The US Olympic Women’s Soccer Team Are The Epitome of Cool

I drove to Pratt and Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Connecticut to witness the World Champions US Women’s Soccer team take on Mexico. Soccer is a sport that you have to compete against teams from across the world to be declared the champions. Some American sports, all you have to do is win your local league and wah la….your declared champions of the world.

I was only allowed to bring my iPhone into the stadium (because of copyright rules of pro athlete’s images). No lenses exceeding 3 inches, and no recording device. (go pros). Torrential downpours also conspired against me getting more video shots.

I had no idea how good my row 6 seats would turn out pregame. The US players did their warmups a few yards from the seats. Once the torrential rains began, I decided to walk around the mezzanine looking for a sheltered spot. After a while, the rains became a badge of honor for me and most of the fans. The harder it rained, the harder the US played and the harder we all cheered and sang. “I believe that we will win. I believe that we will win.”

The 18-player Olympic roster includes 17 athletes from the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup championship team, eleven of which also competed at the 2016 Games in Rio. This will be Carli Lloyd and Tobin Heath’s fourth Olympic appearance. Make no mistake, this team is stacked. Crystal Dunn, Rose Lavelle, Alex Morgan, Kelly O’Hara and Christen Press are all devastating goal scorers. The US players are the best in the world in every position.

The American Women defeated Mexico with ease 4-0. The most fascinating thing is that in the last fifteen minutes coach Vlatko Andonovski’s substitutions upped the level of the game so much, the Mexican team was overwhelmed and gave up two goals. Only two was merciful because 3 or 4 more were turned back by some incredible defending by Mexico.