Go to penalties, take the last one, score, lift the trophy. This is probably the perfect ending that most had designed for Megan Rapinoe and OL Reign last night in the NWSL final against Gotham FC. A chance to make up for his missed penalty during the World Cup. Maybe even erase, just a little, his miserable World Cup in the general ranking.
But things rarely, if ever, go as planned, especially the best plan. And Rapinoe’s career and stature in the football world and in society means that her World Cup, her missed penalty and the torn Achilles tendon that ended her last match after just two minutes will be either way erased. She matters too much to make it all count.
Although the glorious ending would have been poetic, Rapinoe driving the car until she simply couldn’t handle any more diet also has its beauty and poetry. No one can say she didn’t squeeze every last drop out of what she had, and pushing it a little bit more is what made her who she is. Rapinoe’s game was to dive headlong, torpedoes be damned, there’s no wall I can’t pass through. She was most comfortable when her team, club or country, was most direct, with Rapinoe able to burn up and down each wing to hit another cross or another threatening shot. Leaving gently until the sunset? Nothing about Rapinoe was “smooth rolling”, much more akin to a War Rig blitz through dunes and enemies.
While it is unfortunate that the early part of her retired life is still spent recovering and rehabilitating, it gave Rapinoe one last chance, show wit and smile it showed when things were at their best or worst. Maybe this touches something in me a little more than others, because I also tend to laugh in difficult times. She was criticized for laughing after the United States’ exit from the World Cup, but that was her way of smirking at the absurdity of her lack of a penalty, something she rarely did. Or how empty his performance throughout the entire tournament had been. It was the best coping mechanism. Isn’t it so ridiculous how this all happened, compared to what happened before?
There was always an underlying laugh in everything Rapinoe did, even when she was the face of important fights that she or her team has undertaken. Whether protesting the pay gap or advocating she kneels during the anthem, or speaking about the abuses that were rampant in the NWSL, his tone always had the basis of: “Isn’t it ridiculously stupid that I even have to defend this position?” “Is it comical that anyone would dispute these clearly obvious points? » Maybe that’s what so upset Rapinoe, what she clearly appreciates. Not only was she a confident and vocal gay woman, she made no secret of how stupid she thought her opponents were on these issues. Which she should never have had to do anyway, and doing it with a chuckle only further belittled those in front of her and made them angrier, providing a hilarious contrast between the crude men who cried in wrong and the smiling woman in right, stretching this abyss.
His play on the court was also full of fun. As the evil adversaries must have found that while Rapinoe was kicking their ass, she still looked like she was having the time of her life doing it. Rapinoe may or may not have been the best player in the 2015 or 2019 World Cup winners. We could have the debate between her, Carli Lloyd and Julie Ertz another time. But it was undoubtedly the epicenter of the bravado and arrogance of these teams which played a significant role in their victories. Laughing all the way at the very idea of someone beating them.
Rapinoe might wince to think that she’s still the story of the finale, even though Ali Krieger got the poetic end to her career she might have dreamed of. Or that Midge Purce and Lynn Williams played for Gotham in the same position Rapinoe could play. That a team like Gotham, not so long ago a symbol of indifference and the obstacle that team ownership could represent for its players to win the trophy, would always take second place to a player who was on the field in less time than necessary. to return from the can. But that’s the weight and size of Rapinoe’s legend.
So she limped into the sunset instead of galloping. She will still laugh at the absurdity of it all. So do we, that a career can have so many things, that a player can have so many things, the simple list of moments she provided and the people she inspired. Since he was carrying all of this, it’s a wonder he lasted this long. Perhaps the final, stark reminder of its impermanence is what we needed.
And laugh, of course.
Follow Sam on Twitter @Felsgate and on Bluesky @felsgate.bsky.social