Soccer, Hollywood, writing, and magic moments
Yesterday at the Women’s World Cup, one of the most remarkable moments in sports history took place. Here is an excerpt from one of the zillions of news accounts to set the stage:
DRESDEN, Germany — Running low on hope and almost out of time, the Americans were surely beaten, about to make their earliest exit from the Women’s World Cup.
And then, with one of the most thrilling goals in U.S. history, they weren’t.
Showing a dramatic burst sure to captivate the folks back home, the Americans packed an entire World Cup’s worth of theatrics into a 15-minute span by beating Brazil 5–3 on penalty kicks after a 2–2 tie Sunday night.
Abby Wambach tied it with a magnificent, leaping header in the 122nd minute, and Hope Solo denied the Brazilians — again — in one of the most riveting games in the history of the World Cup, men’s or women’s.
Here is the magic moment:
In reading and listening to the many head-shaking, air-gasping, jaw-dropping post-game reactions, the one thing the commentators and writers kept repeating: Hollywood scripts!
“So you just knew Solo was good for at least one save, and the only cruel element was that it had to be the luckless Daiane who was gloriously stuffed on Brazil’s third kick. How much more satisfying would it have been had she stopped Marta’s shot, but after Derek Jeter’s heartwarming script on Saturday even Hollywood can only handle so much.” — David Hirshey (ESPN)
“Somebody’s writing this book, and it’s something about the American attitude and find a way to win.” — Pia Sundhage (U.S. Women’s National Team Coach)
ESPN Women’s World Cup host Bob Ley said [I paraphrase from memory]: “The ending is so far-fetched, if you pitched the story of this game to a Hollywood studio, they would toss you out of the office.”
Wambach’s last second goal reminds us of another magic moment in last year’s Men’s World Cup:
“You could not write a script like this!” — Ian Darke (ESPN commentator)
There it is again. Hollywood. Script. Story. Writing.
I’m sure there are plenty of writing lessons we can take from yesterday’s game between the U.S. and Brazil. One of them is this:
Give the reader magic moments. Whether big or small, action-packed or thought-provoking, find moments in your story that take the reader to a special place. Give them something they can feel, something that surprises them, something they will remember after they’ve read FADE OUT and shut your script.
Marta had one of those magic moments in the game yesterday that by all rights should have given Brazil the victory, staking her team to a 2–1 lead in extra time. But some soccer-loving, Hollywood writer-in-the-sky and Abby Wambach had other ideas:
In a post-game interview with Sundhage, the coach says something quite interesting:
“There is something to be said about when you gather the team and you look in their eyes… it is possible. We play under pressure, but we like that, embrace that.”
Kudos to the women from both squads who participated in yesterday’s remarkable Brazil-U.S. women’s soccer match. And a special congratulations to the U.S. team for their incredible grit and determination.
May all of us take inspiration — in our writing and in our lives — from this magic moment by reciting the credo of the U.S. women’s national soccer team:
It is possible.
It is possible.
It. Is. Possible.
UPDATE: More script language in assessing the game. A quote from this NY Daily News article from the goalscorer herself:
“I don’t know if you can write a better script,” Wambach said.
True dat!
UPDATE #2: As long as they’re talking about Hollywood scripts, let’s hear from some celebrities who watched the match and Tweeted their responses:
Luminaries such as Tom Hanks, LeBron James, Seth Meyers of “Saturday Night Live,” Aaron Rodgers and rapper Lil Wayne all revealed their admiration for the U.S. women following their enthralling penalty shootout victory over Brazil on Sunday.
“I love these women,” Hanks tweeted while posting a link to a photograph of the team celebrating on the Rudolf Harbig Stadion field.
Meyers described the USA performance as “awesome” and insisted he would be petitioning the ESPY awards committee to add a fifth nominee for “Best Play” of the year following Abby Wambach’s last-minute equalizing goal.
Solo has emerged as an iconic figure thanks to her good looks, never-say-die personality and spectacular goalkeeping skills that have taken the USA to the Women’s World Cup semifinals. NBA star Kevin Durant even went as far to vow that he would be “naming my daughter Hope Solo Durant” before clarifying to his nearly 800,000 followers “I’m not having a daughter.”
Fun stuff!
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