They took a beating, the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team did, not only on the field, but on the streets of America, where many ridiculed them, laughed at them, and demeaned them.
Instead, we should be thanking them and lauding them.
They limped into the knockout rounds in weak fashion. barely qualifying. Mind you, this is a team that has dominated women's international soccer. winning four World Cups since 1991. And, that is just to mention one of their many laurels.
But, they went down hard in the first round of the knockout stage, the earliest exit for the team in its history.
And, the barbs and jabs came flying:
"This has got to be the most embarrassing moment in sports since the Sidney games of 2000."
"A conglomeration of uninspired, self-interest peddling athletes who were obviously more concerned with their political activism than performing."
"This was the worst performance by a USA women’s team in World Cup history."
"No one I know wanted to cheer for them. They deserved to lose and should all be fired. All of them."
"The USA team couldn't have played any worse."
And those are just the quotes from a single news story and the comments below it.
No, the coaching wasn't perfect, and, yes, the selection of players was questionable. But, the talent in other nations is catching up with the U.S. And, this edition of America's team didn't lose to a lousy team -- Sweden was the #3 ranked team in the world. The Americans were riddled with injuries, five key players out, yet they fought and almost won.
Thank this team. Praise them. They represented America, and gave their best effort. We do not need to trash our team, but to support them.
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