Carli Lloyd had 372 unread texts on her phone after scoring a hat trick in the Women's World Cup final
(Elaine Thompson/AP)
After scoring a hat trick in 15 minutes to lead the US to a 5-2 win over Japan in the Women's World Cup final, midfielder Carli Lloyd was suddenly one of the most popular athletes in America.
How popular? In a video on the team's Twitter account, Lloyd said she had 372 unread text messages by the time she was finally able to get ahold of her phone after the game. Lloyd described the moment as "surreal."
"This will remain w/ us for the rest of our lives." It'll take @CarliLloyd that long to read her unopened texts...https://t.co/ZeSOmQBP1z
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@ussoccer_wnt) July 6, 2015
Those who didn't know Lloyd's phone number took to Twitter to offer their congratulations to the Golden Ball recipient.
Kobe Bryant was left speechless:
My Goodness!! #Magisterial @CarliLloyd
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) July 5, 2015
President Obama praised Lloyd and offered a visit to the White House:
What a win for Team USA! Great game @CarliLloyd! Your country is so proud of all of you. Come visit the White House with the World Cup soon.
— President Obama (@POTUS) July 6, 2015
Longtime sports analyst Dick Vitale said she was like LeBron James in the finals:
Wow sitting in awe with my wife over @CarliLloyd-golden moment-she was like @StephenCurry30 @KingJames tonight / would love to be her agent
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) July 6, 2015
If nearly 400 text messages and a tweet from President Obama weren't enough, in just one day Lloyd reportedly increased her Twitter followers by more than 50,000 and her Instagram followers by more than 100,000.
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