"Boys aren't gonna let you win, no matter what." The world famous soccer player, Abby Wambach, the youngest of seven, four of them being boys, understood this perfectly, no one is simply just going to let you win, you have to go and grab it yourself. When it comes to someone that inspires you it's because they are involved in something that has your interest. A lot of people who choose someone that inspires them it's because they are involved in a sport or hobby that they're passionate about. But for me, it's not that she was an amazing soccer player who I looked up because of the sport but because of her tenacity to defeat the odds, and her determination to help bring attention to women's sports, proving that women's sport is just as tough and competitive as men's.
Abby Wambach is a world famous soccer player for the US women's team, from 2001 to 2015 with a record of 160 international goals, most in history (men and women), beating Mia Hamm's record of 158. But before all the glory, she was just a kid with the dream of being better than the best. She grew up in Rochester, New York playing outdoors in your typical suburban neighborhood cul-de-sac with her six other siblings. From being a hockey goalie for her brothers to tackling and getting tackled by the rest of the neighborhood in a friendly game of touch football.
She did everything to not show mercy on anyone that she came up to. Going to Our Lady of Mercy High School where she was the 1997 national prep soccer player of the year led her to be the number one recruit in the country and choosing to go to University of Florida to continue her soccer career. As she stepped onto the field of her first professional game she knew that it would change forever. In 2003 she won US soccer female athlete of the year also in '04, '07, '10, '11, and '13. Bringing home the gold medal in the Olympics for women's soccer in 2004 and 2012. And don't forget her silver and gold medal that the US women's soccer team won in the World Cup in 2011 and 2015 along with the bronze in FIFA in 2003 and 2007.
With those team medal winnings, she won the bronze boot, silver ball, and silver boot, in the years of 2011 and 2007. Abby Wambach is a world class badass. But with all her records and winnings, women's soccer and other female sports were not getting the respect and recognition they should be. Wambach is an advocate for women's rights, for equal pay in the sports world. And when it comes to a sport she loves she was not settling for less than equal. When it came to FIFA world cup in 2015, Wambach and 80 other women's soccer players filed a lawsuit against FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association, alleging gender discrimination in the form of artificial turf. That's right, turf. Who would want to play soccer on a turf field, especially since it's for the whole world's entertainment. The men got to play on real grass, cut and watered before every game.
Meanwhile the women got to vote between which fake grass they rather get their turf burns on. As the World Cup games were approaching the player dropped their lawsuits, because they knew it wouldn't conclude before the first game. But with Abby and the rest of the 80 other players speaking up they knew they made an impact in the world of sports for women. Soccer is a sport that I never really got into, I sucked at playing it, and never understood what was happening when I watched a game. As a woman who plays sports, well, she's a role model and an iconic woman who doesn't settle for less. She strives to be the best, and never showed fear or defeat. If something or someone got in her way she would buckle down, work hard, and prove to those obstacles that she's not going to just roll over because she's a woman.
She is a powerful woman that I look up to as someone who wasn't afraid to speak up and fight for what is right. For everyone out there, this is for you. The one's who get chosen last, the one's who get looked over. This is your fight, believe in yourself, and get things done! Let them know, its your turn. No more second guesses, no more hand-me-downs, we are here and they should be ready.
