Megan Rapinoe and Heather O'Reilly say
their fans helped them win Olympic gold.
The U.S. women's national soccer team
won its third straight Olympic title Thursday night, beating Japan
2-1.
Appearing on CNN, the teammates said
the audience played a pivotal part in their win.
Rapinoe said her best moment was “going
off the whole crowd.”
“Obviously, everyone is celebrating
after the game but we go back into the change rooms, have to change,
get our medal ceremony, and we come back out and not a soul has left.
I think people weren't just casual spectators, like, 'Oh I got this
ticket for the Olympics.' They were highly sought after and every
single person it seemed like stayed 'til the very end. That was
unbelievable to have that kind of support,” she said. (The video
is embedded on this page. Visit
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Rapinoe, a 27-year-old midfielder for
the Seattle Sounders Women, publicly came out gay before heading to
London. She added in an ESPN op-ed that she is “very proud of who
I am.”
(Related: Megan
Rapinoe out to make being gay “just normal.”)