By Aya Philémon @aya_sofaya
My name is Aya, short for Sofaya, and I’m the Video Coordinator for MLSFemale, reporting on the Atlanta United FC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5GC5xHHq7w&feature=youtu.be
For as long as I can remember I have always loved soccer. Not necessarily because I actively sought it out, but because it was just always there. Like a family member.
You don’t think about reasons why you love them, you just do, by default. I played the sport as a child, in various youth leagues, was never really good at it. I went to a soccer camp every summer with all of my siblings and cousins, and since there was a lot of us, when we broke up into teams, it was often – Everyone Who is Related to Me vs Everyone Else.
Team wise, my family was always international-focused. As many Haitian families do, we supported Brazil, but in my immediate family the focus of the support has always been France NT. Pele, Thierry, and Zidane were the holy trinity. Aside from one cousin who really loved Liverpool, my family was never really into club football. That is, until Arsenal happened to us.
While Arsenal will always be my Main, and while being a Gooner brought me so many experiences and opened my world to what being a soccer fan is truly all about, there was a critical aspect of the sports fan experience that Arsenal can never fulfill for me: Hometown Pride. After living in three states and three countries, I never thought I would ever live out that particular aspect of sportsmanship.
Although I lived half of my life in New England, I never really became involved in New England Revolution. My hometown was a New York City suburb in Connecticut, so the New England sports teams were never geographically as close as the NYC ones. After having moved to Atlanta, the sports scene was more cohesive, but we were missing a team for the one sport I actually liked!
When Atlanta UTD was announced, all of this was about to change for me in a major way. I bought a season ticket immediately. I’ve never felt more connected to the city that I live in as I do now that I have this community to tether me to it. The season hasn’t even officially started yet and I’ve met a ton of people. I’m already way more involved than I ever thought I would be.
I’m immensely excited to be a founding member of Atlanta UTD, and immensely excited to be a part of MLSFemale. This is going to be a great season. I can’t wait.
Come chat with me on twitter: @aya_sofaya
Subscribe to my channel: AYASOFAYA
