What’s the move? Can I tell the truth? / If I was doing this for you then I’d have nothing left to prove

Nah, this for me though / I’m just tryna stay alive and take care of my people

And they don’t have no award for that / Trophies, trophies

And they don’t have no award for that / Shit don’t come with trophies, ain’t no envelopes to open

I just do it cause I’m ‘sposed to, n***a

- Drake, “Trophies”

Tim Howard’s performance as a goalkeeper for the United States Men’s World Cup soccer team on July 1st versus Belgium in the round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup is, statistically speaking, one of the greatest single-game performances in the 84-year history of the quadrennial global soccer tournament. Of course, in the end, the U.S. team lost 2-1 to Belgium, and now heads home. Tim Howard (who saved a whopping 16 shots on goal from scoring) doesn’t get an award for his performance, but, when he tells ABC’s Good Morning America that, “[Goalkeeping is] my job so I was able to do a lot of that last night. I know for me, unfortunately [the team’s] effort wasn’t enough but we nearly did it and I couldn’t be prouder,” you know that, similar to (or maybe even better than) Drake, he just does what he does because of an intrinsic driving force that tells him that he’s supposed to be the best goalkeeper — “[because he’s] ‘sposed to, n***a” — and that’s what makes Tim Howard great.

There was probably no worse job to have over the past month than being the starting goalkeeper for the offensively anemic (five goals in six games, with multiple missed scoring opportunities) and defensively disorganized (Belgium’s 16 shots on goal was the most glaring of many defensive breakdowns by the team) 2014 United States Men’s World Cup Soccer team. It’s similar to being widely regarded as the world’s best rapper, but being from Canada, whose rap lineage is likely less than one paragraph long in the the book of the history of rap written by American hands, using American idioms and largely based in cultural constructs borne of American history.

It’s really a shame that there’s not an American rapper that can be used as a comparative for what Drake has been lyrically doing as of late. “Trophies” was his released-for-free first single of 2014 and, as with most Drake singles, was met with curiosity, derision, and then begrudging respect as Drake evolves into a master craftsman-as-emcee. Drake’s already explained that he chooses not to exaggerate his life story in his lyrics, allowing for an honesty that lends itself to a connection. With each song that Drake releases, our connection to not just his creativity — but his humanity as well — grows. He’s a unique, yet deserving superstar.

Similarly, there’s Tim Howard. The 35-year old goalie starts for English Premier League team Everton and is possibly global soccer’s most respected American player. He’s a goalie so, insofar as how the game of soccer is played, he’s crucial because his skillset is completely removed from the ten other players on his team. Thus, similar to Drake, there’s really no other American soccer star (either on the team, or otherwise) to whom he can be compared.

There’s an argument to be made that Howard’s performance on July 1st easily eclipsed being more connective, powerful and emotionally overwrought than Drake’s top-tier rap performance on “Trophies.” It can be said that what soccer is to the rest of the world, rap may be to America. Fans passionately follow soccer globally in much the same way that rap fans follow the genre in America. Comparatively, the same way World Cup stadiums have exploded into boisterous carnivals of sound and emotion, Los Angeles’ Nokia Theater exploded for the performances of Nicki Minaj, Pharrell Williams, Iggy Azalea and more at the recent BET Awards.

If looking for the place to contest whether or not Tim Howard’s heart-stopping performance is remotely measurable to what Drake does in rap, let’s consider the following. In his eight year rap career, Drake has been nominated for 197 awards, winning 48 times. However, when it comes to winning a Grammy (likely the music industry’s ultimate honor), he’s won once, in 2013, for his album Take Care. By comparison, in Tim Howard’s 17-year and 451 match soccer career, Tim Howard has won 15 team or individual honors. However, when it comes to the World Cup — soccer’s ultimate tournament — as the starting goalkeeper of the United States team, and a superstar who has performed in a record-breaking manner in pursuit of the prize, he’s never won .

On July 1st, Tim Howard was the truth in the net for the United States Men’s National Soccer Team. If he were just doing this for the fans, his 104 appearances as a goalie for the team would have been enough. At a certain point though, this had to become about him testing his will against what at times must have felt like 11 players taking direct aim at him and him alone. But he let in two goals and made 16 saves on shots directly taken on the goal as 27 total shots were taken overall by Belgium during the game. In doing so, he kept the American team’s (and American fans’) hopes alive. In his many post-game interviews, his humility about his bravery shows that he knows that there’re no awards for doing one’s job with valor, even for a losing cause. Sadly, though a spectacular, player, Tim Howard doesn’t get an award for his performance, nary a trophy to be found for his valiant efforts.

Though in “Trophies” he belabors the fact that he’s unable to get a trophy for doing the right thing for his friends and family, Drake has won so many other trophies in so many other facets of his life that his angst is almost irritating when compared to Tim Howard, a soccer goalie who, in doing his job, “‘cause he’s ‘sposed to, n***a,” gets respect, but no trophy. In not complaining about the reality of his situation, Tim Howard may have eclipsed Drake in truly embodying the meaning of one of 2014's best rap songs to date.