When Roseanna Smith first found out about the U.S. Women's National Team being put together by the Independent Women's Football League (IWFL) and USA Football, she changed the welcome screen on her cell phone to read "Work Harder." Now that she's been chosen for the team, it says "Team USA."
"I am unbelievably excited to have been selected for Team USA. It's an honor that I owe to many people," said Smith who starts at center for the Atlanta Xplosion of the IWFL. "It's an opportunity that I would not have had without so many people who've lifted me up with their intensity, knowledge and passion for the game."
Smith joins 44 other IWFL stars on Team USA for the inaugural International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Women's World Championship in Stockholm, Sweden this summer. They are all extraordinary players with laundry lists of athletic achievements. Most have full-time jobs as well while they follow their passion for football.
Smith works as a director for the American Junior Golf Association. In high school she participated in swimming, soccer and football and became the first girl in the school's history to earn a varsity letter in football.
Jennifer Blum, a wide receiver for the New York Sharks, comes to Team USA from the courtroom where she plies her trade as an attorney. Her sports resume is equally as impressive: Little League baseball and soccer as a youth, Tai Kwan Do, three-year captain for Ithaca College's softball team and a member of men's and women's baseball leagues. Blum also played on USA Football's 2008 Women's Flag Football Team.
As someone who slept with her football as a young girl, Blum aptly exemplifies the pride for women's football that is present among the team as they look ahead to Sweden.
"The thing that I am looking forward to the most is eating, drinking and sleeping football for six days straight in Texas and then traveling with my new teammates to show the rest of the world what American women's football is all about," Blum said.
As Blum mentions, the women are taking this very seriously and have a lot of preparation before heading to Stockholm. The IWFL season is underway, so the players will be in shape from that. Several of them, such as Blum and Smith, are also looking to fit in extra training to prepare better. Email and Facebook have even allowed the team to start getting to know each other and build some chemistry. The team will get together this summer for a brief camp before the tournament as well.
The additional effort they are putting into their training just points to the importance and impact this tournament holds for them and their sport. It's the reason they use cell phone messages to motivate themselves. It's the dream they've been having since they were little girls in bed with their football firmly in their grasps.
"The event is significant because I think it represents the peak of so many dreams," Smith said. "Every woman in the IWFL has a different reason for playing football, all play at different times of their lives and each has a different story to tell about it. But for those 45 of us who are able to represent Team USA this year, I think it will be incredibly surreal... The exposure for women's football is amazing, and I hope we'll be able to make some history for the USA along the way."
That history Smith refers to would be a victory in the first-ever Women's World Championship in American football, which is at the top of the wish list for everyone on Team USA.
"My first and foremost goal for our team is to bring home the gold," Blum said. "Additionally, I hope that we make ourselves and our country proud by playing like warriors and with respect for each other and the other teams."
With a roster full of players of the athletic and professional caliber of Blum and Smith, it shouldn't be too difficult to earn the pride of the United States. Some recognition for women's football would go a long way in the hearts of these players.
