Moving the Goalposts | Alex Morgan leaves sound of success behind and US women’s football in better place

OOne hundred and twenty-three goals in 224 games for the U.S. Women’s National Team. Two World Cup victories. A gold medalist, a bronze medalist, a three-time Olympian. NWSL champion. Tireless advocate for the growth of the game. Alex Morgan retired from professional soccer this weekend in San Diego, California, as one of the most successful and well-known players to ever lace up her boots. She leaves behind a multifaceted legacy. One of the greatest aspects is the excitement she uniquely inspired and her ability to harness that for broader growth.

In a decade that saw the popularity of women’s football skyrocket worldwide, Morgan was often the biggest name. In the United States, every stadium Morgan played in drew huge crowds. When she arrived, those rapt crowds were decked out in Morgan gear, carrying AM13 signs and screaming with delight at her every move. It was like watching The Beatles swing through town. Morgan-mania was real.

I remember watching her play in real life for various NWSL clubs, as well as the USWNT over the years. There was no comparable pandemonium in her era. In some ways, Morgan-mania made your job easier. The crowd always let you know where she was. If for some reason she didn’t start, you knew she was coming when you heard screams from the corner where she was warming up. Often Morgan would deliver incredible theatrics to thank the crowd.

One of the last times I saw the 35-year-old striker from Diamond Bar, California play was during this year’s NWSL Challenge Cup. It was March 15, a week before the new NWSL season – which would be Morgan’s last in the NWSL – and she had just won the W Gold Cup with the US a few days earlier. The stadium at Red Bull Arena was in a celebratory mood, ready to welcome their local reigning champions, Gotham FC, into a new year. More than 14,000 fans filled the arena, marking the second-highest attendance in Gotham history, behind a record of 15,058 set the previous season, also against Morgan’s San Diego Wave.

Morgan didn’t start the game, but sure enough, everywhere she went to warm up, the stands behind her went wild. When she came on in the second half, there was a loud roar. In the 88th minute, Morgan broke the deadlock, on the way home as winner of the competition from Savannah McCaskill’s corner. Gotham fans were disappointed, but the undeniable joy of Morgan’s fans in the arena filled the air.

A month later, I watched from a different location, this time in Ohio, as Morgan ran out to play for the national team against Canada in the SheBelieves Cup Final. In a crowded lineup of elite players and rising stars, Morganmania maintained its cacophonous tearfulness. Before the game began, as Morgan migrated from one corner to the other, I couldn’t help but notice how some of the younger fans reached new decibels as she graced their side of the pitch.

There is a huge pressure that comes with that pandemonium. Morgan has always seemed to shoulder her responsibilities with grace. While she was tasked with being the marketing plug at club and international level, she delivered the goals and the glory, winning trophy after trophy for fans. Off the pitch, she used that success to advocate for higher standards in the game.

Alex Morgan announced her retirement last week, along with the news that she is pregnant with her second child. Days later, Morgan’s four-year-old daughter Charlie walked alongside her for her final game. A final adoring crowd of 26,516 fans packed Snapdragon Stadium to see her off. Teammates struck the infamous pose while drinking tea for their pre-match photo, a nod to Morgan’s celebration after her goal against England at the 2019 World Cup. She played for 13 minutes, an ode to the iconic number 13 she made famous, and then left the field where she had captured the world’s attention with her relentless success, with tears in her eyes and the game in a better state.

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