Last night, the Seattle Reign saluted their queen when the team retired Megan Rapinoe’s jersey, #15.
The ceremony included videos from Jay Inslee, Macklemore, Eddie Vedder, and Christine Gregoire.
Rapinoe made a short speech after the jersey was presented (“They put me on a time limit,” she said, “which is probably best.”) She thanked her family and the “extended Reign family” for being there, before turning her attention to the honor at hand.
“When you look at [my jersey in the rafters], well I guess you’ll be thinking of me,” she said. “But just know that every time I look at that number, I’m gonna see you. I’m gonna see every pride flag, and every trans flag, and every Black Lives Matter flag, and every equal pay flag, and every ‘Fuck Portland’ flag. And I’m gonna see purple hair and pink hair and a short stint of blue hair. And I’m gonna see families that I feel like I grew up with…. So just know that when you’re looking up and thinking about me, I’m looking up and thinking about all of you, and all of the incredible moments that we shared.”
“I was part of the first 11 years of the club as a player,” she said. “I'll be a part of the next hundred and eleven years as a fan.”
In honor of Rapinoe’s coronation, 16,598 fans showed up to Lumen Field, the second-highest standalone attendance in club history.
After the ceremony, the games began! The Reign played against the North Carolina Courage, and won 1-0. The win was Coach Laura Harvey’s 100th win—the first time that milestone has been hit in the club.
I got to be there for the whole event. And while I’m a huge fan of the idea of women’s sports, I was really there for the Lesbian Cultural Moment, and am not a sports journalist. Over the course of four hours, I went from an enthusiastic observer to a totally stoked fan. The mood at the stadium was contagious. I hope you enjoy my notes from the evening.
4:30: The baseball game is getting out just as the crowds are starting to come together for the Reign game. I wonder if anyone is doing a double feature today?
5:20: Made it into Lumen. There’s free food for credentialed press! I had a Southwestern veggie wrap and it was surprisingly good. 9 out of 10, would recommend.
5:30: Saw a reporter with two commemorative bucket hats on their head. They’re only available today. It’s black and lavender and reversible—one side says “Reign” and the other side says “Rise.” I want one even though I will never wear it.
5:35: Watched someone spray the field down with a firehose for at least 35 minutes. Photographer confirmed that it’s Astroturf.
5:40: The whole pressroom narrated the hose man accidentally dragging a neon green cone across the field with the hose. He noticed like 20 yards later, and tossed it a couple feet away. Watching for fallout.
5:50: One reporter just came back to the press box with a huge waffle cone of ice cream. He says that there’s an ice cream stand that only opens when they open the field to the public. Reporters in the know go right when it opens and successfully avoid the crowds. This reporter was not in the know.
5:55: Heard reporters talking about the bucket hats. I’m not the only one who can’t find them.
6:00: Spotted Megan entering the arena. She’s not wearing a crown yet.
6:01: I realized that there’s probably no shortage of small lesbians with pink hair at this venue. That might not be Megan.
6:03: Overheard one reporter saying that, unlike the Sounders games, Reign games don’t have seating charts in the press room, because it’s not crowded enough. Someone should tell all the people wearing “Everyone Watches Women’s Sports” T-shirts.
6:05: Watched Rapinoe (or her tiny lesbian look-alike) walk into the same tunnel our photographer is about to come out of. Remember to ask if they walked into each other. [Ed Note: They came close, but did not.]
6:06: The crowd is starting to take their seats. They all have bucket hats. This reporter is jealous.
6:09: The reign just came out to warm up. Someone’s waving a giant trans pride Reign flag. We love to see it.
6:35: I see Sue Bird, and they just started playing “Texas Hold 'Em.” I refuse to believe that’s a coincidence.
6:36: Fuck yeah, Shania Twain.
6:38: Okay, I’m legit pissed that this stadium is as empty as it is. The ceremony is about to start. Plus, do you see how hot these soccer players are?
