This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at BC chapter.
I’d first like to say that I am probably the biggest U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team fan in the entire country. I know the name of every single person on the World Cup team, I know who didn’t make the World Cup team (and maybe should of), and whenever I’m really bored I imagine what the roster will look like for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janiero.
Four years ago I watched as the United States played the greatest soccer game I’ve ever seen against Brazil. Two games later, I, along with the rest of the team, was crying when they lost to Japan in the World Cup final in 2011. The 2012 Olympics offered a bit of a reprieve from my sadness because the US won the Gold medal off the Japanese in London. But I always knew that my wound, the team’s wound, and the nation’s wound wouldn’t be fully healed unless we played Japan in the World Cup final in 2015.
I didn’t miss a single minute of the World Cup. When I was at work, I put it on the computer so when customers weren’t in the store I could watch it; my boss let me leave early because I complained so much that I was missing the U.S. vs. Germany game. And then, it happened. Somehow, some way, we got our wish: It was the United States vs. Japan in the World Cup final. I watched every second of that game, and after it was 3-0 within 20 minutes, I finally started to smile. My smile grew larger and larger throughout the game and when that final whistle blew, I screamed. I still get tears in my eyes whenever I see the entire team holding the trophy.
Now that they’ve won the World Cup, I’m even more of a freak. I watched the NYC ticker tape parade and the Victory tour games. I constantly go online to see if they have scheduled a game in Los Angeles (they have not). I watched the entire ESPY Awards so I could see who won Best Team (I was quite happy when they called the USWNT). I even tried (and horribly failed) to collect every different Sports Illustrated magazine cover when they came out with 25 covers celebrating the team. I follow my favorite players on Instagram and Twitter, and I even watched some of the National Women’s Soccer League games.
Women’s soccer has gone through many ups and downs, but I truly believe that this is the up that we have been waiting for. The U.S. has three World Cup trophies, the first country to do so for the Women’s World Cup. Two women’s soccer leagues have ended because of the lack of money, but the NWSL seems to be in it for the long haul. The Victory Tour has consistently sold out stadiums, unheard of for women’s soccer.
The team wants to be an inspiration to every girl and tell them that no matter what, if you put your heart and soul into something, you can win it all. I’m a 20-year-old college student with medium soccer skills and these women inspire me. Even though playing professional soccer is never happening for me, these 23 women inspired me to reach for the stars, passionately pursue my dream, and never rest until it’s in my grasp.
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