“We do a lot of work back there that goes unnoticed,” remarked Naomi Girma while reacting to her second-place finish in the 2024 ESPN FC Top 50 Women’s Soccer Players ranking. Beyond being a subtle dig at her omission from the 2024 Ballon d’Or nominations, her words highlight the lack of recognition defenders receive—unsung poets of the beautiful game, crafting victories through tackles rather than goals. While others may disagree on this point, at least Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird couldn’t agree more, with both even drawing comparisons between soccer and other sports like basketball to prove it.
It all comes down to an interesting topic that the power couple debated on the latest episode of Ted Audio Collective’s ReThinking with Adam Grant podcast. Host Grant asked both iconic athletes whether culture matters, and if it does, where it has more weightage, soccer or basketball. Interestingly, without giving it any second thought, Pinoe kept the very sport she excelled at on the pedestal and said, “Soccer is less prescribed.”
“There’s a lot of work for the team that needs to be done that just is mostly just running and doing all this s***y stuff that never gets rewarded ever,” continued the 2x World Cup winner. Megan further emphasized that players often make countless sacrifices on the field, like making sacrificial runs. However, despite going the extra mile, they rarely receive their deserving recognition, mainly “over the explicit purpose of somebody else.”
The former OL Reign star (now Seattle Reign) insisted such isn’t the case in basketball, where even the smallest of contributions gets players into the spotlight. “You can get some baskets or shoot a little bit. Everybody gets a little bit of the fun stuff sometimes. In soccer, there are some players who just don’t get the fun stuff and it’s less prescribed,” concluded the 39-year-old.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – AUGUST 6: Megan Rapinoe of USA in action during the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 Round of 16 match between Winner Group G and Runner Up Group E at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on August 6, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)
(This is a developing story…)
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