She was on the verge of her fourth World Cup and her zillionth media day, during which time her hair color had evolved from blond to pink to blue and her personality had transformed not a bit, so when the nameplate propped before her on the dais toppled over, Megan Rapinoe just laughed.
“I don’t need it,” she said.
No, Rapinoe does not require introduction. She is the star forward who sang Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” into the on-field mike after her first World Cup goal, against Colombia in 2011; who became the first and so far only player, male or female, to score an Olimpico in the Olympics when she did it against Canada in ’12; whose likeness was the subject of a California corn maze in ’15; who kneeled during the national anthem in support of Colin Kaepernick before an NWSL game in ’16; who found herself in a public feud with then President Donald Trump during the ’19 World Cup, then was awarded the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball; who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom last year; and who is one of the finest soccer players the United States has ever produced. She has been the face of the U.S. women’s national team for close to a decade.
