Retiring star Megan Rapinoe was honored by club team OL Reign on Friday night in front of a National Women’s Soccer League-record crowd of 34,130 fans, many of whom wore pink wigs in her honor.
With her family and fiancรฉe Sue Bird looking on, Rapinoe started for the Reign in a scoreless draw against the Washington Spirit. Lumen Field’s public address system played “Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone” when she took to the field with her teammates.”I do know my impact but it’s one thing to know it, and another thing to really feel it and see it,” Rapinoe said. “To see some of the signs and the pink wigs and see what that means to people.
“It’s hard to put just this deep sense of gratitude and joy and thankfulness for being able to have a moment like this into words.”
Rapinoe had already played her final match with the United States women’s national team last month in Chicago, but Friday marked her final regular-season home game for the Reign.
“I don’t ever think we took it for granted our 11 years here one bit. I think that’s how Pinoe lives, she lives with this joy, she lives for those moments, and she really pushes us to also do that,” teammate Lauren Barnes said. “I think it’s undeniable the positive impact she’s had.”
A video played before the match included well-wishes from such luminaries as Abby Wambach, Ken Griffey Jr. and Magic Johnson.
Rapinoe has played in 114 regular-season games for the Reign and scored 49 goals. Her club career isn’t quite over: Next week the Reign wrap up the season on the road against the Chicago Red Stars.”I do know my impact but it’s one thing to know it, and another thing to really feel it and see it,” Rapinoe said. “To see some of the signs and the pink wigs and see what that means to people.
“It’s hard to put just this deep sense of gratitude and joy and thankfulness for being able to have a moment like this into words.”
Rapinoe had already played her final match with the United States women’s national team last month in Chicago, but Friday marked her final regular-season home game for the Reign.
“I don’t ever think we took it for granted our 11 years here one bit. I think that’s how Pinoe lives, she lives with this joy, she lives for those moments, and she really pushes us to also do that,” teammate Lauren Barnes said. “I think it’s undeniable the positive impact she’s had.”
A video played before the match included well-wishes from such luminaries as Abby Wambach, Ken Griffey Jr. and Magic Johnson.
Rapinoe has played in 114 regular-season games for the Reign and scored 49 goals. Her club career isn’t quite over: Next week the Reign wrap up the season on the road against the Chicago Red Stars.Rapinoe is also known for her social justice activism. She led the national team’s long fight for equal pay with the men’s national team, which started with an EEOC complaint in 2016. It was finally resolved last year, when both teams reached contracts with U.S. Soccer that paid them equally and split tournament prize money.Among the first prominent athletes to publicly come out, Rapinoe has been outspoken about LGBTQIA+ issues. She has also advocated for racial equity and was among those who knelt in solidarity with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
“That’s what really matters,” Rapinoe said. “Of course we love playing, we want to make the league better in every possible way that we can. But it’s a game at the end of the day and it’s something that we get to use to what I feel the point of life is: To use what you have to better yourself and make people better around you and leave things in a better place than where you found them.
“To me that’s the whole point and that’s what I take most pride in.”
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