For a nation recovering from one of the greatest series of cataclysms in recorded history, the victory of the Japan women’s national football team over Team USA in the FIFA World Cup was an invaluable elixir. According to this editorial from Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun, what made Japan proudest was when Japan’s national team circled the stadium with a huge banner thanking the world for its backing during the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear crisis.
The Mainichi Shimbun editorial says in part:
Japan had faced the U.S. team 24 times in the past and had been defeated 21 times along with three draws. The United States was a rival they had never beaten. In the course of the match, Japan was down by 2 goals – a painful development to be sure – but they held on tenaciously. The result was a final series of penalty kicks in which goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori registered one “super save” after another, wrestling away victory from Japan’s powerful opponents.
Team Captain Homare Sawa’s precious equalizing goal in the drawn-out second half decided the match, and giving her the five goals in the last 6 games she needed to win the title MVP of Women’s Football, adding “icing on the cake” to the overall victory.
No matter how many times one views the joyous scene, the feeling of excitement never fades. For Japan, looking to revive itself after the Great East Japan earthquake, this victory was the best possible kind of encouragement.
The tremendous emotion wasn’t limited to the action in the game itself. After scoring the winning goal and ending the game, the Japan women’s team circled the stadium to the roar of the crowd, holding a banner written in English, “To Our Friends Around the World – Thank You for Your Support!” The Nadeshiko [women’s team] showed Japan’s gratitude for the global backing given during the great earthquake in eastern Japan. It filled us with great pride.
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