My Passion: Soccer

By Keira Smith // @keiramunsmith

Hey MLS fans near and far!  Keira Smith here, excited to be reporting on my favorite team, New York City Football Club. 

I’ve been obsessed with soccer, first as a player and then a fan, for most of my life.  I love NYCFC but even more so, I love the game.  The speed, the finesse, the power, the intense training needed to merely survive for 90 minutes. 

I love how the sport is player-driven with very little actual coaching during the matches.  No timeouts and once you’re subbed out, there’s no going back.  I love how soccer is played everywhere in the world and in all climates.  Is there any other sport in which you wonder what language the players are speaking to each other? 

The growth of MLS in the US brings tears to my eyes when I stop and think about it.  Growing up in the ’80s, soccer was not on tv.  We had to drive 30 minutes to an Italian Barbershop to see an international game on satellite.  (That was basically the only place you could buy good cleats as well). 

My dad would drive my teammates and me hours to see both national teams if they were playing somewhere “close” by.  This is night and day to the accessibility of MLS games in most of the country today. 

NYCFC games have become our family’s tradition.  All four of us, which includes a teenager and an almost teenager, happily (and nervously- hey, we want to WIN) attend almost all home matches in pretty much all types of weather. 

We’ve made fans out of families who had previously never gone to a single soccer game in their lives.  The level of play is just that good and the fever-pitch excitement in the stadium is contagious. 

I look forward to sharing NYCFC news and fandom with you.  You can reach me at @keiramunsmith on Twitter and @keirams on Instagram.

Follow and chat with me on twitter // @keiramunsmith

Check us out on instagram @mlsfemale