Ever wondered what the real use of trophies is? Their purpose goes beyond just being a shiny piece of recognition for individual or collective effort. But to phrase the question differently, have you ever thought about how a trophy is used in real-life celebrations? Well, the most obvious one would be to pour some champagne and drink straight from it, a custom which is practically a long-standing tradition in sports! Then again, when it comes to the NWSL Championship trophy, USWNT icon Kelley O’Hara believes it sadly isn’t designed for that very function of celebrating.

This complaint came while co-hosting the latest episode of the Just Women’s Sports podcast segment ‘Sports are Fun’. While discussing the ongoing NWSL playoffs battle to win the Championship trophy, O’Hara tipped on how the team that wins the trophy won’t be able to perform the drinking celebrations, considering its design isn’t fit to hold any kind of liquid at all.

“If you are designing a trophy, design it in a way that the players can drink out of it. Don’t, as players, put it on us after we’ve played 90-plus minutes of football, or whatever game we’ve played, to then figure out how we’re going to use this trophy in our celebration,” admitted the former Gotham FC star.

While fellow co-host and influencer BJ Beckwith asked whether O’Hara felt any pressure to do so, another co-host and former NWSL star, Darian Jenkins, chimed in humorously, wondering if there was much else to do with the trophy “besides just holding it up and carrying it like a toddler.” Though O’Hara denied that was the case, she emphasized that even though the NWSL did a fantastic job crafting both the Championship trophy and the Tiffany-designed Shield, the fact that they can’t be used for drinking celebrations makes it somewhat disappointing for players.

Beckwith then added that perhaps the trophies were intentionally designed that way to prevent players from drinking out of them. However, Kelley O’Hara insisted that players are too determined to be stopped and would still find a way. In fact, to prove so, she even recalled an incident from her own NWSL trophy celebrations.

Here’s how Kelley O’Hara managed to drink from the NWSL trophy!

Kelley O’Hara recalled an incident with her former Gotham FC teammate Kristie Mewis after they won the 2023 NWSL final, when all the players were in the locker room celebrating. Given that the trophy had nothing but a series of engraved lines running across its borders, Mewis somehow managed to make it drinkable. “She was like, ‘Come do a beer luge off of the trophy!’ And she figured out that the little lines on the NWSL Championship trophy are kind of concave, so you can just pour the beer down,” shared Kelley O’Hara.

We almost feel sorry for the NWSL, because even though their trophy design isn’t a traditional cup shape that allows players to drink their victory toast from it, it’s impressive how the players still managed to make it work. And honestly, Kristie Mewis might just be a genius, “women in STEM,” to be precise. Perhaps such a trick can be inherited by the upcoming generation or those who are still playing to get their deserved celebration of drinking from the cup.

So far, that applies to the teams still battling in the playoffs. The semifinals are set after an intense round of knockout action: the Washington Spirit advanced past Racing Louisville on penalties (1-1, 3-1 on pens), while the Portland Thorns edged past the San Diego Wave with a narrow 1-0 win. On the other side, Gotham FC stunned the Shield winners KC Current 2-1, and the Orlando Pride claimed a convincing 2-0 victory over the Seattle Reign.

Next up, the Washington Spirit will face the Portland Thorns on Saturday, November 15, while Orlando Pride goes head-to-head against Gotham FC on Sunday, November 16, as the race to the 2025 NWSL Championship heats up. Let’s see who gets to drink from the cup in Kristie Mewis’ style!