U.S. women's national team captain Lindsey Horan opened her speech to reporters by responding to comments she made about American fans' knowledge of soccer in an interview with The Athletic published earlier this month.
“First and foremost, I want to apologize to our fans,” Horan said during a virtual availability ahead of the CONCACAF W Gold Cup. “Some of my comments were poorly expressed and I learned a huge lesson from that.”
In her interview with The Athletic, Horan expressed frustration with how game spectators took comments at face value, before joking that her mother did this while watching USWNT games. On Thursday, she took the time to provide fans with clarity and express her appreciation.
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Lindsey Horan just wants to talk about football
“When I think about our fans, I love them so much. The team loves them so much and I can't express how much they mean to us. Every time we go out and practice, every time we go out and play in games, you know we are playing for you,” Horan said. “You are our inspiration, our motivation, and to see you wearing our jerseys, screaming our names and chanting “USA,” that’s what we play for, and I never wanted to take that away.
“In addition, the soccer culture in America is changing and growing in a very positive way. For me, it's just incredible to experience this first hand, playing for the US Women's National Team, but also in the NWSL and for the Portland Thorns. It is a great honor for me, and I will always say this, to be able to wear this coat of arms every day. To be in this environment, to play in front of our fans and to represent this national team, that's something – and again, it's my greatest honor. …The last thing I ever wanted to do was offend someone like that. So I apologize deeply once again.”
When Horan was asked to explain what she wanted to convey with her original comments, she responded that she didn't think “what I meant really matters right now.” She said she was simply a “soccer brain” who loved watching as much soccer as possible.
“I love talking about it and how people talk about Man City, Arsenal and the old Barcelona,” she said. “That’s what I want people to say about us. I want people to talk about how incredible we are with the ball, possession, style of play, technical ability, tactical changes during the game and things like that.”
Horan said she apologized for her feelings and wanted to “express how much the fans mean to me personally.”
Regarding the upcoming tournament – the inaugural W Gold Cup – Horan joked that the goal is “the trophy.”
On a more serious note, she said that the team's main goal was to win, but that it was also a perfect preparation for the Olympics due to the tournament format and scheduling. “What we do here can really train us and prepare us mentally for what we might have to deal with in France,” she said. “We're taking each game one at a time and getting better as the tournament goes on, and we're now just improving what we try to do and how we play.”
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Horan emphasized multiple times that she believes every player on the roster needs to be used during the Gold Cup, giving some players tournament minutes and more on-field time – and that the USWNT needs to share that on-field time leading up to the Olympics .
“It’s not just the new guys, it’s all of us,” she said. “We all move forward together and remain a team. Everyone has to agree before the Olympics, but first of all the first game here at the Gold Cup.”
(Photo: Brennan Asplen, Getty Images)