IWFL World Championship: Playing with Passion

In my heart, I had hoped this piece would be about the Houston Energy’s glorious victory over the Pittsburgh Passion in the Independent Women’s Football League World Championship. Unfortunately, as they say, “on any given Sunday” – or in our case Saturday – any team can beat any other team. In this case, the Passion defeated the Energy, and as an athlete, I admire the way they played that game. The Passion truly played up to their name that night and showed why they had the perfect season. They truly left it all on the field.

Football is about capitalizing on opportunities and creating momentum. When in the position to, the Passion put points on the board, and when they had the opportunity to, they boldly pushed for more. Unfortunately, having been on the opposing side of the ball, it felt as though when one thing went wrong, it wasn’t isolated, and eventually it snow-balled, and we never recovered.

I personally felt opportunities slip right through my fingers in a series of almosts. I almost recovered the ball after forcing the opposing quarterback to fumble. I almost recovered both of the Passion’s onside kick attempts. Unfortunately, in football, almost means I did not. I did not recover the fumble, and I did not recover the onside kicks.

It would have been easy to give in to that frustration and give up on the game, give up on myself and give up on my team. I could have easily stopped fighting. However, though I know it was not my best game, and it certainly was not the game I had hoped I would play, what I am most proud of is that I never gave up. Even when the game was out of reach, I continued to fight.

I admit I have been sick to my stomach for the past few days. I have lost sleep replaying my game in my mind, thinking if I would have just recovered one of those balls, if I had just capitalized on one of those mistakes, the momentum would have gone in our favor. Unfortunately, the past is past, and I cannot change it. All I can do now is look at the game and find value even in defeat.

The thing I admire the most about that game is how the Pittsburgh Passion went after the win. From start to finish they attacked. They followed their game plan, and they aggressively pushed us. As they pushed, we made mistakes, and they capitalized. Honestly, the Passion forced us to play their game, and, unfortunately, we were on our heels all night. We never fully recovered, and we never really got into our own rhythm.
Ultimately, I am proud of my team the Houston Energy. It was a great season with an unfortunate ending. With regards to this game, my helmet is off to Pittsburgh, you truly played with Passion.

Dr. Jen Welter earned a master’s degree in sports psychology and a doctorate in psychology from Capella University. A women’s professional football for 13 seasons, she currently is a member of the Texas Revolution, a male professional indoor football league. A four-time league champion with the Women’s Football Alliance’s Dallas Diamonds, Welter played for the 2010 and 2013 U.S. Women’s National Team at the IFAF Women’s World Championship, helping the Unites States earn a pair of gold medals. You can follow her on Twitter @jwelter47.