Vindication for Hope Solo

The first two lines of Dashboard Confessional’s song Vindicated read: “Hope dangles on a string / like slow spinning redemption.” There is a sports creed that you never criticize your coach or his/her decisions. But what if the coach is out-and-out wrong? The reaction of the player(s) determines how the scenario is played out, and thank goodness for Hope Solo’s “slow spinning redemption” because now, after her heroics in the 2008 Olympics, she is an American hero again to many young aspiring female soccer stars.

Let’s go back for a minute to the 2007 Women’s World Cup. In case you missed it, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team lost in the semifinals to Brazil. The controversy came well before the start of the game when Coach Greg Ryan announced that thirty-six year old Briana Scurry would start in goal in place of regular starter Hope Solo. Scurry had an impressive resume, starting for the national team in their wins during the 1996 Olympics, 1999 World Cup, and 2004 Olympics.

But Hope Solo was named the starting goalkeeper in 2005 and held that position leading into the 2007 World Cup campaign. So going into the semifinal showdown against Brazil, one could understand her shock as Coach Ryan decided to start Scurry for no other reason than experience. What followed was a 4-0 drubbing by Brazil and the team’s fifty-one game winning streak ended. Naturally, Solo was opinionated after the game:

“It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that. There’s no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves. And the fact of the matter is it’s not 2004 anymore. It’s not 2004. And it’s 2007, and I think you have to live in the present. And you can’t live by big names. You can’t live in the past. It doesn’t matter what somebody did in an Olympic gold medal game in the Olympics three years ago. Now is what matters, and that’s what I think.”

She wasn’t belligerent; she wasn’t overtly angry; she wasn’t irrational. Heck, she wasn’t even wrong. Her team decided to dismiss her from the third place game, which the U.S. ended up winning against Norway.

For quite some time, Hope did dangle on a string. Her popularity waned a little bit. Sportscasters who knew nothing about women’s soccer criticized her and misinterpreted her quote as an attack on Scurry and her performance. Her teammates were also openly against her.

Without many people paying attention, Solo slowly regained her spot and trust of her teammates. New Coach Pia Sundhage named her the starter for the Beijing Olympics. An injury to Abby Wambach led many to believe that the team would probably have to wait four more years to contend for the gold medal. Not Hope Solo.

The U.S. pushed through pool play and eventually made it to the gold medal game to face – who else – Brazil. The Brazilians were rolling past opponents while the U.S. was squeezing out close games.

Facing a Brazilian team with players often described as “magical,” dazzling,” “clever,” and “brilliant,” Solo saved six shots as the U.S won in extra time 1-0 to secure the gold medal. She completely bailed out her defense with save after save and did something nobody thought she could do: lift her team to the gold medal minus their star player.

In the end, it was no longer Hope dangling on a string looking for acceptance quickly lost through one interview, but a bright, shiny gold medal dangling from her neck that she almost single handedly won for the same teammates who scorned her. She did apologize for her comments against Coach Ryan the day after, but she didn’t have to. She stated what was simply right and proven on the field of play not once, but now twice. Vindicated, “like slow spinning redemption….”