Nine years ago, the London Olympics played host to one of the legendary matches in USWNT history. The U.S. defeated Canada 4-3 in extra time, scoring the winner in the 123rd minute.

I mean “legendary” in the everyday sense; it was a thriller, an instant classic, a nail-biter. I also mean in the sense that it spoke to and reconstructed the central legend of the USWNT: that they never quit and can do anything through hard work and force of will. The legend is not always true; if it were, they’d never lose. At the moment—on the heels of a semifinal loss to the same team the U.S. beat in 2012—it’s looking a little ragged. But like any legend, it has been true enough times that it lives on. Read More