Retiring star player Megan Rapinoe was honored by club team OL Reign on Friday evening in front of a record National Women’s Soccer League crowd of 34,130 fans, many of whom wore pink wigs in her honor.
With her family and fiancée Sue Bird watching, Rapinoe started for the Reign in a scoreless draw against the Washington Spirit. Lumen Field’s public address system played “Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone” as she walked onto the field with her teammates.
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“I know my impact, but it’s one thing to know it and another to really feel it and see it,” Rapinoe said. “To see some of the signs and the pink wigs and see what that means to people.”
“It’s hard to put into words this deep feeling of gratitude, joy and gratefulness for being able to experience a moment like this.”
Rapinoe had already played her final game with the U.S. women’s national team in Chicago last month, but Friday marked her final regular-season home game for the Reign.
“I don’t think we’ve taken it for granted one bit in our 11 years here. I think that’s how Pinoe lives, she lives with that joy, she lives for those moments and she really pushes us to do that too,” said teammate Lauren Barnes. “I think the positive impact she has had is undeniable.”
A video played before the game included congratulations from the likes of Abby Wambach, Ken Griffey Jr. and Magic Johnson.
Rapinoe played 114 games for the Reign during the regular season, scoring 49 goals. Their club career isn’t quite over yet: Next week the Reign will end the season away against the Chicago Red Stars.
And there’s a chance the Reign could make the playoffs. Racing Louisville’s 3-2 win over the Orlando Pride on Friday moved the Reign to sixth place, just above the playoff line.
Rapinoe announced before the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer that she was retiring from the sport after a glittering career that included two World Cup titles, an Olympic gold medal and an Olympic bronze medal.
At the 2019 World Cup in France, Rapinoe scored six goals, including a penalty in the final against the Netherlands. Her victory pose with her arms outstretched became one of the iconic images of the dominant US race.
She won the tournament’s Golden Boot and Golden Ball as the best player overall, was named FIFA’s best women’s player later that year and won the prestigious Ballon d’Or.
She has been with the Reign since 2013 and is one of only five players in the entire league to have remained with the same team since the NWSL’s inception.
Commissioner Jessica Berman hopes Rapinoe will continue to play a role in the league.
“It is difficult to put into words the impact she has had on the game, both on and off the pitch. She embodied courage and bravery in a way that I don’t know many athletes have,” Berman said. “And she really embraced her role with her full, authentic self.”
A farewell worthy of a legend.
Thank you very much, @mPinoe. You changed the game forever. pic.twitter.com/ZMiqsSMaBL
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) October 7, 2023
Rapinoe is also known for her commitment to social justice. She led the national team’s long fight for equal pay with the men’s national team, which began with an EEOC complaint in 2016. The matter was finally resolved last year when both teams reached deals with US Soccer that gave them equal pay and a split of tournament prize money.
As one of the first prominent athletes to speak out publicly, Rapinoe was outspoken about LGBTQIA+ issues. She has also advocated for racial justice and was among those who knelt in solidarity with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
“That’s what really matters,” Rapinoe said. “Of course we love playing, we want to improve the league in every way possible. But it’s a game at the end of the day and it’s something we can use for what I believe is the meaning of life: using what you have to better yourself and the people around you to do better and leave things in a better place than where you found them.
“For me, that’s the whole point and it’s what I’m most proud of.”