Illustration by Sonia Chintha
I
They came for you like screaming red bulls, ravenous for the win. You held them off with picks and jabs and volleys, while the clock eked out seconds. Whistles barely topped the roar of the crowd. Competition dwindled to ten – five of them against five of you.
And it came down to you.
A study in cool, you placed the ball, tucked your hair back, first the left side, then the right. You tapped your toes against the field; little girls howled for victory. Your shot sailed – a dream – kissed the corner of the net.
II
Mine was a foreign sport.
On cold winter days, my team would hunker in our basement to play chess and watch tapes of old World Cup games. Always the classics – West Germany, Italy, Brazil. Dad would pause the game to dissect plays, highlight a textbook overlap. He’d cue up the rewind so we could see it again to appreciate the connection and precision.
Between snowstorms and pawn moves, the Beautiful Game intoxicated us.
III
Your image littered the magazines: the black sports bra, chiseled abs. Arms raised in elation, you clutched your white jersey and screamed with victory. The opponent vanquished, that coveted trophy yours.
A year prior, the men had floundered. Flown to an opulent getaway in France, they languished under expectations and mismanagement; played three games thick with embarrassment, finished dead last. The performance reeked of the sport’s disappearance in the US.
You saved it. Energized a nation as you plowed through teams: a steady rise to the top. A journey the men’s team can still only fantasize about.
After that, when we huddled in basements, a new highlight appeared; this one featuring players who looked like us, made us believe we too could hoist a golden cup of glory.
IV*
National Men’s Soccer Team Player Annual Pay: $352, 500.
National Women’s Soccer Team Player Annual Pay: $99,000.
*Rios, Edwin. Women’s Soccer is Raking in Cash. Why Do US Players Get Embarrassingly Low Pay? MotherJones, March 13, 2016. https://www.motherjones.com/media/2016/03/heres-pay-gap-between-us-womens-and-mens-soccer-teams/
Parivash Goff
Parivash Goff is a writer living in the Pacific Northwest. When not working with students to decipher algebraic expressions, she spends her free time reading, writing, and enjoying the rare PNW sun. You can read her writing on her personal blog: Two Halves of One.
