ESPN the Magazine Body Issue: Nude Pictures of Hope Solo Bound to Disappoint

Type "Hope Solo" into Google and you're going to get a few interesting suggestions about what it is that you're searching for.

For example, Google will tell you that "Hope Solo boyfriend," "Hope Solo hot" and "Hope Solo pictures" are all popular search terms. Clearly, the goalie for the U.S. Women's National soccer team has a lot of admirers out there.

Apparently those admirers don't know how to search for "Hope Solo naked" or "Hope Solo nude," which are not among Google's search suggestions. Indeed, that would be wishful thinking.

That will not be the case on Friday. As USA Today revealed a couple of days ago, Solo is one of many athletes who posed nude for ESPN the Magazine's third annual "Body Issue."

Yes, you read that correctly. Hope Solo posed nude. For a magazine.

There is no doubt that this will be a popular issue once it hits newsstands Friday. However, anyone interested in buying the magazine should know that ESPN's definition of "nude" is a little misleading.

The photos in the magazine will still a lot to the imagination. While they may have photographed Solo and others—Jose Reyes, Gretchen Bleiler, Blake Griffin, et al— in the nude, there are no private parts on display. Instead, they are carefully and cleverly covered up.

Take a look at this photo of Serena Williams from last year's "Body Issue" for an example of what to expect. She's definitely in the nude, but we're not exactly talking about Playboy here.

This should come as a surprise to anyone. ESPN may be willing to tease nudity, but the company's decision makers need to consider the reputation of the brand.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that the upcoming issue of ESPN the Magazine is going to be a waste of time and/or money. You're not going to find pictures like these anywhere else and it's likely that you will never be see any more after.

Yes, you are going to be able to see Hope Solo showing some skin—which is easily the issue's biggest selling point—but at the end of the day, "Hope Solo naked" or "Hope Solo nude" is still going to be wishful thinking.