College First Place Tie: “Defying The Odds and Discovering My Purpose” by Morgan Smith
Morgan Smith of Franklin and Pierce (D2) after making history
Women don’t belong in football-at least that’s what I’m told. I’m told that I’m just another publicity stunt, I am weak, I am too small, and that I will never be as talented as a man. Coaches, critics, and peers tell me I am not good enough because of my gender, but I play for a higher purpose.
My senior year of high school I was able to walk onto the football team and play as their extra point kicker. There were boys on the other teams that would try to knock me over after a PAT, but I never experienced hate. Everyone around me supported me unconditionally. I was on top of the world.
As a freshman in college, I would leave the Franklin Pierce women’s soccer program to tryout for a Division II football program. Remembering the feeling from my senior year and the comradery that came from playing on a football team led me to Coach Gaskamp. He gave me a chance, one that I will never forget.
Preseason my sophomore year was the most exciting and terrifying time of my life. I had no idea what to expect. There were so many uncertainties; but once we started practicing my anxiety was alleviated, I was welcomed onto the team just like anyone else. I began to make friends and felt like an equal. Things were going great, but then I started to receive attention.
At first the attention was small, people at my university started to talk about me and how I was on the team. Journalism majors asked me to interview for their assignments and my school paper put out a small piece on me. I didn’t mind this kind of attention, it made making friends a lot easier. People all over campus knew me as the “female kicker.”
Our first game of the year we would lose terribly and I would only go in for one kickoff to start the second half. The second game of our season, against Curry College, is where everything would change. I would kickoff and complete all of my PATs. It would be our first program win and it was one of the best games of my life. It was a close game; we worked hard as a team and celebrated every little victory. Once the game was over and we had won, I felt so proud of myself. I had contributed to our two-point lead by making both of my PATs. I had no idea in that moment that I had made history. I became the first woman in the Division II NE10 Conference to score and play in a football game.
The NE10 and NCAA posted my kick to share with the world. College football pages, Franklin Pierce University, my friends, family, and peers would share these posts all over social media. My initial reaction was to be excited and happy, but that would be short-lived. Comment sections would show the nasty and toxic nature that exists in football. People would criticize me, curse me out, tell me I belong on a women’s team; hundreds of comments were made to put me down and I became a target for misogynists everywhere. I made the mistake of reading every single hateful word that these people commented. I couldn’t understand why they took one of the best moments in my athletic career and squashed it.
Even after three years of playing football these comments still cut deep. Every time I post on social media or have a story written on me, there are people who say terrible things. I’ll be honest, sometimes these harsh words make me want to quit. Then I think of the hundreds of little girls who would see me give up.
Football is so much more than a sport for me. It’s a place for advocacy. For far too long, this sport has been a boy’s club where women do not get the opportunity to participate. It is my hope that my participation encourages change. I play so that future generations will be expected to play, not just allowed to play.