We have always known USWNT star Megan Rapinoe for her ‘unorthodox’ personality. Ranging from her unique hairstyles and colors to her talent on the pitch- the variety is tremendous. The 37-year-old is not all fun and games though. She was a prominent part of the team that fought for equality of pay among men and women’s sports. The influential soccer superstar was also among the recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom not too long ago. Her efforts in the fight for equality proved a major reason behind her win.

But working towards equality is not a new concept for the midfield player. Ever since she was a young kid, Rapinoe would play with boys her age and beat them. During one of her interviews, Megan discussed what the perception of the crowd was like when they saw her playing against the opposite gender.

Megan Rapinoe used to play against boys as a kid

Soccer star Megan Rapinoe has never been one to back down from a challenge. She has always had a knack for proving herself as the best of the bunch. A token of the same is her 2019 win of the Ballon d’Or Féminin. But long before her professional debut, Rapinoe was proving herself as a dominant player differently. A 12-year-old Rapinoe would play in a boys’ team and was one of their best players.

But this unique player also invited some harsh critique. Megan once recalled what the crowd used to be like when they saw a girl playing better soccer than boys. She said they used to travel to Sacramento from Redding. Sacramento was a bigger town than Redding and had better facilities and sports programs. “But ours was kind of like, well, let’s just get the best, you know, 20 kids that we can find, and we’ll just work with that.”

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But the parents that would come to see their children play were taken by surprise after seeing Megan play. “You know, comments coming from the parents on the sideline – oh, don’t let that girl beat you. Or the boys, you could just tell, on the other team, were just uncomfortable with the fact that they were being beaten or being bettered by a girl.” Rapinoe says this was the first time she realized that the parents were not okay with the concept. She added, “clearly this is something that they should look a little deeper into ’cause they seem quite upset.”

Rapinoe dominated the Fifa 22 ratings

Another testament to women’s soccer and Rapinoe’s prowess were the Fifa 22 rating cards for female players. EA first revealed the men’s cards, with Leo Messi leading the rating with 93 OVR.

As the women’s cards were revealed, the closeness of competition and quality was visible. Vivianne Miedema, Lucy Bronze and Wendie Renard led the charts with an OVR of 92. To put into perspective, Poland’s Robert Lewandowski had the same rating in the men’s section. 37-year-old Megan Rapinoe and five other female players received the OVR rating of 90, which was just one shy of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo from the men’s rating.

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Rapinoe has always walked toe-to-toe with the most influential people on the planet. Her fight for equal pay and playing better soccer than boys her age serve as great examples of her ‘never back down’ attitude.