“And it will go down as the U.S.A.’s worst performance ever in the Women’s World Cup,” said ESPN commentator, Ian Durke, of the 2-1 Brazil lead over America in the 122nd minute of the quarterfinals. As if hearing Durke and his comment that her efforts would “come to no avail”, Meghan Rapinoe rocketed a cross from thirty yards out that perfectly connected with Abby Wambach’s head to score one of the most exciting goals of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. For me (as well as many others), this was the moment that I truly fell in love with our women’s national team and Abby Wambach, the highest all-time scorer in women’s soccer history. Although that year the women’s team ultimately had a heartbreaking loss in penalty kicks to Japan in the final, they have not broken stride since won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and redeemed themselves against Japan by winning the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. As the U.S. women’s team looks forward to Rio, for the 2016 Summer Olympics, with the goal of becoming the first team ever to win a World Cup and an Olympic gold medal in consecutive years, one player is notably absent: Abby Wambach.
Following the team’s World Cup victory, Wambach decided to end her 15-year record-breaking career after the last game of the U.S. Victory Tour. When Wambach announced her retirement, she sent out a tweet that read, “Make them forget me,” and then subsequently deleted all of her social media accounts. In an effort to explain her tweet, the two-time Olympic gold medalist shot a commercial with Gatorade. The emotional commercial showed Wambach packing up her locker and looking back on all of the hard work she has put in for the women’s team. Despite all of her accomplishments, Abby’s wish going into her retirement is that people “forget her”:
"Forget me, forget my number, forget my name, forget I ever existed. Forget the medals won, the records broken, and the sacrifices made. I want to leave a legacy where the ball keeps rolling forward, where the next generation accomplishes things so great that I am no longer remembered. Because the day I'm forgotten is the day I'll succeed. So, forget me."
While it might not be easy to forget one of the best female players to ever step onto a soccer field, the team seems to be heeding Wambach’s advice. Due to injury and several players (including Wambach, Shannon Boxx, Lauren Holiday, Lori Chalupney, and Rachel Van Hollebeke) retiring following the 2015 World Cup, Joe Ellis, the U.S. coach, has invited several newcomers to join the Olympic qualifying roster. These include 17-year-old Mallory Pugh (a high school senior from Colorado, pictured above with Alex Morgan), who assisted a goal against Canada in the Olympic qualifying tournament last Sunday. Alex Morgan, a forward on the Women’s National team and a former Cal player, said that the “average age of our team has declined dramatically since the World Cup.” Although this new team has big shoes to fill, it certainly seems like they, too, will take Wambach’s words into consideration and keep the ball “rolling forward.”
