

The U.S. national team—soccer edition, female variety—won Olympic gold yesterday, cementing its status as the most beloved sporting squad around. Does anyone dislike this team? Some outside the fifty states, perhaps, but it’s hard to see how. Celebrating a goal earlier in the tournament, the full team collaborated on a tribute to Gabby Douglas and the American gymnastics team, another beloved group. Celebrating the team’s first goal yesterday, Abby Wambach was having so much fun, running and shouting and shaking her fists to the sky, that she didn’t notice another of her teammates running in her direction, also celebrating wildly. They knocked each other over.

We can be thankful, first, that this team represents us well—better than many of our athletes, and some of our fans, several of whom showed up to yesterday’s match in American flag morphsuits. Midway through the first half, Abby Wambach kicked her opponent in the nose. It was an honest mistake, so she came back to help her up, apologized, and gave her a hug around the waist. It’s this dichotomy that makes the team so lovable: in the same instant, you expect Wambach to kick you in the face, if that’s what it takes to get to the ball, and then to take care of you once she does. Boys love Alex Morgan; women love Megan Rapinoe—everybody loves Abby Wambach.

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