6:39: Photographer dispatch from the field: “So many well-groomed people just arrived.” The celebrities are in the building.
6:43: THERE ARE WOMEN FALLING FROM THE SKY. RED ALERT. WOMEN FALLING FROM THE SKY.
6:44 Reign City Riot is playing “Toxic” by Britney Spears.
6:50: They’re playing a video montage of the Friends of Pinoe, filmed from their iPhones. Macklemore sent one in; so did Jay Inslee. He was at the Bikini Kill show on Friday, too, because he’s Cultured. Now Christine Gregoire. And Eddie Vedder. He’s in his “hide your age with accessories” era.
6:52: Megan’s speech is starting! It’s being piped into the press room, so I can still hear it even though we’re behind very thick plexiglass.
6:53: “They put me on a time limit, which is probably best.”
6:54: “I don’t think ‘thank you’ is even close to the word that I’m looking for right now, but it’s all I have.”
6:55: “When you look at [my jersey in the rafters]—well, I guess you’ll be thinking of me, because it’s my number. But just know that every time I look at that number, I’m gonna see you. I’m gonna see every pride flag, and every trans flag, and every Black Lives Matter flag, and every equal pay flag, and every ‘Fuck Portland’ flag. And I’m gonna see purple hair and pink hair and a short stint of blue hair. And I’m gonna see families that I feel like I grew up with. And people that I shared crazy moments with, like scoring on the left flank and turning around and yelling at those guys who are still over there right now: “Can you believe it??” So just know that when you’re looking up and thinking about me, I’m looking up and thinking about all of you, and all of the incredible moments that we shared.”
6:57: The 1985 US Women’s Soccer team is here! They’re very cute.
6:58: They're raising a flag of her. Will report back when I find out the name of the artist who made the flag.
7:00: The group singing the anthem is from a project founded by Macklemore. He’s all over this thing.
7:02: LITERAL FIRE. NOT JUST FIREWORKS. LITERAL FIRE.
7:03: There are flamethrowers behind the goals, and they shoot fire into the sky. I hope our photographer is okay.
7:08: MORE FIRE. WHY.
7:09: Okay, the actual sport has started.
7:11: Ah, the press room got a lot quieter when the game started. Clearly everyone else is here for the sport.
7:36: Heard a reporter whispering about “all the lesbians.” Present.
7:54: The first half is over. It’s zero/zero. Megan is high-fiving people in the crowd and it’s v cute.
8:00: Brandi Carlile just showed up on the Jumbotron, and I briefly (foolishly) hoped that she was going to be the halftime show. Turns out they’re just having quality family time. The Brittany Davis Band just hit the field. Brittany is awesome. The guitarist is bringing a lot of nipple to the equation. And the Jumbotron.
8:12: Someone keeps attempting a wave. It made it about a third of the way around the stadium before it died.
8:20: The Coach has angry PE teacher vibes and I’m HERE FOR IT.
8:22: Spotted a partially grown-out undercut. I was beginning to wonder if this was actually a lesbian sport, but now I’m convinced.
8:30: Someone just announced that tonight’s attendance is 16,598, second highest standalone attendance in club history. That’s awesome, but has anyone seen how many empty seats are in this place?
8:41: Still zero/zero. You have to play a lot of soccer to get a point in this game.
8:45: We’ve got 10 minutes left in the game and I’m getting into it. I suspect the other people in the press box don’t appreciate it.
8:56: The two 45-minute halves are done, and we have 8 minutes of stoppage time to make up for. The band just got REALLY into the cowbell.
9:01: WE SCORED. THERE’S FIRE AGAIN. #47 slipped one past the goalie and then did the Rapinoe pose.
The press box just exploded. Apparently, as a rule, that doesn’t happen. One reporter said they’ve only seen that happen one other time.
9:03: The game is over and the Reign won. Coach Laura Harvey is the first coach to win 100 matches in NWSL.
9:10: Still don’t have a bucket hat. Saw a guy outside with at least 10. He said he couldn’t spare one.
