US women's national team captain Lindsay Horan opened her time in front of reporters by addressing the reaction to her comments about American fans' knowledge of soccer, which she made in an interview with The athlete Published earlier this month.
“First and foremost, I would like to apologize to our fans,” Horan said while speaking during a virtual meeting ahead of the CONCACAF W Gold Cup. “Some of my comments were poorly expressed, and there was a big lesson learned for me.”
In her interview with The athlete, Horan shared her frustrations with how match viewers took the comments seriously before joking that her mother did it while watching USWNT matches. On Thursday, she took time to explain and express her appreciation to the fans.
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“When I think about our fans, I love them so much. The team loves them so much, and I can't explain how important they are to us. Every time we come out and practice, every time we come out and play in games, you know we're playing for you guys,” Horan said. “You are our inspiration, our motivation, and seeing you wearing our jerseys and seeing you screaming our names, cheering for USA, that's what we play for and I never wanted to take any of that away.
“Continuing that, the culture of soccer in America is changing and growing a lot in a positive way. For me, to experience that firsthand, playing for the US Women's National Team but also in the NFL and for the Portland Thorns, is great,” he added. Extremely. It's an absolute honour, and I'll always say that, to be able to wear this slogan every day. To be in this environment, to go out and play in front of our fans and represent this national team, that's something – again, it's my greatest honour. … The last thing “What I wanted to do was offend anyone in that way. So, once again, I sincerely and deeply apologize.”
When asked to clarify what she wanted to express with her original comments, Horan responded that she did not think “what I meant really matters now.” She said she's just a “soccer mind” who likes to watch as much soccer as possible.
“I love talking about it, the way people talk about the old Manchester City, Arsenal and Barcelona,” she said. “That's what I want people to say about us. I want people to talk about how good we are with the ball, in possession, in our style of play, in technical ability, in tactical changes in the middle of the game, those kinds of things.
Horan said she apologized because of how she felt and that she wanted to “express how much my fans mean to me personally.”
As for the tournament that awaits them – the inaugural W Gold Cup – Horan joked that the goal is “the trophy.”
More importantly, she said the team's main goal is to win, but it's also perfect preparation for the Olympics because of the format and timing of the tournament. “What we do here can train us and prepare us mentally for what we may have to deal with in France,” she said. “We're taking it one game at a time and getting better throughout the tournament, and now we're continuing to increase what we're trying to do and how we're trying to play.”
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Horan stressed several times that she believes every player on the roster needs to be utilized throughout the Gold Cup to help get tournament minutes for some players and more time on the court – and that the USWNT should utilize that time on the court together before the Olympics.
“It's not just the new kids, it's all of us,” she said. “We're all moving forward together and still being a team. Everyone has to be on the same page going into the Olympics, but first, the first game here in the Gold Cup.”
(Photo: Brennan Asplin, Getty Images)
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