OPINION: She's one of the world's best on the pitch, but that's not why Sam Kerr is my hero.
Sam Kerr with her partner Kristie Mewis after the Matildas' Women's World Cup quarter-final victory over France.Watching the Matildas playing in their first Women's World Cup semi-final came with heightened emotion from the start, but one thing almost sent me over the edge.
So does the whole tournament, which has been dubbed "the gayest ever" due to the number of players who have public queer personas.Think Ellie Carpenter, Cortnee Vine, Caitlin Foord, Mackenzie Arnold, Katrina Gorry, Tameka Yallop, Emily Van Egmond, Kyah Simon, Alex Chidiac - these Matildas have all become household names.
But in a way all these relationships and identities also feel completely unremarkable, and indeed haven't been remarked on that much by press or fans. Now, I'm super comfortable being a proud member of the community and I play on a football team that consists only of queers and allies.But I think about how different my ideas around queerness would have been, how much more comfortable I would have been in myself coming out if I knew it would be possible to be on the world stage and have a girlfriend by my side, like Sam Kerr.
The Matildas have had a pride flag at their training facilities for the Women's World Cup and in February they donned rainbow jerseys to celebrate Sydney WorldPride, for a friendly against Spain. As for professional men's football, at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022 there were no out gay players.
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