Abby Wambach hopes she’s eventually forgotten

Abby Wambach plays her final match on Wednesday night. While she’s allowing U.S. Soccer to make a big ordeal out of a celebration of her career, she’s using the attention she’s getting this week to spread a message that women’s soccer can improve after she’s gone. To get the point across further, she deactivated her social media accounts on Wednesday afternoon.

Wambach and the rest of the USWNT have never really been about themselves, much like the 1999 team. They want to win, they want to be treated fairly and they want to make a living, but the most important thing for almost all of them is pushing for true equality in the sport. They want to make the sport better for the next generation of players.

Yes, this is an ad, meant to sell you a product, but this is also Abby Wambach’s genuine message. Her career was only a success if it opened new doors for the players that come after her to score more goals, win more World Cups, play in front of more fans, on better fields, for more money. And there’s no reason to believe she hasn’t accomplished that.