There is a lot I could write about this game. The ✨trash✨ refs, the unnecessary yellow on Head Coach Taylor, etc. but I instead I want to focus on what this team means to me as a fan. The besties out played and outshot Beloit to lose in PKs 3-0. Again, there are details that I could fill in, but I’d rather talk about what this team means to me as a fan.

On September 14th, I sat at the Knox College soccer pitch to watch the North Park Vikings play the Knox college mens team. Unbeknownst to me, I ended up sitting directly next to the women’s soccer team, who not only laughed at how little I knew about soccer, but heckled right back with me. From that moment I knew I had found my team. These women were kind, friendly, and had the presence of mind to not laugh (too much) at the *only* North Park fan in the stands, but also to teach how soccer is played, the rules, and also shared that there are more traps than just the butt trap. That’s the kind of women we have on our team: competitive and selfless. It’s kind of fun walking up to the men’s game and having people say hey and fist bump and what not. It’s nice to be included in some things, even though I’m old. I’ve had so much fun making up fun nicknames for each person, or trying to think of fun ways to describe how you score goals (“doin hot girl shit” “hold my Thai noodles” etc.) All of the things heard from the stands (“pop pop pop it in!” “Oh shit. My bad” “check her cleat for boogers after that high kick”) or always yelling for the men to butt trap the ball and then I had the perfect opportunity but ended up hitting one in the head after it bounced off my pancake ass (sorry.) This team makes it easy to be a fan and is such a blast to be around.

It’s funny really that the dream of this blog and the super fandom came from a moment in the stands as an outsider and it’s crazy how quick the tables were flipped and the team made me feel welcomed. What started out as me trying to find one article of purple clothing in the whole damn town of Galesburg on a weeknight, turned into a stupid purple and black hat and manifested into the Prairie Fire Sports Network—a blog unofficially dedicated to the Knox College Athletic Department and having fun covering sports. A big thanks to Taylor and Annie for thinking this is just as much fun as I do and for letting me have fun with the team. Thanks to my anonymous source, Colleen, for being the eyes and ears behind the scene. Thanks to Erica for filling me in on those crappy live streams when I couldn’t make out the numbers. Thanks to Lex and Knox Athletics for not hitting me with a Cease and Desist for using the Prairie Fire name. Probably more to thank, but it’s not all about them; this ones for the besties.

I say it at the end of every blog post, but I really am proud of this team. The first team that I have chosen to Stan, and the first team that has made me proud to be a member of the Knox Community. Well done on a great season. For the seniors who played their last game, I am so very proud of you and all you have accomplished on the pitch. The hard work you put in out there is transferable to anything you put your mind to inside or outside the class. You’re going to do big things one day, and I’m here for it. To the first years, sophs., and juniors: I am so proud of you and the things you did on the pitch. The leadership skills you gained, the knowledge for the game, and the amount of fun you had this season is only more fuel for the next year. You all crushed it and I am proud of you all. I mean it.

xoxo,
Gossip Girl

Warmly,
Superfan Pastor Trav