The 2009 World Cup has officially ended and the accomplishment of the past 10 days has yet to sink in. I have officially been gone since June 4th and I have to admit that it is very hard to reincorporate into normal life. For the past 4 years (and longer for many), many of us have based much of our daily lives around training for the World Cup and for the chance to represent the United States. We trained in order to be prepared to play for the gold medal at any moment. Since June 4th, that focus, hard work, and preparation only intensified. Now, though many of us are home, it is hard not to have a melancholy feeling. For a month, we existed not as a group of 18 individuals, but as ONE—as USA. And, as hard as the 3-a-days, 2-a-days, and “fun runs” were, I would go back in a second to exist again in that bubble known as USA. That is where my heart is…
Though the World Cup was only 10 days, they were the most physically and mentally taxing days I have ever been through. But it is that which made the experience so special and our accomplishment so great.
I thought that rivalries in college were intense. World Cup taught me that pride in your country is far greater than pride in your alma mater. This first hit me the day the other teams moved into our hotel; flags, posters, pictures, streamers of 16 different nations were taped to the walls in the hallways and hung from the windows. Though we may have had friends on opposing teams, it took a few days before we would cross country boundaries and mingle. Now, looking back, I appreciate how proudly each team wore their country’s colors, including our own.
In our first pregame meeting, our team shut our eyes, and listened to a beautiful rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. When we opened our eyes, several people had smeared eye black from shedding a few tears while others were bouncing in anticipation to take the field. We did this again before the gold medal game, and the same thing happened. So many people were overcome with the belief in what we could accomplish, and we did it. We made great plays, we made mistakes, but through the whole game—and whole tournament—the staff and the whole team never lost the belief in our abilities. We marched forward as one. We lived the dream. We lived USA.
Congratulations to my fellow 2009 WORLD CHAMPIONS! Miss and Love you.
