The urge that arises when a spectacular athlete calls it a day is to pull out the highlight reel.
When it comes to Mary Earps, who announced her retirement from international football on Tuesday, the Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper boasts her own air-tight vault. From lying prostrate on the kitchen floor, believing her time in football had run its course after failing to be selected in the England squad for nearly two years between 2019 and 2021, to transcending her sport, the 32-year-old has made a mark.
Earps ends her 53-cap England career as a reigning European champion; two-time FIFA's Best goalkeeper; winner of the 2023 World Cup Golden Glove; England Women's Player of the Year for 2022-23, BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2023 and the first women's footballer to be honoured with a waxwork at Madame Tussauds in London. The 32-year-old's face also graced a tram in Nottingham, her home city.
And who can forget Earps' iconic penalty save from Spain's Jenni Hermoso in the 2023 World Cup final, a feat of the coldest proportions that she then one-upped by yelling at the entire Spanish team to (this is paraphrasing, of course) to go away, the game ball tucked under her arm like a soccer mum protecting her child's orange slices.
Or how about when Earps took on Nike for the sports apparel behemoth's failure to manufacture replica women's goalkeeper shirts during that tournament -- a row which she subsequently won, altering the landscape of women's football manufacturing.
And now, her international retirement: a global headline that has reconfigured news cycles (and impending Euro 2025 documentaries and squad decisions).
That Earps has reached this point is a testament to perseverance and willpower.
The early years of her playing career were nomadic, eight different clubs -- Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, Doncaster Belles, Coventry City, Birmingham City, Bristol Academy, Reading, Wolfsburg -- across a decade as she hunted for a place where she could flourish.
On the international stage, a similar story unfolded. Life occurred as she waited in the wings.
At the 2017 European Championship, Earps was the fourth-choice goalkeeper, so not among the official party of 23. Named in the squad for the World Cup two years later, she never made an appearance. Patience became not a virtue but a way of life. She started against Germany in front of nearly 78,000 people at Wembley in November 2019, a sure-fire sign of the stars finally aligning -- or so she thought. She did not play for England again for nearly two years. Quitting altogether became a consideration.
Earlier in 2019, Earps signed for Manchester United and from there, she began establishing herself as one of England's greatest shot-stoppers, transforming the position of women's football goalkeeper from something that was lampooned by the game's fiercest critics into one of power and prestige.
It was Earps' league record 14 clean sheets in the 22 matches of the 2022-23 season that helped United finish a club-best second in the Women's Super League, qualifying for the Champions League for the first time as a result. She also helped United to a first major cup final, albeit losing that game 1-0 to Chelsea. The following year, Earps would be crucial to United's second run to the FA Cup final, ultimately defeating Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 to lift the team's first major trophy.
Her efforts at club level led to an international recall under new manager Sarina Wiegman in November 2021, a catalyst for England's historic successes in the years following as they became one of the global game's best: European champions and World Cup finalists.
Inevitably, Earps' on-pitch successes triggered a movement: Earps the brand, Earps the celebrity, Earps the LinkedIn-posting, ambassadorial entrepreneur. All under the umbrella of Earps the footballer.
This transcendence is as much down to Earps' ability on the pitch as her conviction in herself off it.
Her departure from United was rooted in this sentiment. In her statement last summer explaining that choice, she cited a need to "better herself", to find value that matches her own assessment. The Nike row has its roots here, as does this decision to step away from the international spotlight.
For the past three years, women's football has travelled on a skyward trajectory. Much of that is down to incorrigible female forces such as Earps, individuals who know their worth and demand that others also know it.
But Earps has always worn her heart on her sleeve. Her inconsolable tears after the dramatic 3-2 win against the Netherlands in a December 2023 Nations League match were a reminder of her vulnerability, the almost-impossible standards she holds herself to.
It is why this announcement arrives with a stinging sense of sadness.
England without Earps threatens to feel surreal, their goalkeeper having become such a foundational block of the team's recent successes (she kept 26 clean sheets in those 53 appearances) and its emotional bellwether.
The past few months of Earps' footballing existence have revolved around a contest for an England place between her and Chelsea's Hannah Hampton. Experienced veteran versus this season's treble-winning new blood, eight years her junior.
For a footballer who knows what it is to play second-fiddle, perhaps it is not too shocking that Earps did not wish to return to that space, nor did she wish to force someone to be in it.