A Quick Story from Last Night

Courtesy Racing Louisville

Courtesy Racing Louisville

Addison Merrick and Katie McClure were teammates on Kansas University's Women's Soccer Team prior to joining Racing Louisville for its Inaugural season. In 2019 Kansas won the Big 12 Tournament and qualified for the NCAA tournament. During their time at Kansas they developed a few dedicated fans.

At last night's game, there was a family of 5 in my section that traveled all the way from Kansas to see Addisyn and Katie in Racing kits. Although the family is KC fans, they were decked out in full Racing gear last night with all 3 of the children wearing Racing home jerseys, two of them customized for Merrick and McClure. One of the girls had been a mascot (one of the young kids you often see lining up with players in the tunnel and on the field before matches all across the world) at KU and lined up with Katie for one match. The young lady was lucky enough to get to show Katie this old picture and take another to relive the moment. I shouldn't say, lucky because the Racing players are very intentional about interacting with fans after games. Each of the girls got their jerseys signed and got to spend time with Merrick and McClure.

I think it says something about the pull of this sport particularly in this league that you get fans willing to travel such distances. The connections with players start early in their careers and are genuine. I’m sure this wasn't a unique experience, it's just the one I witnessed. I think we should share these little snapshots of Racing and it’s players interacting with the fans, because it shows their commitment to the fans, the city and the city's visitors.