Penalty kicks, then, with a grimace. The players are deserving. It's understandable for the coverage to be tilted toward the Americans, but this was incredible. Evidently, there were no China keys, because none were shown. Most glaring, though, was the scene after the game.
Viewers expect shots of the winners' celebration, and the losers' tears.
We got the winners. But no China, except briefly during the second-place awards ceremony. Let's hope the International Olympic Committee and world soccer governing body FIFA ease up on their 16-player women's limits for the 2000 Olympics. That was the number for the 1996 Olympics, and it is too low. Our choice is Michelle Akers, for battling through sickness, illness, and injuries to anchor the U.S. offense and defense from the central midfield in one of the most heroic and inspirational performances by an American athlete in memory.