The USWNT were the obvious choice for Best Picture in our Sports Oscars, as the sport’s biggest stars delivered standout performances on the biggest stage.
The U.S. women’s national team was the summer blockbuster that delivered everything this past year. There was hype, star power, action, controversy, drama, and finally, resolution.
For that, the USWNT have won the FanSided 2020 Sports Oscar for Best Picture.
It was a strong year, with Tiger Woods pulling off a tearjerker of a comeback story, Kawhi Leonard delivering Toronto it’s first title, the Angels honoring a fallen teammate in Hollywood fashion and a foreign entry with Liverpool’s run to the Champions League, but in the end there was only one choice for the Academy. It was the USWNT, a star-studded bill that lived up to the hype.
As defending champions, the USWNT opened 2019 with huge expectations.
The World Cup began in spectacular fashion, with 13 goals against Thailand. Then came the backlash. Criticism over how many goals to score, and how to celebrate, against over-matched opponents gave an opportunity for critics to take their shots at the USWNT.
The controversy didn’t slow their momentum, though, and it actually birthed another winner: Alex Morgan and her tea-sipping celebration (which earned her a Best Choreography win) in the next match.
There was a tense Round of 16 match against Spain as the stakes got real.
Then, before what many expected to be the climax – a quarterfinal matchup with hosts and co-favorites France – Megan Rapinoe (winner for Best Female Athlete in a Supporting Role) had her comments about skipping any White House visit go viral and she ended up in open conflict with the President.
Once again, it didn’t slow down the juggernaut that was the USWNT in 2019. The quarterfinal against France was “a total shitshow circus,” as Rapinoe said she hoped before the match. It was the exciting clash of the game’s titans that fans hoped for.
After dispatching the hosts, the USWNT still had to get past an ascendant England team in the semifinals and beat the Netherlands in the final. A breakout performance from Rose Lavelle (nominated for Best Female Athlete in a Supporting Role) helped the USWNT lift the trophy – a fourth, and second consecutive, World Cup – as fans chanted “Equal Pay” in the stands.
Ashlyn Harris’ Instagram stories allowed us all a vérité look inside the wild celebrations. The final act brought the triumphant joy back to New York City for a ticker tape parade as other storylines were tied up in the following months, Jill Ellis announced her retirement, Rapinoe won Ballon d’Or.
Lastly, in typical 2020 fashion, we may get a sequel to a blockbuster this successful. The USWNT are currently in the midst of Olympic qualifying. If they make it to Tokyo as expected there are plenty of storylines — a new coach, a last ride for veteran players, redemption for a worst-ever 2016 Olympics and the chance to be the first team to ever win a World Cup and Olympics back to back — for a blockbuster sequel.