Philadelphia Union vs Seattle Sounders at PPL Park 6.27.10

Today was an eventful day in the Philadelphia Area. The Philadelphia Union played their first game in their brand new stadium, PPL Park. It was extremely exciting for the players, fans, and staff. I was there on site to get one of the first looks at the new stadium and to see the first game ever at PPL Park. (See below for my first look at PPL Park.)


Being that it was the first ever game at PPL Park, staff was running around crazy and all were very busy. I had two jobs to do today once I got to the stadium. First, I took an iFlip, which is a small digital video recorder, around the stadium to capture footage of the fans. This was exciting because the stadium was roaring with excitement. Before the game started I walked around with the camera and taped fans. I interviewed fans, I got in crowds of fans and taped singing, I taped people playing soccer. I tried to find things around the stadium that would be interesting for Union fans to see.

Once the game started, I decided that I better watch it. My other job was post game quotes! Yes, they brought me back and told me I had done a "great" job last game. Since I knew I may have to interview players myself, I knew I needed to pay close attention. So I decided to take a seat right down on the field (See view from my seat below).

The first half of the game was nerve-wracking. The Union had played Sounders in Seattle for the first game of the season. The Sounders had given Philadelphia a pretty bad beating that first match. Not only that but Pat Noonan, of the Sounders, scored the first goal of the game in the 44th minute to put the Sounders up 1-0 at the half. I know, as a fan and soccer player, I was devistated. It is so rare to score goals, so I knew the difficult task ahead for the Union. But like I mentioned before, this Philadelphia Union team, they never give up. The team came back out after half time, with a vengeance. Sebastien Le Toux answered back with a goal in the 55th minute. He then assisted a goal to Fred in the 79th minute to put the Union up 2-1. Then again in the 84th minute, Le Toux assisted a goal by Danny Mwanga and infront of a sold out crowd of over 18,000 fans, the Union won their first game at PPL Park.

The fans went wild and the players seemed thrilled. The players stayed on the field and high fived the fans, signed autographs, and one player did a Lambo Leap up into the supporters section. It was one of the most amazing feelings in the world. The only thing better was getting to go into the locker room and talk to the players after their victory. So that is just what I did.

I entered the locker room, again alone. So since Le Toux was over in a press conference, I decided to set my sites on Mwanga. So I headed over to his locker. Now Danny Mwanga is an amazing player and he also seemed to be a nice guy. He was great to interview. He is positive, encouraging, driven, and he has a love for soccer. This is what I like to see out of players because the Philadelphia fans, they are the same way. After talking to Danny, I spoke to Fred, then Torres, then Salinas, and then Califf. Media joined me shortly after Fred's interview, so I could relax a bit. After the interviews, I headed back up to type up my interviews and then I distributed them to the journalists again.

One thing I noticed today, since media eventually decided to join me, was that I was the only female in the locker room, other than the Union's Press Director who also serves as a translator for Portuguese and Spanish speaking players . The players, obviously all male, and the media too. At first, I felt discouraged. I wondered why there were no other female media. I was kind of heart broken and sad. I thought to myself, "How many women would love to have a chance to interview the players, post-game?" That is when it all clicked. I took a different look at the situation. I then realized how lucky I am. I am so lucky for getting such great experience. I am so lucky for someone taking a chance on me. I also felt lucky that I was making it known that a female is able to do this job, and do it as well as men. I now have been assigned to do this at all Union games. I will do this job with pride and to the best of my ability. My main reason to create Athletchic was to empower women in sports. I do not know if I will succeed. I do not know if I will make a difference at all. Either way, I am moving forward slowly and I hope that all of you out there will also help me in my efforts to empower females in athletics.

Go girls :)

and Union!

Goodnight!