A little kick for her.
And a big step for the feminine cause.
By typing a commitment for the Commodores team at Vanderbilt University in Nashville (Tennessee), Sarah Fuller (21) this Saturday became the first woman to participate in a game of the "Power 5", an organization that brings together at college level the top five American football divisions.
CHANGING THE GAME đź‘Ź
Sarah Fuller just became the first woman to play in a Power 5 college football game.
@SECNetwork pic.twitter.com/Qq3U6jtica
- SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 28, 2020
What happened this weekend to Sarah Fuller is all the more unprecedented since she only started playing US football… at the beginning of the week.
A goaltender for the university soccer (football) team, the young woman was preparing to return to her family in Wylie, Texas for the Thanksgiving holidays, when her presence at Saturday's game was mentioned by the staff of the American football team, all of the latter's kickers being in quarantine due to Covid-19.
"I'm here in an hour," she immediately replied to the sports manager of her university.
After training all week, Sarah Fuller had to wait until the second half to give this famous commitment against the University of Missouri Tigers, who were then leading 21-0.
“I was just calm,” she said.
Football is much slower, there is a lot of downtime.
"
"It's great to see this happen"
His performance quickly made the rounds on social networks.
“Legend !!!!
»Commented Russell Wilson, the Seattle Seahawks quarterback.
“I wish him good luck, it's great to see this happen.
I only wish him the best, ”added Nick Folk, the New England Patriots kicker, the day before the game.
The encouragement and praise spilled over to other sports as well.
David Price, the Boston Red Sox (Major League Baseball) pitcher is one example.
The most iconic comes from Billie Jean King.
The tenniswoman, who has one of the finest records in her sport, founded the Women Sport Foundation in the 1980s, intended to encourage future generations of athletic women.
Football history may happen today.
Good luck to @ VanderbiltU's Sarah Fuller, goalkeeper for the women's soccer team, who is dressing for their football team as its place-kicker.
If she plays, she will be the 1st woman to do so in Power 5 football.
Women belong in the game!
https://t.co/XouFpvMRgd
- Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) November 28, 2020
“Kudos to Sarah Fuller, the players who came before her, the athletes in women's football, and everyone who works both on the sidelines and behind the scenes, to open up brilliant avenues for the next generation,” added the former. champion, always ready to defend the feminine cause.
"You can do whatever you want"
For this match, Sarah Fuller wore behind her helmet the inscription "Play Like a Girl", realized in the week by one of her friends.
A nod to the American association of the same name which encourages girls to participate in sports, as well as to be interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, explains the American public radio NPR on his site.
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“I just want to tell all the girls you can do whatever you want, you really can.
And if you have that mindset all the way, you can do great things.
It's so exciting to know that I represented all the young girls who are thinking of playing soccer or any other sport.
It encourages them to do it, to believe in their dreams, ”then replied the player in an interview.
In the end, Sarah Fuller did not have the opportunity to attempt a penalty and her team was crushed (0-41) by Missouri.
This is the 8th loss in as many games for Vanderbilt.