Abby Wambach

We’ve seen how successful and interesting behind-the-scenes documentaries on professional soccer clubs have been. Amazon’s “All or Nothing” and Hulu’s “Welcome to Wrexham” come to mind as the latest success stories.

Now HBO is getting in on the action with their latest soccer docuseries “Angel City” which will follow the Los Angeles-based club’s inaugural season in the National Women’s Soccer League.

Angel City edged San Diego Wave 2-1 in the first regular-season edition of the SoCal Derby in front of a sold-out, 22,000-strong crowd on Saturday night at Banc of California Stadium. Among the crowd were some of the most famous soccer moms you’ll ever meet.

Perhaps more so than any other type of soccer, international football lends itself to the hero forward who saves the day with a miraculous goal. Whether it’s Pelé dominating the men’s World Cup, Michelle Akers scoring at will at the Women’s World Cup, Landon Donovan’s unforgettable finish against Algeria or Carli Lloyd’s midfield bomb in 2015, there’s something about the international game that loves a star goal scorer. 

After a 2020 that was, in many ways, a lost year for international soccer, the U.S. women’s national team went into 2021 with high hopes. The year ended with feelings of missed opportunities and the need for a rethink moving forward less than 20 months away from the next Women’s World Cup.

Abby Wambach has been away from professional sports for more than half a decade now, but she’s still a better athlete than anyone reading this, and yes, that includes you, person who thinks they’re better than everyone at everything. On Sunday, Wambach participated in her first marathon, completing the New York City Marathon in impressive time as her wife hilariously supported her, even if she didn’t quite record the fastest time from a former USWNT star. 

The USWNT will face Concacaf rival Canada in the semifinals at the 2020 Olympics on Monday. It’s a rematch of a 2012 semifinal that may just have been the greatest Olympic soccer game of all time. As we get ready for USWNT vs Canada, let’s look back at that thriller from nine years earlier.

In 1999, the USWNT was on top of the world. Americans fell in love with the 99ers who won the Women’s World Cup on home soil, with Brandi Chastain’s shirtless celebration becoming one of the first soccer moments to transcend into mainstream culture in the U.S. 

Twenty years later, the USWNT was back on top of the world. Megan Rapinoe led the USWNT to a fourth Women’s World Cup, but the love didn’t necessarily follow. Half of the country hated the team for reasons having little to do with soccer.