The dragon among us

Understating Jess Fishlock's power would be easy. No essay can contain all of her greatness on and off the field. There are innumerous legends regarding her influence on the culture and soccer in our region and in Wales.

She's the dragon, not master and ruler but divine – a queen.

Sitting across the table from Fishlock for nearly three hours one cold evening at The Berliner for an edition of SonarFeed, she told so many tales. What was supposed to a 60 minute interview resulted in that multi-hour enthrallment.

Three moments from that interview stick with me;

When with Melbourne, in leg one of the final, she hurt her knee. It was one of those injuries where trainers and staff insisted she would not be able to play. There was no official treatment plan. Jess played in leg two, helping her side win the title. Her personal treatment plan was whisky and walks on the beach. The sand helped the physical body while the drink helped her soul.
Fishlock has a lot of tattoos. Looking over during a break I asked her if I could bring up one on the air – it's one that has particular meaning about her journey coming out. She spoke fiercely and proudly about the need to help others feel comfortable sharing who they are. Her words of love and acceptance still resonate even if I don't remember their specificity.
We often ate during the show while other hosts maintained the conversation. I hung on every word. Her eloquence and charisma prevented me from thinking about food. I couldn't stand not listening, as if under her spell.

Years later I was blessed to work with the Reign during their first year in Cheney Stadium. Celebrating Pride for two months with Reign players meant getting to work with Jess on a video, social and blog project.

Once again I was under her spell, a spell of love and acceptance. Her themes are consistent – love is love, be yourself always, be accepting, be open, be filled with joy. Soccer gave her the platform. She chose to push that platform higher. She didn't need to shout or raise her voice.

We should all look in awe, because her stance is one of justice and righteousness.

If the only thing I did with Reign for that year was amplify Fishlock and the other players during two months of Pride it would be enough.

Fishlock means a lot on the field. She's been a dominant 6 and a dominant 10. She has the titles and individual honors that are rare among even the greatest players. Her honors section is full, even without a magical run in her final year.

But the Member of the Order of the British Empire, her art and her glow, those are for her influence far beyond the field. Her outward love is a divine.

Small and fierce, Fishlock will always be our dragon.

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Next match: Sunday hosting Orlando Pride at 2:00 pm PST on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.
Reign make the playoffs with a win OR a draw and a North Carolina loss OR a draw in North Carolina v. Denver. All matches kickoff concurrently with a wraparound show on ESPN2.