Players as role models

I have to be honest and say that I am happy that my daughters have chosen to become fans of the women's soccer team. Not only is it a great family experience at the games, but something I can be proud of taking my family to. During all of the games we have attended this season the players have exhibited great sportsmanship and character. This is something that I am glad my daughters can witness in a world that is so often caught up in self and self promotion. It shows them that if people understand who they are and their roles on a team that they can accomplish great things in life.

On top of that, watching the players interact with my girls puts a smile on my face. There have been several times where the players took time out of their gameday to make a point to shake my girl's hands or talk to them. This is huge in the eyes of an 8 and 6 year old girl.

I just want to say a big thank you to the players and the coaching staff for instilling this feeling of hometown values that are exhibited at each and every game.

Well said! It's part of why we all love the Pilots.

And, welcome to PilotNation!

We hear you, saebo. Pilots games are true father-daughter time in our family. Middle school drama really can drag a girl down, and my 8th-grade daughter escapes all the mean-girl BS at the Pilots games with her true soccer-loving gal pals. She approaches the players (current or former) with awe and they welcome her with smiles. She doesn't give a rip about pro athletes unless they are women soccer players. She cherishes the souvenirs, autographs, photos and kind words she's received from Pilots players. It all began due to the good luck of living around the corner from Tiffeny Millbrett and expanded from there. Call it hero worship, call it following a role model -- it's so valuable for girls seeking their way in the world.

Well put, haze. Girls need positive role models just like boys do.

The Pilots are a wonderful group that are role models to probably thousands of young girls locally.

Found this on the net. Check out all the pilot stuff on the wall. I wonder how many kids have these posters up?

Megan is My Idol Video

Oh my gosh... Auto... I'm sure those girls are just THRILLED you posted that on Pilot Nation.

I'm so glad that YouTube/MySpace/Facebook didn't exist when I was growing up... who knows what kind of embarassing stuff I would have put up back in the day.

Speaking of role models, read this article... sure makes you realize that the sport is full of amazing people that we can look up to.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...5737203.column

If we had You/MySpace/Facebook in my day I am pretty sure I would taped some really cool stuff like the time we made a campfire under the house in the crawlspace beneath a WOOD floor.

My Dad went down there for some maintenace and saw the blackened timbers. Well lets just say I am lucky to have made it to year 12.

Aleppiek... that link ain't working!

Geez, nice work... I assume you saw the same post on Big Soccer?

yeah, pretty amazing.

Thanks Saebo for the role model post, Auto Pilot for the video, and Aleppiek & Geez for the LA times article. It is always so great to see and read how the UP team as well as other teams and players function as important role models and community builders.

AutoPilot: you rule! That is my daughter shouting "Megan Rapinoe is my idol!" in the spontaneous video. She's the one who dreamed up, designed and gave to Megan the T-shirt shown in my photo avatar. Megan made her autograph it and was kind enough to mention the gift of the shirt in the post-game podcast. This shows the generosity of time and acknowledgement and participation in the lives of their fans that make the Pilots winners to me.

Next year: Michelle Enyeart, prepare to meet your new best fan! Only because Megan is graduating.

How cool is that. The girls are part of the pilot nation where they belong.

Actually, it's more than a little bit weird that a kid's amateur video can be picked up from the Web and passed around like videos of classic goals and keepers' blunders that others have posted here. What a crazy quilt of soccer images.

Hail to the greatest communicator of all time. You Tube and his sister Flikr.