Getty Image / Erin Chang
With the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris just two weeks away, we’re starting to see advertisements all over media involving different Team USA Athletes. In the past, this would’ve meant a lot of Alex Morgan ads.
The US Soccer Women’s National Team star has been an advertisement mainstay for years due to her prolific goalscoring and affluent appearance. But, this year, she did not make the 18-woman cut for this year’s Olympic Team, the first one managed by new manager Emma Hayes.
While this was seen as a shock to casual observers, Alex Morgan is now 35-years-old and clearly had lost a step at last year’s 2023 Women’s World Cup, as the USA crashed out in the Round of 16 in a shootout loss to Sweden. There is too much young attacking talent in the system right now, and with the Olympic rosters being smaller at 18 than the World Cup rosters at 23, Morgan was a casualty.
The problem is that companies film ads for the Olympic season well in advance, and most casuals expected Morgan to be picked. Reese’s is one of these brands, and this ad featuring Morgan and USWNT team member Sophia Smith claiming they’re on the same team is not aging well, to say the least.
Well, that’s awkward. While fellow forward Sophia Smith will be in France with the USWNT, Alex Morgan will not be. As you can see on the YouTube video, the ad is four weeks old by now. But, I saw this ad recently air on cable television, so they haven’t completely pulled it.
Granted, how many people watching Law and Order reruns know that Alex Morgan isn’t going to the Olympics? Probably not that many! But, still, it’s pretty awkward if you know what’s going on.
The USWNT has a pretty challenging group in Paris, starting out with what should be an easy win against Zambia on July 25 before games against traditional powers in Australia and Germany. The top two teams from each group and the top two third-place finishers from the three groups advance to the knockout rounds in the 12-team field.