2008 Starts Now

Where do we go from here? For the members of the U.S. WNT, the day after is a time for reflection; it’s a moment to look back at all the hard work invested in a dream that stopped just a game too short. For the real fans that have been watching from day one, it’s a chance to recognize some of the amazing achievements of this exceptional group of American athletes.

Until yesterday, they had played 51 games in two and a half years without a regulation loss, taking home the Algarve Cup, the Peace Cup, the Gold Cup, and the Four Nations Cup. There were amazing goals and amazing saves, first caps, courageous comebacks, five staples, 11 stiches, and, most importantly, an infectious spirit and camaraderie that made waking up to watch early morning Cup games something we looked forward to. A loss hurts, no doubt about it. But the loss of a championship hurts beyond words . However, knowing the competitiveness of this group, reflection will quickly turn into reaction. Let’s be real, for this team, playing for 3rd place was not the plan - it was not their intended way to cap off the trip to China. For them, Sunday's game vs Norway is now the first step towards Beijing 2008.
"Amazing saves, first caps, courageous comebacks, five staples, 11 stiches, an infectious spirit, camraderie..."

Forget about all the stories swirling around the media right now. To say things didn’t go our way yesterday would be a DRASTIC understatement. Brazil is a strong team that features a couple magicians up front, but an early own goal and playing a woman down certainly didn’t help our chances.

There’s nothing much to be gained from harping on poor refereeing, the fact that losing Shannon Boxx before halftime for a phantom foul was a small-scale tragedy. Not only did she not initiate contact, but she was a necessary component to a US comeback, not to mention someone who had worked so hard over the last year to recover from knee surgery and find her way back onto the the field. Thankfully Boxxy is the last person who’d waste time feeling sorry for herself. You’ll see her back in China soon enough, this time leading the charge for gold.

We know there’s still a game against Norway to be played, but thank you Abby, Tarp, Tash, Carli, Hope, Boxxy, Cat, Brianna, and the rest of the U.S. WNT for giving us all those weeks away from family, for your health, for your fight and for providing an example to which all athletic teams should strive. It’ll be bittersweet watching another Cup final without you, but we’re thinking of it as a chance to scout out the team you’ll be taking down next year.

Tune in on Sunday at 4:55AM EST to see our U.S. WNT take on Norway.