Cry In the Beginning So You Can Smile In the End

If you've been following the 2019 Women's World Cup closely, this will be a bit of a rehash for you. But it's so compelling that I want to enshrine it here so historians of G:TB will know that it mattered to us.

(You don't think there will be historians that sift through these digital archives with a fine-byte comb, teasing valuable insights from our chronicles of this variously glorious and monstrously fucked up time? I've seen the future, friends, and there are historians.)

Marta Vieira da Silva, almost always known only by her first name, is arguably the best woman soccer player on the planet. She's scored 17 goals for Brazil in World Cup play, the most ever. She's been named World Football of the Year six times. No less a luminary than Pele called her "Pele in skirts" (we'll set aside the sexism and focus on the genuflection). She famously overcame meager family circumstances and her home nation's indifference to the women's game to become one of the most recognizable women athletes on the planet.



It's that indifference that she addressed this week. Brazil fell to France, 2-1 in overtime, in the Round of 16 of this year's World Cup, eliminating them from the tournament. While the 33 year-old Marta may have one more run in her, it's unlikely that even her sublime talent will be rewarded with a major trophy - Brazil have never captured a global title. And so, after the Selecao lost to the hosts, she gave this remarkable interview: