I know that this has nothing to do with hockey but hear me out: at the beginning of July, the US Women’s National Soccer Team won the World Cup. It was a pretty big deal. I was watching the game and I saw all these talented and hard-working women putting up a fight to win. Little did I know while I was watching the game, I was going to see these lovely ladies in person. I was invited to go to the parade in NYC with my friend. I’m not really big into soccer and I didn’t know what was going on while watching the game, but I agreed to go. Boy, was I so happy that I went. I’m short so I got my friend and I right up against the barrier so we could get a front-row view of the girls and of the cup.
The parade was pretty great. There was a big turnout and everyone was there in support of these women. It felt empowering to see these women represent our nation and bring home yet another victory in the sports world. The parade made me realize that there are so many amazing female athletes out there who don’t get the recognition and payment they deserve. Us women work as hard as any other male athlete out there to be the best version of ourselves. These women on the soccer field have to put up with so much and to see them bring home the World Cup felt amazing. Women are capable of doing anything a man can do.
Being a female hockey player and being up against boys, I now feel stronger and more empowered knowing that I have a whole nation of female athletes to represent and to stand for. Seeing these women be proud of an accomplishment five feet in front of me was quite the experience that I will always remember. As Beyonce said, “Who run the world? Girls!”
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