An Inside Look: Pride of a Nation, A Celebration of the U.S. Women’s National Team

The USWNT is a national treasure. Their winning ways and cultural game-changing qualities have put them on the map as one of the most famous and decorated soccer teams in the history of the sport. Their notoriety is global, and of all the content around women’s soccer, there’s a good chance they eat up more than their fair share.

A while back, when I heard there was going to be a book about the team’s history, I thought, “What could possibly be said about this team that we do not already know?”

Well, there’s more than I thought. Way more, actually.

Pride of the Nation, A Celebration of the U.S. Women’s National Team is a gorgeous chunk of a book that is, first and foremost, a photographic journey of the USWNT. The pages are glossy, sumptuous, and on par with a fine art book that would live proudly on your coffee table. The photos are mesmerizing; the passion, glory, grit, and determination come across without needing words to elevate their power. 

That being said, I’m ever so grateful they selected Gwendolyn Oxenham to (re)tell the story of this team from its inception onward. 

It was an inspired choice because Oxenham is not all about the soccer stars in the women’s soccer world. In fact, quite the opposite. Her reporting is, for the most part, on the players who live outside the bubble of fame, soccer journey-women who will do anything to keep on playing. 

Her book, Under the Lights and In the Dark: Untold Stories of Women’s Soccer, is just that. She goes to the far reaches of the globe and highlights women for whom soccer is not just a sport but a driving force. Whether they’re from England, Russia, or the USA, the common denominator is that these women are hard-wired to play soccer.

The USWNT is the same, except more! Their single-mindedness and drive to be the very best is not just badass but completely infectious. The collective energy the USWNT transmits is the reason this country has finally fallen in love with soccer.

Pride of the Nation captures this fully. There are five main sections, each covering a decade, starting in the 80s. The photo of that 1986 team right at the beginning sets the tone for a raucous and rowdy adventure that was to make household names of Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, and Michelle Akers. So it’s perfect that Julie Foudy writes the forward. She’s been a face of the UWSNT from the start. Now a broadcaster for ESPN and an owner of Angel City FC, she’s become a well-known commentator and spokesperson of the sport at large.

No truth to the rumor that Swaggy helped me write the Foreword to this awesome new book “Pride of a Nation”, a ticker-tape-worthy history of the USWNT. Go pre-order now! https://t.co/9LoYJbxfVK pic.twitter.com/ryvkWSOF7J

— Julie Foudy (@JulieFoudy) November 4, 2022

The book’s main takeaway is that while players and kits on a team may change, the culture of a team lives on. This is very true of the UWSNT. They’ve set the bar high for themselves, and they’ve earned our trust. Year after year, and decade after decade, they continue to push the limits of the game, lift our spirits and have an impact on our culture at large.

 Other features Pride of a Nation includes:

• Exclusive player polls ranking the best teams of each decade and the All-Time Best XI
• Excerpts of the best previously published writing and prize-winning reporting about the epic games and greatest players over the past forty years.
• Stats, records, illuminating trivia, and more

This book is a great gift for a die-hard fan or a young student of the game.

About Gwendolyn Oxenham

Gwendolyn Oxenham, a former standout player at Duke, is the author of Under the Lights and in the Dark and Finding the Game and has written extensively about the USWNT for The Atlantic, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN.

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