Image Credit: Stanley Chou/Getty Images
My Facebook page erupted yesterday afternoon after the US Women’s Soccer team had defeated Canada and won their ticket to the Olympics finals against Japan.
After seeing the celebration, I immediately felt like a spoiled chump. But I still wanted to see the game. (This reaction is perfectly in line with how much of this year’s Olympics has been for me. Spoilers > Anger > I’ll watch anyway.) Of course, I never got a chance to see the game — or even a few extended plays. Instead, there was a pitifully short highlight reel at the beginning of Primetime coverage last night that showed the headline-grabbing final moment. Then it was over.
Sure, maybe there really wasn’t time in NBC’s 40,000 hours of primetime Olympics coverage to show a more than 4 minutes of women’s soccer. Yet, I will point out that they somehow made time for a segment about latitude and longitude last night that was probably twice as long as the soccer highlights. Thanks for nothing, dudes.
For this reason, US soccer player Alex Morgan just edged out Lashida Demus in the race to become PopWatch’s Olympic Stud of the Day. (Though, I’ll get to Demus shortly.) Because if you can’t get love on Primetime, at least you should get it here on PopWatch.
In case you, like me, missed the action, here’s what went down: The U.S. team was close to a loss when a surprising penalty kick tied the score. In the 123rd-minute of game play, Morgan, a 23-year-old fresh face in the soccer world, won the game with a sharp header set up by teammate Heather O’Reilly. U.S. won 4-3 and now moves on to what will be a rematch of last year’s World Cup. Think it’ll be a great game? You bet — especially with superstars like Morgan out there! Though, to ensure it’s a great one, I promise to miss the entire thing. (I’m pretty sure I’m a game jinx — but that’s a whole separate issue.)
One great moment I did catch last night? Honorary stud Lashida Demus’ fantastic win in the semifinals for the 400m hurdles — and the adorable cheering section that roared from the stands. What made her twin boys’ encouragements even more touching was the piece that aired before her race, in which Demus spoke about her postpartum depression and her struggles with balancing Olympic-sized hopes with being a new mother. In a move that’s seemingly characteristic of this amazing woman, she rose above her obstacles and triumphed. “Go, mommy,” indeed.
Related:
Synchronized swimming fashion: Gold for Spain!
Olympics recap, Day 9: Lightning (Bolt) strikes twice, but only on the track
