To have crossed paths with Megan Rapinoe is to have a Megan Rapinoe story.
Back in 2019, following a second World Cup trophy, The Pose, and her breakout into the mainstream, I wrote a long feature about how Rapinoe was one of our Athletes of the Year at The Athletic — it was a collection of short stories about Rapinoe, the human and the player.
So when my colleague Steph Yang and I started asking teammates, coaches and staff (who have known her for years) for their Rapinoe stories ahead of her final U.S. game on Sunday, the answers didn’t surprise us. Of course they have them. There’s just one small challenge: can they be shared?
GO DEEPER
A decade of Megan Rapinoe shows how far women’s soccer has come
When I asked U.S. women’s national team forward Midge Purce in Cincinnati last week for her best story, she stared back at me for a second. “That’s fit for public consumption,” I clarified.
“Yeah, that’s the key!” She laughed, staring off and rummaging through what must be a pretty good mental file of options.
“I’m thinking about Cabo,” she starts, before a long pause. “No.” Definitely nothing for publication there. What about the White House, when the U.S. teammates appeared with President Joe Biden on Equal Pay Day?
EQUAL PAY DAY: Megan Rapinoe: “I’m…
