Ex-Little Girl Alive and Kcking

* I have never had a hero. Until now. I am a burned-out, cynical 36-year-old social worker with a wider view on the world than I want. But I was once an 11-year-old girl with great athletic ability and little room to exercise that talent in a system fairly new to Title IX.

For the past three weeks I have resurrected that 11-year-old and found the missing link I needed to excel in sports--a soccer team more near to me than all the “heroes” that have come before. Incredibly, at this late age, I see myself in athletes praised and respected for following their heart’s desire. Athletes whose competitive side is not glossed over in favor of the femininity that has been the hallmark of women’s sports in the past. These soccer players are beautiful, yes, and they have athletic bodies they don’t hide behind a tennis dress, a hockey skirt, lipstick, 3-inch nails or jewelry. They don’t need to apologize for being who they are or pretend to be something they’re not. They run and sweat and knock each other down. They are driven, passionate and competitive!

Because of all these things, the 11-year-old inside me has been bursting to get out; to kick a soccer ball, to run and hurdle hedges, to race a bike at breakneck speed, and to ski with a belief I’ll live forever, that I am indestructible! I have found, after 25 years, a hero in the spirit of a team; an unlikely hero at a most unlikely time. And though I have demonstrated to myself that I am in fact destructible, it brings me more joy and hope in humankind to see the world embrace with warmth and love these women athletes. These women that, even at age 36, I wish to emulate.

This Women’s World Cup is not just about heroes for the future; it’s about heroes for the here and now as well as for the past!

D. SEERDEN

Laguna Beach