Monday, July 13, 2015

World Championship Belts for Real World Champions

Rapinoe could totally take Seth Rollins
Photo via @TripleH
Whenever a team wins a big Championship, WWE sends the members replica WWE World Heavyweight Championship belts. The recipients who call themselves "world Champions" are usually just members of American sports leagues, however. They're no more representatives of the world as I am for double amputees. However, the latest recipients bested teams from all over the planet, and thus are the squad most deserving of the title "World Champs."

The United States Women's National Team took their version of the World Cup with an emphatic 5-2 victory in the finals over Japan. It was the third time the Lady Yanks took home the title, which is the most of any other country. As a testament to the team's historical dominance, the team has never placed worse than third since the tournament's inception in 1991. And finally, they have the hardware befitting a team of its stature.

The above player modeling the belt is Megan Rapinoe. She scored two goals during the tournament, but she's much better known as the hard-nosed defensive stopper, the leader of a back end that helped stifle and frustrate other teams' offensive attacks. Carli Lloyd may have scored a whopping six goals during the frame, including three during the final, but I can't think of anyone better to take the big picture with the belt than Rapinoe. And I can't think of a better team to carry the biggest prize in American, if not world, wrestling than the USWNT.