Every cloud does have a silver lining. It did shock many when Alex Morgan, USWNT’s iconic striker and skipper, was left out by coach Emma Hayes for a tournament that could have been Morgan’s epic last dance. But, look at it this way. The surprise was not that she was snubbed, but that it took this long for a coach to make this tough call to omit the 35-year-old out-of-form striker from a much younger star-studded squad, and it is still a debate. Now that she is hanging up her boots, again, do you see the silver lining? Morgan is left with not just a trophy case filled with World Cups, Olympic gold, and much more, but the trails she blazed for the younger generation and so many hearts full of love and gratitude. And for that one last match she is set to have, San Diego Wave’s coach Landon Donovan has just one hope, with a few words of applause.

Prior to the NWSL match on Sunday night, between the San Diego Wave and North Carolina Courage, Donovan had a heart-to-heart with Alex Morgan. She has been facing a dry spell in scoring, could not get into the new USWNT squad, and Donovan had only words of empathy and admiration.

“She’s been a great leader. It’s easy in those moments to go inside yourself and say like, ‘Oh, I’m not scoring, or I didn’t make the Olympics,’ and she’s been the opposite. She’s selfless,” said the ex-USMNT forward to The Athletic. Like all, he just wants Morgan to seize every moment of her last game.

“She’s given so much to the sport, and she deserves to be celebrated. And so I hope that will help take some pressure off her. If she doesn’t play another minute, she’s already been one of the best that’s ever played. And so I hope she can just let go and enjoy it. She deserves that,” Donovan added. Well, so will every single fan at the electric Snapdragon Stadium tonight! In fact, not only at the stadium. Alex Morgan’s last match is all set to be proof of her commercial muscle power.

Alex Morgan’s swan song will be streamed to a much larger audience

“Let’s send the GOAT out in style!” was what San Diego Wave FC posted on their X handle. Well, that is indeed the sentiment. The match is closer to being a sellout and the team will open up the upper bowl. But that’s not all. For the first time in NWSL’s history, a match is going to be shown across multiple outlets at the same time in the U.S., including, CBS Sports Network and ESPN2, and stream on Paramount+, ESPN+, Amazon Prime Video, and NWSL+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Talk about impact!

CBS Sports will also add both pre-game and post-match shows (each set for 30 minutes, starting at 7:30 p.m. ET), and remember they did not do that for even the Olympics gold medal match where the USWNT won!

The women have come a long way, from initially getting no publicity or coverage to this. On Friday at the presser, Morgan reflected on the explosion of media coverage in women’s soccer. She shared a personal throwback, revealing that when she got drafted to her first pro team in the WPS, she didn’t hear it from a big news outlet. Instead, it was the U.S. Soccer press officer who broke the news to her directly. “(That draft) definitely wasn’t broadcasted,” she said.

Looking back, Morgan is only proud and grateful for her accomplishments and influence. The Baby Horse is ready for her last dance, how about you?