It's been more than a week since US Women's National Team beat Japan 5-2 to bag the FIFA World Cup in Canada but the fanfare surrounding the win shows no signs of slowing down. After last weekend's historic ticker tape parade through New York City, the first for women since 1960, Sports Illustrated is commemorating the victory by releasing 25 limited edition covers of the magazine.
Each of the USWNT's 23 members, from tournament star Carli Lloyd to backup goal keeper Alyssa Naeher, will get their own limited edition solo cover cradling the trophy. Rounding out the 25 is Coach Jill Ellis, who also gets her own portrait, and a group shot featuring big names like Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach, and Hope Solo.
Sports Illustrated says that limited edition covers will be distributed randomly across the country. All 25 covers will also be available for purchase online. Collectors looking to bag them all can purchase a one-time package of $99.95.
The big draws of the collection will no doubt be the covers of Wambach, the 35 year old veteran who has probably played in the World Cup for the last time, and Lloyd, the tournament's Golden Ball winner for outstanding player.
Lloyd's hat trick in the final against Japan will no doubt go down in history as one of the great individual performances in football history. Her 60 foot wonder goal from past the half way line was named goal of the tournament.
This amount of covers is a first for the magazine. Here's how managing editor Chris Stone, described the thought process that went into the decision:
"On Tuesday, July 7, we alighted on the idea of one cover for each of the 23, plus a 24th for the coach, The USWNT has plenty of recognizable, even famous names, but we couldn't think of a group so thoroughly identified with a team as this one. We could go two ways: a team shot, which seemed a little conventional here, or something different and fresh: honoring not just one or two players, but all 23 of them with their own cover.'
