Tierna Davidson

Hi there, and welcome to The Moth.

I'm Tierna Davidson.

I'm a soccer player for the U.S.

Women's National Team and Gotham FC.

I'm a World Cup winner and Olympic gold medalist.

And today, I'm hosting this episode of the Moth Podcast.

And I'm actually hosting from our national team training camp.

So if you hear any shouts or whistles in the background, that's why.

With the Men's World Cup in full swing, we wanted to celebrate the shared excitement, the feeling that so many people are invested in one long cross, one sliding tackle, one bicycle kick.

That's actually one of my favorite parts about soccer, that it's so global.

Whether it's through your club team or playing in international tournaments, you gain so many people in your corner from all over the world.

And when you have a World Cup, you get that really intense national rivalry, but you also get this passionate feeling of solidarity because a World Cup only happens once every four years.

As a fan, you wait and anticipate it for what feels like forever.

And as a player, you prepare for it for so long

so you get that camaraderie and shared experience across teams.

So to celebrate this special moment, we're sharing three stories about soccer, but about everything around soccer too.

The competition, the sense of community, and the feeling of discovery you get when you push yourself.

Our first storyteller is Patrick McGraw, who told this at a Twin Cities Story Slam, where the theme was pride.

Just as a note, in the story, Patrick quotes a homophobic slur that was directed at him.

Here's Patrick, live at the Mock.