Growing up as a female soccer player meant that I had little major professional representation. At the time, there were only 8 teams within the National Women’s Soccer League (the NWSL), and those teams were poorly promoted by advertisers, companies and even the cities the NWSL teams were home to. Though this was demeaning to female athletes and detrimental to their successes, it forced me to value the representation I was provided with with all of the appreciation and love I could muster, and it further developed the sense of connection and solidarity with the female athletes.