The rest of the world has finally caught up to the once-dominant United States. To watch the women's national team fall at the hands (and feet) of Sweden over the weekend in the World Cup's Round of 16 was tougher than I could imagine. The dream of winning a third-straight World Cup seemed no longer achievable. It was the earliest exit ever for the four-time tournament champions.

In some ways, being forced to head home after a solid performance and one of the narrowest penalty shootout decisions one will ever see was brutally cruel. Though in other ways, the end of their campaign is more than fitting for a team that has regularly flopped under manager Vlatko Andonovski.