Culture

With the USWNT just months away from defending its World Cup title out in Australia and New Zealand, it's only fitting that some of the team's stars should feature in ESPN's first ‘This is SportsCenter’ ad since 2019.

The beloved campaign returns this week with spots being shown throughout college football bowl games on ESPN. This one — featuring Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn, Sophia Smith, SportsCenter anchor Nicole Briscoe and Syracuse mascot Otto the Orange — debuts Friday night during the Capital One Orange Bowl between Tennessee and Clemson.

When we cover the San Marino national team here at The18, it's usually to report on players breaking down in tears after securing 0-0 draws with Gibraltar. 

The squad has attracted a global following by virtue of being the worst international team on the planet — San Marino sits dead last (211th) in the FIFA Rankings with an all time record of 194 matches played, one win, eight draws and 185 defeats with a goal difference of negative 770.

I saw something today that pointed out how it'd been exactly 31 days since Lionel Messi drove a dagger through the heart of Mexico from 25 yards out, and a part of me just stopped, stumbled and staggered. How could that be? An entire month has passed?

It's clear that although the Christmas period provided a welcome respite from the 29-day smorgasbord that was the World Cup, I was still experiencing harsh symptoms of withdrawal. 

Where is Soccer City, USA? Apparently, it's not Portland, Oregon, which has long laid claim to that title. According to a new study released last month, Los Angeles actually tops the list of best soccer cities in America.

Portland finished third overall in the rankings, just behind their Cascadia rivals to the north, Seattle.

Much has been said over the last couple days over whether or not Pelé should still be considered the all-time great of soccer after Lionel Messi was crowned World Cup champion with Argentina last Sunday.

Their achievements and international success serve as strong arguments to consider one of them as the greatest player of all time over the other.