When I started playing, there were no teams and no structure, so I had to play with the boys. I get very emotional when I think about the humiliation that I've suffered playing football.
Interpretation
Marta reflects on her challenging experiences in football and the emotional impact of playing in a male-dominated environment.
Marta's quote highlights the difficulties she faced as a female football player in a time when women's sports lacked the structure and support that male counterparts enjoyed. She expresses a deep emotional connection to her experiences, acknowledging both the challenges and humiliation she endured in pursuing her passion in a male-dominated sport, which sheds light on the broader issues of gender inequality in athletics.
In practice
During a sports seminar, I shared the quote to inspire young female athletes.
Some boys accepted me, some didn't. And my family had comments made to them. Brazil is still a very macho society, and sports are mainly for boys, so people would say to them: 'What is this girl doing? Why is she always out there in the soccer games with the boys?'
I didn't know there was such a thing as professional soccer, but I knew that Brazil had a women's team that competed against other countries, and I wanted to be on that team.
You have to know what club you are playing for, or you just play for yourself. Every time I put on a Liverpool shirt, I know it is more than just a football game.
I'm always amazed when a pitcher becomes angry at a hitter for hitting a home run off him. When I strike out, I don't get angry at the pitcher, I get angry at myself. I would think that if a pitcher threw up a home run ball, he should be angry at himself.
I have loved football as an almost mythic game since I was in the fourth grade. To me, the game wasn't even grounded in reality. The uniform turned you into a warrior. Being on a team, the mythology of physical combat, the struggle against the elements, the narrative of the game.
Close don't count in baseball. Close only counts in horseshoes and grenades.
I think permitting the game to become too physical takes away a little bit of the beauty.
Blink and you miss a sprint. The 10,000 meters is lap after lap of waiting. Theatrically, the mile is just the right length: beginning, middle, end, a story unfolding.
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