Megan Rapinoe admits heart is in Portland, but plans to play for Reign

Talking to Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl, Megan Rapinoe left no doubt about which NWSL team she hoped to be playing for and, unsurprisingly, it wasn't the Seattle Reign. The good news is that her disappointment doesn't seem to be strong enough to keep her from suiting up, saying that she "definitely" plans to play.

"[Playing for Seattle] will be a little weird for me. Obviously it would be inauthentic for me to say my heart lies in Seattle. It definitely lies in Portland. But I'm a competitor and want to win, and obviously I'll play my heart out for Seattle. Hopefully when I come to Portland they'll cheer me."

While this is clearly far short of a worst-case scenario for the Reign, it's also a far cry from what other players are saying about their new teams. Alex Morgan, for instance, has been singing Portland's praises.

Wahl also alludes to the other element that adds some intrigue to the situation. Like all the United States women's national team players, Rapinoe has yet to sign a new contract. All parties involved seem to think that's just a matter of time, but combined with the fact that she's going to be in France until the middle of summer, it's unclear how this will all play out.

With this as a backdrop, it's probably a little easier to understand why most of the official word out of the Reign front office has been less than ecstatic.