And, "That's All She Wrote..."

 #SWE

#USA

Lina Hurtig!!!!! MÅÅÅÅÅL!!!!!! SVERIGE TILL KVARTSFINAL!!!!!OMG Team USA out of the #FIFAWWC , eliminated after an incredible PK session by Sweden

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I'm glad Sweden won.

Don't think of me as an anti-American sports fan.

Think of me as a person who appreciates sports and understands the importance of parity in making the players better -- the women playing on the squads still coming up, and even more importantly perhaps, the loud-and-best-prepped players on the American squad who need to be humbled to play their game better...

"Girl You Know It's True!"

(and if we can have one final request here?  Let Ms. Rapinoe fade gracefully into the shadows now that her sports career is over, like Ms. Mia Hamm -- class act and a tough player in her time too -- has done.

The beauty of sports is in the moment.  The youth, the athleticism, the glory of the play of the day!  We don't need to create "celebrity" sports stars because their actions on the field will always create the true superstars.  You will know them by their fruit, and here, the fruit has nothing to do with their offspring for family.

It's your work that counts in sports, your performance.  If the freshman runner is the fastest, she makes the squad.  If the black kid is the fastest skater and can fire from the corners, you put him on you top line.  If the new immigrant kid is tall and trainable, of course you encourage him to try out for the team...

Whe we build up some brands over others, and refuse to let them go in time when their performance dwindles, as all sports athletes who rely on their aging bodies understand, you just have to trust the game enough to turn it over to younger, hungrier, fresher unknown names who can still score when it matters because their skills are practiced, their bodies are stronger, and they are hungrier to achieve.

Goodbye then, Ms. Rapinoe.  Good luck in your post-sports career.  "Here Comes the Turn ... of the Tide"