"Its hard for everyone" - Megan Rapinoe recalls crucial advice from former soccer player Kristine Lilly about facing hardships in her career

Megan Rapinoe shared the best advice she received from the most-capped football player in history, Kristine Lilly. Rapinoe joined other active and retired players at the 2025 SXSW Conference and Festivals.

Rapinoe was a winger in the National Soccer League for OL Reign and the United States national team. Her stellar trajectory earned her several laurels, including the Best Player of the Year Award from ESPN in 2011. She also boasts an Olympic gold and two FIFA Women's World Cup (2015 and 2019) triumphs.

She won the Golden Ball and Golden Boot awards at the 2019 World Cup. Now retired, Rapinoe often makes appearances at events and advocates for LGBTQIA+ organizations like Athlete Ally and GLSEN.

She recently joined the likes of her fiancee Sue Bird, and athletes, Gabby Thomas, and Nikki Hitz at the 2025 SXSW Conference and Festivals. In a mid-event interview, when asked about the best advice she received as an athlete, Rapinoe credited Kristine Lilly for explaining that hardships are not exclusive.

"Oh my gosh! Oh, Christine Lilly told me. It was specifically about fitness, but I feel like this is a great piece of advice. Like, it's hard for everyone. Just know that. Everything about it is hard for everyone, so like, it's harder for me or I don't have this, whatever, something's harder for you than it is for someone else, but everyone suffers," she said (via Vox Media Instagram).

Megan Rapinoe shares advice from Kristine Lilly; Instagram - @voxmedia

Lilly earned 354 caps in her career, becoming the only player (men or women) to achieve so. She scored 130 goals during her time with the U.S. national team. The 53-year-old also coached the Boston Breakers in the NWSL.

Megan Rapinoe once shared an anecdote of meeting Kristine Lilly during her first USWNT camp

_ Megan Rapinoe at North Carolina Courage v Seattle Reign FC - Source: Getty

Megan Rapinoe grew a penchant for soccer after watching her brother play. Since three, she has been dodging balls and scoring goals, continuing her momentum at high school and eventually on the national and international stages. When she was 14, the 1999 World Cup changed her perspective of women's sports. She and her sister, Rachel, attended the semi-finals and witnessed record crowds flocking to watch the women play.

Seven years later, when she got a call for her first USWNT camp, she first encountered her 'idol' Kristine Lilly. Narrating that story, Megan Rapinoe said in 2019 (via The Players' Tribune):

"It’s funny, because seven years later, I got called up to my first USWNT camp, and I’ll never forget when Kristine Lilly walked into the room for the first time. She was my freaking hero. Obviously, she blocked the shot off the line against China in the ’99 final that saved the match, and she was just such a badass. I was already 21 years old, but when Kristine walked into the room … I mean, you just can’t help it — you’re instantly 12 years old. You’re a mess."

"I just remember barely being able to speak, like, “Uh, we don’t know. We’re just here. We don’t know what we’re doing. We’re just trying to survive and you’re you. You’re Kristine Lilly and I love you and I had your posters and obviously you didn’t have mine because I’m me, O.K., byeeeeeeeeeee,” she added,

Megan Rapinoe was the first player irrespective of gender to score a direct goal from a corner of the field at the Games in 2012.