There’s a word for what happened at 11:13 p.m. Sunday in Frankfurt’s Commerzbank Arena. It’s a word we throw around quite frequently when dissecting men’s sports: choke. The United States of America had a legitimate chance at reclaiming the Women’s World Cup title, and they blew it. Then they blew it again. Then, finally, they came up short in penalty kicks.

The oddest thing happened, though, in the aftermath of America’s loss to Japan: pundits actually used the word. Choke. That language isn’t an everyday occurance in women’s sports; the stodgy men of sports journalism tend to grade women on a curve. This time, things were different.

Sports Illustrated‘s Ann Killion came out and said this team, which rose to the occasion only to crumble under its weight, will be remembered not for the loss but for the public perception of the loss. She’s not quite so blunt, but this team earned the expectations of a nation. In failure, they disappointed many people—check Twitter—which is saying something. A women’s team actually disappointed people. Novelties don’t have that power.

With that in mind, here are five pieces that treat the Women’s World Cup as a sporting event, rather than a women’s sporting event.