The Lionesses Roar to Victory
Summer Six Word Photo Story Challenge: ‘Shine’
It’s coming home, football’s coming home!
Some days shine brightly like a diamond cutter that carves out unforgettable memories. And when the Lionesses, England’s women’s football team, defeated Germany 2:1 in the final of the UEFA Women’s European Championships on 31st July 2022, the day became forever etched in the national psyche.
At the final whistle, it was the Lioness’s roar, not a chant from England’s men’s team, that echoed around Wembley stadium elevating the women’s team to legendary status, as the sporting heroines who finally fulfilled the long-held dream to bring football ‘Home’ after a 56-year drought.
In one jaw-dropping, spine-tingling, watershed moment decades of discrimination against women in football were dissolved.
Women footballers were previously banned, then rejected, derided, and often ignored by the mainstream, until this game-changing result smashed every glass ceiling holding back women’s football and women’s sport in general to the delight of adoring fans: the best WEUROS tournament attendance record 87,192 and spectacular TV stat’s — the game attracting more than 17 million live viewers in the UK alone.
Oh, did I forget to say, I was there!
As a lifelong football fan, to get a ‘golden ticket’ at the eleventh hour was beyond Willy Wonka. And thrilling goals and goose-bumps turned to sheer elation, spontaneous song, and a real ‘hands touching hands’ moment afterward when I joined tens of thousands of fellow countrymen, women, and children in a joyous and harmonious celebration.
The best bit?
The inspired, shining faces of the next generation of young girls all thinking, “Wow, if she can do it…why not me?”
What a shining day.
Thanks to Mary Chang Story Writer for the shining summer challenge and special thanks to fellow six-word storyteller David Acaster for his excellent piece on the history of the women’s game that detail the struggles endured by women footballers over the years and how they finally proved the doubters wrong.
