carolina pride and national pride

i'm not much of one for sports that have delayed gratification. or lots of running. soccer is both of those. i played it as a kid, but as soon as the boys started beating me to the ball every single time, i quit. i turned in my soccer cleats and i picked up a volleyball. literally. 5th grade was my last year of soccer and 6th grade was my first year of volleyball. the rest is history.

that being said, i've become a soccer fan over the past 7 years. Carolina is famous for our men's basketball team. everyone knows that.

but we're also famous for our women's soccer team. unfortunately, i didn't get enough opportunities to watch them play because soccer and volleyball are both fall sports and usually played at the same time (i always knew when it was halftime at the soccer match bc our fan base would double for volleyball). Carolina is a school of champions. University of National Champions as we like to say. our women's soccer team sets the standard high not only for other soccer teams across the country, but for every other women's sport at Carolina as well.

so, while i could ramble on about how much i loved my years at Carolina, i won't. i already did that. i will, however, tell you about how much pride i feel swelling in my heart every time i see fellow tar heels step onto "the pitch" in Germany to represent the USA in the Women's World Cup. Heather O'Reilly (#9) and Tobin Heath (#17) are in pursuit of Gold in the finals this Sunday on the world's largest soccer stage.

Sunday :: 2pm EST :: ESPN

photo credit

if you haven't watched the quarterfinal match vs. Brazil, you're really missing out. it's the most dramatic athletic event i've ever witnessed. the American spirit was on full display. i've never felt more patriotic in my life than last Sunday when the women's national team courageously defeated Brazil. epic. ESPY Best Play worthy actually. but seriously, youtube it or something. it's two hours of your life you won't regret.

in the meantime, here's a fun 2 minute video of Tobin from Nike Soccer's campaign "Pressure Makes Us".

Go Heels. Go America.


live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.