Seattle Reign’s latest matchup was all about its foundational player Megan Rapinoe. Before its victory against the North Carolina Courage, Reign fans and players joined together to pay tribute to Rapinoe as the club retired her jersey, No. 15. The 39-year-old reciprocated the love. For her heartwarming speech, Rapinoe revealed to have received some help from the WNBA legend Sue Bird, who had one regret. 

The 4x WNBA champion, whose jersey No. 10 was retired by the Seattle Storm last year, became the ghostwriter for Rapinoe’s speech for a specific reason. Bird regretted not mentioning certain things in her speech during the jersey retirement ceremony. So, when the Seattle Club announced to honor Rapinoe, Bird knew that she had to step in and assist her partner.

“Sue’s my ghostwriter. And you did, you gave an ultimate assist for what I said on field during the Jersey retirement,” the soccer player said in A Touch More Podcast. Bird admitted that she helped because of her regret and said, “Well, it’s because I regretted not saying it at mine.”

Addressing the 16,598 fans, Rapinoe delivered a heartfelt message of gratitude to the club, her family, and the fans. “Just know that when you’re looking up and thinking about me, I’m looking up there and thinking about all of you and all the incredible moments that we shared,” Rapinoe said.

Rapinoe’s No. 15 jersey is the first to be retired by the club. The excitement and emotion in the crowd at Lumen Field were palpable, as a banner featuring Rapinoe’s face and the words “You Changed the Game #15” hung above. Rapinoe shared, “Just to every fan and everybody who has supported this club, not just me but just supported this entire club for all of these years.”

She added, “Just thank you from the bottom of my heart. It means more to me than I can ever even imagine being able to find the words to say…I was a part of the first 11 years of the club as a player. I’ll be a part of the next 111 as a fan alongside you guys.”

Rapinoe was also in attendance at the jersey retirement event held in honor of Bird. 

Sue Bird missed out much in her 90-minute-long speech 

Congratulating the WNBA star, Rapinoe who was also the host at the event, praised Bird’s legendary career. Wearing jersey No. 10 for the Seattle Storm, Bird won four WNBA titles with the team. The 5x Olympic gold medalist had much to say to her fans, former teammates, and family during this special occasion. 

Even a 90-minute speech was short for Bird. While she didn’t expect it to be so long, Bird admitted she couldn’t leave out on anything from it. But, she still regretted not mentioning a few things. Later, in a media conversation, the WNBA star shared the sentiment and said, “I walked in the back with my family. I was like, ‘Was that too long?’ My sister was like, ‘You played here for 21 years. They can listen to you for an hour.'”

She added, “I’m already thinking of things I wish I would have said.” Despite the regrets, she expressed how special the moment and her time with the Storm had been. “I think some people try to avoid missing it when they’re in my seat up here, and the reality is I’m always going to miss it. There’s going to be days — tomorrow, a year from now, five years from now,” Bird said. 

And fortunately, she was able to help Rapinoe with her speech as well. With that, maybe Rapinoe would have zero regrets about her jersey retirement speech.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.