The Soccer Chronicles: Inspiration in Sweden We've just returned from two excellent weeks in Sweden and it was a fantastic trip, on and off the field. We are finally starting to taper our training a bit, so our practices before the matches against Sweden and Japan were certainly productive, but shorter and not as difficult on our bodies as they were earlier in the year. We mostly had one practice a day, as opposed to the dreaded "double days" when our schedule looks like this: Breakfast. Training. Lunch. Dinner. Meeting. Sleep. Repeat the next day. I have never run a marathon, but I imagine that we've entered the training stage equivalent to when you've completed your 20-mile Sunday runs, and it's time to begin to prepare for the actual race. As a result, the majority of our afternoons in Sweden were free, which was cool because we actually had a chance to go out and experience the culture of the country. We stayed in Gothenburg (second most-populated city after Stockholm), where we had a nine-day training camp (plenty of time to do some damage shopping), and then we moved to a quaint little city and the site of our matches, Halmstad. I know it is probably stereotypical to think of IKEA when you think of Sweden, but I will say, they have really nailed the simple, practical, and efficient theme in that country. And maybe more important to me, like all of Europe, they have a real passion for soccer (not to mention chocolate croissants). While in Sweden, I watched a ton of soccer. I saw two Damallsvenskan games, which is the top women's league. I saw Vittsjo from southern Sweden play Gothenburg club Jitex BK and the city's top club Kopparbergs/Goteborg FC play Tyrseo. Since this league seems to be doing well in terms of sustainability and drawing good players, I was really excited to experience two matches and get a good feel for what the level and the environment were like. After watching both games, the word efficiency once again came into my head. The games were played in a small, soccer-specific venue that probably fit around 4,000 fans. There were maybe 2,500 there when I watched, and just like in the U.S., a good chunk of the fans were little girls, and I know this because they were swarming us for autographs. Well, O.K., not us as much as our coach Pia Sundhage, who is Swedish and pretty much a soccer legend there. It was readily apparent that the spectators knew the game and appreciated good soccer. Although not extremely lively, they cheered at the right times, groaned at the right times, and really respected the game. On the field, the teams seemed well-organized and well-coached, and the sponsors did not seem to be lacking. My longtime friend and University of North Carolina teammate Kendall Fletcher's uniform for Vittsjo was covered with the logos of so many sponsors, that there wasn't room for many more. I came away from those games saying to myself, If they can do that, so can we. I truly believe there is a space for women's professional soccer in the U.S., although it may mean that we have to think in simple, practical, and efficient terms to find a model that can work. Every evening, we would all watch the men's European Championship matches on a big screen at the hotel, or at the nearly pub. It was so much fun for us to be in Europe during this massive time for European soccer. It was nice to walk into a pub and not have to say awkwardly, "Hey, do you mind putting the soccer game on?" Of course, maybe those days are over. I hear the games are getting big ratings back home on ESPN. I know soccer is growing in the U.S., and it is exciting for me to see and be part of the progress of the sport. It's so different now even from 15 years ago when my family had Metrostars season tickets. But I always am a little jealous when it comes to the European culture of watching soccer, because the passion is so natural, so organic. We had a blast watching the games with some of the locals in Sweden. Hopefully, our current generation of women's and men's professional players can continue to cultivate that passion in the U.S. It makes me really proud when people tell me, "I never really watched soccer before but I saw the Women's World Cup last summer and you guys were awesome. And now I love it! As an American player in my generation, I guess that is my job: continue to grow the game, one fan at a time. I don't want my kids (coming sometime down the road) having to ask to put the soccer game on! And then of course we had OUR games! The first result was a 3-1 victory against Sweden, which was a good score considering they were the home country and won bronze at last summer's World Cup. We played a solid match. Not our best football, but we're happy that we could score some good goals, and put in place some things we've been working on the training pitch. Our second game against Japan was even better. We came out with an incredible bite on defense, and Japan had a difficult time with our pressure. We scored two goals early, which gave us momentum for the rest of the match. The team and the coaching staff came away very pleased with our 4-1 win. Now we have a week off, which for me means some time with my club team, the Boston Breakers, and a few appearances, including NBC's "Today" show on Monday morning. Leaving for the U.K. in 22 days!