WWC 2019 U.S. vs. Netherlands - July 2, 2019
I've been slow to digest and write, but...summer has been surreal! Especially watching my first Women's World Cup game and FINAL in PERSON- in FRANCE- with friends! BUT what a thrill! Still processing that wave of momentum to organize myself and new upcoming projects!!!
Sometimes it's not good to talk too much about things before they happen- in the event I jinx myself/the team/the match, but I did have this premonition of there being a France vs USA game somewhere in the quarterfinal / final mix. I secretly wanted to watch the French and U.S. ladies meet in the final- THAT would have been my preferred wine and cheese futbol pairing du tournament, and I was grateful I was still able to indulge in watching that quarterfinal. I was 2 inches from my trigger finger splurging on the Parc au Prince game blindfolded and trying to pull in a Parisian friend, and then found myself lingering elsewhere in my travels, but really... what inspiration watching so many amazing ladies give it their solid go on the field! GO GO GADGETS!!!
Splurging on a 2 week vacay was already a lot to push for- between being away from work, but the impetus and excuse to skip away and meet up with 2 of my favorite lady soccer buddies from the BK:#1 whom i coach 8-9 year old girls with and am much inspired by and appreciative of, & #2 whose team I tried out with in LA after returning from South America for a year + to a waitlist for my previous team, the Ladykillers, but when I told the Sole Sisters I had planned on moving to NY, they gave me Susan's #- who introduced me to BK pickup and with whom I've played all too many a games and teams with over the 9 years I've been here. What what?!? Soccer friends are the bestestest...
It's the people who help make the journey, the story, our teammates that make such an event all the more enlightening. And it WAS for all of us! Talk about tackling it from all sides! Even just to watch an awesome game and share the experience- and milestone!
With my sole sisters: Rachel & Susan before the FINAL MATCH!
And for the record, I have never seen so much red, white and blue in my head and peripheral. Between the U.S., France, and final match with the Netherlands, it was an interesting triage of color amidst a slew of fans representing from all over. Even for someone like myself who doesn't normally sport all of those colors, I did- for the sake of team spirit- and representing 3 teams...
AND as a triple kicker, a friend of mine I played soccer with in junior high and high school starting at the age of 12- Allison, whose parents were at every freaking game supporting us even with blankets and fold out chairs in the cold, and whom I haven't seen in about 24 years, saw on Facebook that I was in Europe and commented asking if I was going to watch the final-and we met up during half-time! I squeezed her and her father twice- an overdue reunion but what a thrill indeed- even if it was for 5 minutes! My heart felt mushy and a strange sad, sweet remembrance of those days of "youth". Her pops hair and beard had turned from that silvery gray to a charming wise white.
Ally and I use to bend time between games and school, had French classes together, but I most remember driving to soccer games in high school in her dad's gorgeous 65' silvery blue mustang with classic rock playing in the background: somewhere between Hotel California and Sweet Home Alabama... And what a ride, even when in actuality, her parents lived less than a mile away from our school. (o: Old soccer buds...and what memories to leave me with a silly grin...!
To say the least, it was impossible containing the explosion of emotion in the stadium. I smiled in immense gratitude, feeling profoundly proud, teary, emotional seeing a stadium full of so many supporters for a sport that didn't even have a team for me and my 2 female teammates (Allison and Lauren) as awkward 6th graders and our coach Mr. Levy was all the worse- a chauvinistic puppet who didn't seem to know what to do with us. But optimistically thinking how MUCH soccer as a sport has evolved for women and girls, while otherwise becoming a very important and monumental constant even until now... Hellz fucking yeah- football has come a long fucking way for women- and yes- I do have impeccable french, don't i?
While I'm not sure if Allison still plays, Susan and I are the oldest ladies on our women's full field team,#NYCUNITED, and playing sometimes with grrrls almost half our age. NOT to give ourselves away in age completely, but even coaching little 8/9 yo minions who are delicate in character, have their emotional moments, getting hurt, and needing to be rushed off the field, I salute all of them and their greatest champions ( their parents) thinking how proud I am of them for their mini-fierceness which has yet to bloom. I do think that had i started soccer earlier, I would have been all the more a terror, and probably would have had to retire due to injury. BUT, gotta say that when I see a girl like Megan with short pink hair and tomboyish tendencies much like my own, but with no BS responses and refusing a visit to the white house on top of her hard-to-miss kick ass skills- yet score these amazing goals and give so much hope and presence, and inspiration, representing herself, and with no intention or need to conform to what a woman whose not your average grrrl should look or seem... she's got my vote and immense respect! Booya!
BTW FIFA is expanding from 24 teams to 32 teams for WWC 2023, but can we make sure these girls are paid accordingly (better), or tell me, do we need to get them to sell pantyhose / more women's products, and how do we get them more endorsements so more investment is put into women's leagues?
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