"This team wins. Everyone wins."- Nike

? The United States Women's National Team won the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup on Saturday, July 7th beating Netherlands 2 - 0. ?

Being a young girl in a household full of women all playing soccer, we lived at the soccer field. I played 6 days a week between recreational, travel, and all star/travel soccer. I was always covered in bruises and grass stains, but loved being on the field more than anything. I remember watching Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, Carli Lloyd, Abby Wambach, and so many other strong and resilient young female soccer players . . . and wanted to be just like them. I didn't realize how important having these women as role models really was until now.

When I was about 14 years old, I started really realize how female athletes were treated differently than our male counterparts. This was when I started playing co-ed soccer with the boys who said they didn't want to play with us because they assumed we weren't as tough and couldn't handle getting knocked down. This was when my male neighbor asked me why I like a sport where I get bruised and dirty. He said I was pretty and should stick to gymnastics or cheer-leading. This was the first year that I got mad!

I was tough. I was good. I was pretty. I was bruised. I'm a girl! Why can't I be all of those?

I always felt like I was working to prove myself to everyone, especially the boys. I often felt alone in my struggle as I was younger and wondered how the U.S. women's team players got around dealing with this. Or did they?

Nope!

This image for me brings back awesome memories and ones that enraged me too!

Brandi Chastain celebrated after making the winning penalty shot in the 1999 Women's World Cup defeating China 5 - 4.

I vividly remember her tearing off her shirt, whirling it in the air, and sliding across the grass in pure joy. The team racing to be next to her in that moment. It was a beautiful scene with the largest-ever crowd of over 40 million watching on TV.

I was in tenth grade.

The comments started. News stations, sports commentators, and sports fans around the globe started talking about Brandi's sports bra and not her big moment. They spoke of how inappropriate her reaction was for a woman to tear off her shirt (although men do it all the time), how she must have done it to gain a sports bra contract, and even focused on her physique as some sort of on-field strip tease for the fans. Seriously???

Chastain openly spoke about her reaction as pure triumph. It was her "Yes!" moment. Many women from soccer players to female coaches and even psychologists backed her up saying that it was a moment that told the world, "Yes, I can!" when everyone else was saying that "You can't do that because you are a woman."

Over the years, woman's sports has become more and more accepted, but their pay, training conditions, and even travel accommodations are still not equal to the male players. Female athletes also still deal with regular sexism. We are learning how to deal with this and, again, Brandi is a wonderful role model as a Nike commercial with Kevin Garnett shows.

The 2019 Women's World Cup was all surrounded by those who thought the US National Women's Team was cocky, arrogant, and should be more humble in their winnings. Male players celebrate the loudest, have dances on the field, and celebrate in the faces of other players and nobody says anything, yet the women are again told how to carry themselves day in and day out. Even President Trump had something to say.

Megan Rapinoe, Co-Captain and Leading Scorer prefers to use "confident" and describes the US Women's National Team as being a ". . . proud, strong and defiant group of women." Rapinoe is known for being very outspoken about women's rights, gay rights, and other political issues. She was also quite upset about the fact that the Women's World Cup this year was triple-booked with two other men's league finals the same day calling the conflicts "terrible" and "unbelievable."

CNN reported that "USA's win over the Netherlands in the World Cup final in France on Sunday did not just spark celebrations among their fans. It validated the team's status as icons whose willingness to go beyond soccer soundbites inspired youngsters, created critics who chafed at their politics and challenged perceptions of how athletes should behave." I believe that Megan is the perfect representation of a woman in today's ever-changing world for equality for all no matter what race or sexual orientation. TIME said about the women's US team, "Americans weren’t seeking anyone’s approval in filing a gender discrimination claim against U.S. Soccer less than three months before the start of the World Cup."

All the pressure could have easily gotten to the team and I'm sure nobody would have blamed them. But, many wanted the Americans to apologize for "acting out," but instead they took the win unapologeticlly. . . like they deserved.

Winning this Women's World Cup is more significant for female athletes and women all over the world more than we can even imagine. Just as the perception of the image of Brandi Chastain's winning goal celebration has changed over the years, policy that's allowing for so many women to get involved in soccer, and the view women and our importance in the world. Whether you like Nike, Chastain, Rapinoe, or even soccer for that matter, their voices are being heard and they are making a difference.

I can only hope that this Women's World Cup inspires so many young women out there to go after their dreams, do it with conviction, and don't apologize for any success that comes from your hard work. Know that things can and will change, but if you want something to happen then you have to be willing to make the move. Take the first step out, speak out, and show out. Not everyone will like you for it, but the ones who count will love you for it. The ones who count are all the young girls you inspire, the women in our inner circle that we support, and the younger you that loves the woman they have become.

? CONGRATULATIONS for the United States Women's National Team for winning the 2019 FIFA Women's Wold Cup. . . and continuing to be an inspiration each day! ?