Hope Solo ESPN Body Issue: Solo's Celebrity Will Peak with Nude Pictures

A couple months ago, Hope Solo was known simply as the goalie for the U.S. women's national soccer team.

Nowadays, Hope Solo is more than just a goalie. She's a renowned national celebrity, a contestant on Dancing with the Stars and an object of affection for men everywhere.

That last group should be quite pleased when they head to their local newsstand on Friday. That is when ESPN the Magazine's third annual "Body Issue" will be revealed, and in its pages will be pictures of Solo posing in the nude.

Well, sort of. Just like in the past two issues, the photos are not going to be 100 percent revealing. While they will feature Solo (and numerous other athletes) with no clothes on, any and all private parts will be cleverly obscured.

Heck, for all we know, they might even be cropped out altogether. The point of the issue (per the USA Today) is to offer an "exploration and celebration of the athletic form," which is a good way of saying that it will be selling sex without selling sex.

Nevertheless, it's safe to assume that the magazine's third "body issue" will sell like hotcakes, as there just aren't any other publications that can promise what it can. It is, for all intents and purposes, a once-in-a-lifetime thing.

And make no mistake, the issue can only help Solo's overall celebrity. She's already "in" right now, but the pictures of her showing some skin are going to make her a little more "in." Things will likely stay that way for a while.

But then what? Solo has gone to quite a few lengths to ensure the power of her personal star, but these pictures could very well represent the pinnacle of her efforts. After these, it's going to be hard for her to retain the spotlight.

Granted, I should be giving Solo more credit than I am, as surely she has motivations beyond exposure and, of course, monetary gain. And don't get me wrong, I don't mean to mock her motivations, whatever they may be.

This being said, all good things must come to an end sooner or later, and Solo's general celebrity is no exception. It didn't necessarily have to come to an end sooner, but Solo is running that risk by cramming so many PR stunts into a relatively small window.

The problem Solo will face in the near future is how she is going to top these photos. Short of bearing it all for Playboy, it's going to be hard for her to come up with a publicity stunt that will deserve as much attention as her photo shoot for ESPN the Magazine.

Well, if this is to be the end for Solo, I think we can all agree that it will have been fun while it lasted. In a period of a few short months, she came, she saw and she was totally awesome.

There are only so many athletes, male or female, who can claim that they've done the same.