Alex Morgan Kicks it With the BFT

January 17, 2013, 10:51 pm

She’s competed for World Cups, won gold in the Olympics, but in the Spring of 2013 Alex Morgan will face a brand new task: Being one of the faces of the brand new National Women’s Soccer League as a member of the Portland Thorns FC. Morgan joined the BFT on Thursday to talk about the new league and her impressions of the city of Portland.

To say Alex Morgan is popular outside the world of soccer would be an understatement-- the 23 year-old has posed in the Swimsuit Edition of Sports Illustrated, walked the runway at New York’s Fashion Week and surpassed a million followers on Twitter.

Still, at her core Morgan is a soccer player; one that will be donning a number thirteen jersey when she suits up for the Portland Thorns this spring – at least she hopes that’s the number she’ll be wearing.

“Hopefully no one’s going to steal that from me,” Morgan joked.

When asked why she chose the number, Morgan explained that not only was she thirteen years-old when she first started playing youth club soccer, no one else wanted to wear the number.

“Everyone had the lower numbers, and I was like, ‘Hey, why not? I mean, it’s unlucky for everyone else but let’s try it out for me,’” said Morgan. “I stuck with it ever since, and now it’s my lucky number.”

Lucky indeed. Morgan has gone on to become one of women’s soccer’s biggest, youngest and most successful stars; as evidenced by the whirlwind tour she went on once the 2012 Summer Olympics – in which Morgan and the U.S. Women’s National Team won gold – concluded. Morgan talked about the multitude of events and opportunities available all across the United States, as well as all the high number of frequent flier miles she accumulated from all the travel. One of those opportunities came in the form of walking the aforementioned runway in New York’s Fashion Week. When asked to compare the pressure of walking on the runway to walking into London’s famed Wembley Stadium for a match, Morgan assured there was no comparison.

“I’ve played soccer my whole life, and I know [Wembley]’s the biggest stage I’ve ever been on, but at the same time I prepare myself for that every day,” said Morgan. “I had no idea what I was getting myself into, walking down the runway in heels, in a dress… that was definitely out of my comfort zone.”

When the conversation transitioned back into her comfort zone of soccer, Morgan was asked about her impressions of Portland. Despite only visiting the Rose City a handful of times, Morgan was quick to praise it as a great soccer city, as well stating how much she liked Jeld-Wen Field.

As the interview was nearing its end, Morgan emphasized how important it was for the fans to come out and support the Thorns in force, so as to help the NWSL to succeed where previous US women’s soccer pro leagues have failed. Ultimately, Morgan expressed her enthusiasm for the start of the new league.

“I’m excited, I hope everyone else is, and I really hope to see a great reception.”

To listen to the full interview, click below: