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Thinking of American traditions it is easy to equate the 4th of July weekend as time of barbeques filling the air with the smell of hot dogs and hamburgers with coolers packed of cold ale. Spending time with family and friends on a local beach or even at the baseball park. For the members of Netrippers FC in Portland this year’s July 4th activities included twelve 50-minute co-ed matches in hopes of creating soccer as a new past time for the queer community of athletes and fans.
“The amount of fresh faces present at this year’s tournament is awesome,” declared Miguel Villarreal. Attention to soccer has been building in American in recent years, but the game’s uniting spirit among a US fan base pales in comparison to other nations. Id Magazine was out to watch the recent Netrippers tournament and talk to our athletes and fans of the sport.
Meet Jennifer La Bonte. La Bonte’s experience’s in “football” has not only enriched her life, but she believes soccer can do so for all American’s if they understood some reasons why to make the game a true national past time.
“I have been playing for 27 years now–since the age of 5. I wanted to be a ballerina at first but my dad said that La Bonte’s were not dancers rather soccer players. At first I was kicking and screaming when playing, but I grew to love it as I got older. Soccer does take a lot of time to develop and learn the skills necessary to perform at a level where you can actually have fun playing. I compare the game to theater—predicting what other people are going to do, trusting in your teammates, and being there for them in return even when the game is not going your way. For myself I love playing the forward position because of thrill of scoring. I will always remember the great goals scored. Getting the ball through the defense and ‘juking’ the goal keeper for a score thus making them look like a fool is awesome,” she proclaimed.
La Bonte continues, “When playing in college at University of Oregon, I played in many pick-up games with men of various nationalities learning different styles of play from each. Some were all about speed while others skilled in technique or finesse. With the Saudi Arabians, when there was a conflict everyone would sit down and eat cut watermelon discussing the foul for a half an hour till resolved. Now, I have play mostly on all women teams, and vow to only do co-ed play with the guys of Netrippers because they understand the premise of team work. All of these experiences have made the game so much fun!”
“The game of soccer is getting bigger here in the states thanks to women pioneers like Mia Hamm and the Women’s World Cup win. Still we have a lot of catching up to do. If the US does not join the ranks of other nations with interest in soccer we need to still be respectful for its long traditions as a sport. People might think the game is boring because there is not a score every second. Still, soccer is exciting because it takes 90 minutes to build up to the conclusion of winning or losing with the play of the game happening at any time. The game is my greatest passion in life for which I am so thankful,” La Bonte concluded.
Netrippers FC roster is now 25% women in just a few years. As summer provides opportunities for outdoors tournaments like the one over 4th of July weekend, members also play with indoor leagues throughout the year. Due to the growing competitive interest of its players, the organization is planning to hold try outs for four men’s teams this Fall. Women’s teams are also being considered. Stay tuned with id magazine for updates about upcoming team tryouts!