Take a bow, Alex Morgan.

Make it a long and delayed event where the whole country, all the aspiring players, mothers, daughters and sons have a chance to appreciate the door you helped open.

Pause to appreciate what a nimble football sharpshooter, trailblazer and instigator you have been. Breathe in the powerful realization that you have chosen not to be a selfish and reclusive sports star who secretly counts his money.

You have chosen to use your machete to break through stereotypes, “the way it is,” and cheapskate attitudes to reshape the landscape for the millions of girls who will come after you.

You didn’t choose yourself. You chose everyone.

When you left the field in the fitting 13th minute against the North Carolina Courage at Snapdragon Stadium on Sunday, the watch and your jersey number formed a poetic synchronization.

As you removed your boots and blew kisses to the crowd, a meaningful and lasting torch was passed. As you removed the captain’s armband and presented it to goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, a loud roar went up.

All good things must come to an end, they say. Even the spectacular, the captivating, the magical. Even the things we hope will defy the rules of the universe and last forever.

“This last moment that I shared with you on the field,” Morgan told the 26,516 spectators, “is something I will remember forever.”

As a player? You were brilliant, a left-footed marvel with a lethal combination of speed, power and accuracy. At the peak of your abilities on the field, you were among the elite.

You were …

“Feared,” Shannon MacMillan, a member of the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame and Cardiff resident, told the Union-Tribune by phone on Sunday. “When you have a high-profile goal scorer with a nose for goal, it instills fear in opponents.”

The folks at Snapdragon moved forward when they got the ball for a penalty in the 10th minute. There it was again, if only for a fleeting second.

That fear. That frenzied anticipation. That iconic left foot. Bottled magic waiting to be uncorked.

When Courage goalkeeper Casey Murphy parried the fierce shot into the top left corner, the disappointment was underlined by a collective “Ooohhhh!”

Ultimately, it’s not a Hollywood script, especially in the brutal heat of early September.

“I feel like I did everything I could,” Morgan said after the game. “I gave it my all on the field. I did everything I wanted to do and more.”

In the end, you were much more than just a goalscorer who held up so many banners. For working mothers. For equal pay. For uncompromising entrepreneurs.

For the next girl and the next girl… and the one after that.

“I would say Alex Morgan was as important to women’s soccer as Mia Hamm and Michelle Akers were in their day,” Brandi Chastain, another member of the California Hall of Fame, told the Union-Tribune.

“That’s why we should really celebrate Alex and her career. She put her head down and did the hard things. She was equal parts strong, smart, beautiful and brave.”

The fact that the season ended so abruptly, with a social media post, caused huge waves throughout the sport. And not just in women’s football, because you have long been more than that.

The whole country took stock.

“What she has done for the sport of soccer in this country, for women’s sports and for women, I think is unmatched,” Wave interim coach Landon Donovan said after his team lost 4-1 to the North Carolina Courage. “It was an honor, truly an honor.”

“…Honestly, it’s sad to see her go. I don’t think there will ever be anyone like her again.”

The United States honors its victorious sports heroes, and you were a conquering power with two World Championship titles, an Olympic gold medal, and more trophies than a sporting goods store.

You were the ponytail with power And Purpose.

The fact that the final chapter ended with a goalless season for your beloved Wave, a persistent injury, and a TV appearance while the USA won more Olympic gold did not extinguish the flame.

It showed the determination that lay behind it all.

“I certainly wouldn’t regret playing another year because I’ve always told myself, ‘If you don’t try, you can’t be successful,'” Morgan said during a press conference Friday. “The only way to be successful is to try everything and give it your all, and that’s all I’ve tried to do.”

In the final part, Morgan was overwhelmed by his emotions, and from the rocky ending emerged something so personal and important.

To teach and show a way to the end.

“It’s just incredible to share the field with someone you idolized as a kid,” said 16-year-old teammate Melanie Barcenas, who is closer in age to Morgan’s four-year-old daughter Charlie.

Morgan announced that she and her husband Servando Carrasco are expecting their second child.

It’s time for the next one.

But just to be on the safe side, bow again.

Originally published: September 8, 2024 at 20:27