SAN DIEGO —
Megan Rapinoe entered the postgame news conference in the bowels of Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday wearing a walking boot on her right leg and a pained smile on her face.
The boot was to protect the Achilles tendon she had torn three minutes into the NWSL championship game, the final match of an unparalleled career. The unconvincing smile was meant to protect a fragile spirit that shredded when her Achilles did, robbing her of the storybook ending her novel career deserved.
“I mean, I don’t deserve this, I’ll tell you that much,” she said, a chuckle masking the pain.