247 Ink Magazine (February/March) 2017 Issue#13 | Page 61

show up and there are life-size posters , people in shark costumes , and it ’ s pretty incredible . My jersey was selling out so quickly and it ’ s been really humbling . I just feel so grateful . That place has given me so much and it ’ s been nice to come home and enjoy this special moment with this new team . I can ’ t wait to come back next season . I can ’ t help but to think it was such a great move for me to come back home and be a part of something so special .
It seems like the team was received really well . You mentioned people dressed up as sharks . Do you mind elaborating on that a little bit ? What ’ s the deal with all of those sharks ? So , since I was a kid I have always been really fascinated by sharks . When I was a little girl , my father and I used to always watch shark week as our father-daughter thing . We would wait all year and literally sit on the couch for that one week in the summer and watch shows about sharks every single hour of the day . It was so cool . I ’ m a surfer and it scares me because I ’ m so intrigued by it but at the same time it ’ s hard for me to get out in the water again . It ’ s like ‘ Man , I know what ’ s underneath me .’ I had a shark encounter one time while I was surfing . A shark was kind of checking me out and I remember just pulling my hands and feet out of the water and I started to kind of wobble side to side . It was sheer terror . I can never get past that feeling and it scares me to this day . I always like to say I ’ m like a shark under water and I ’ m a lion on land . I guess it ’ s just the unknown . I ’ ve been fascinated with them since I was a kid .
The fans do seem to be really invested in the Orlando Pride . I know the US has seen women ’ s soccer leagues come and go over the years , but the NWSL seems to have some staying power . What do you think has changed that has allowed the NWSL to see some success ? I think the USWNT has boosted the success over the years . The

show up and there are life-size posters , people in shark costumes , and it ’ s pretty incredible . My jersey was selling out so quickly and it ’ s been really humbling . I just feel so grateful . That place has given me so much and it ’ s been nice to come home and enjoy this special moment with this new team . I can ’ t wait to come back next season . I can ’ t help but to think it was such a great move for me to come back home and be a part of something so special .

It seems like the team was received really well . You mentioned people dressed up as sharks . Do you mind elaborating on that a little bit ? What ’ s the deal with all of those sharks ? So , since I was a kid I have always been really fascinated by sharks . When I was a little girl , my father and I used to always watch shark week as our father-daughter thing . We would wait all year and literally sit on the couch for that one week in the summer and watch shows about sharks every single hour of the day . It was so cool . I ’ m a surfer and it scares me because I ’ m so intrigued by it but at the same time it ’ s hard for me to get out in the water again . It ’ s like ‘ Man , I know what ’ s underneath me .’ I had a shark encounter one time while I was surfing . A shark was kind of checking me out and I remember just pulling my hands and feet out of the water and I started to kind of wobble side to side . It was sheer terror . I can never get past that feeling and it scares me to this day . I always like to say I ’ m like a shark under water and I ’ m a lion on land . I guess it ’ s just the unknown . I ’ ve been fascinated with them since I was a kid .

The fans do seem to be really invested in the Orlando Pride . I know the US has seen women ’ s soccer leagues come and go over the years , but the NWSL seems to have some staying power . What do you think has changed that has allowed the NWSL to see some success ? I think the USWNT has boosted the success over the years . The

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