Submitted by Katy

It’s nearly impossible to pick just one fond memory of my involvement with this team. The moment I moved to Pittsburgh (I literally came to practice the same day we unloaded the truck!) I felt this team wrap its arms around me. The first weekend I was here, Lori had me in the kitchen of Ruggers boiling pasta for the social. There have been Angels around ever since, whether I was too pregnant to reach my water bottle on the ground or unable to reach the ceiling when painting my dining room.

I tried thinking of on field memories. I couldn’t choose between biting Lust in the face during touch or her slamming into Big Perm, bouncing off her, and falling down. I tried thinking of post-match memories and got stuck between driving Butter all the way to Pittsburgh to be near her car when the keys were in Buffalo and wrangling my van load of Angels (plus Wilson) on a disastrous trip to a Columbus Wal-Mart. Or is the best one that nearly missed flight from Milwaukee, where Kimmy Sortwell refused to rush, even as the plane was boarding?

So I think I give up choosing my fondest memory. Instead, I’ll wax nostalgia about this team, because it’s meant a lot to me. When I first moved here, the Angels were my anchor during a garish ride through graduate school. Then they kept me sane when I tried to get married, buy a house, and write a book all in the same summer. And then they were there for me through injuries and pregnancy and they were even there to see me trying to walk for the first time post-surgery, flappy hospital gown, granny panties and all.

Rugby has meant the most to me recently, when I haven’t been able to be a part of it but the Angels still made me feel I was. In my darkest moments after giving birth to the highest needs of high needs babies, I had Angels holding him so I could eat dinner with two hands or making me food or running errands for me or even giving me the precious and desperately needed gift of sleep.

The team heads now to Houston to fight for a national championship. I know I said this already, but this journey means more than just 23 girls on a road trip. This team is intricately woven into the lives of its players. When these girls take the field, they do it for themselves, but they also represent every Angel who ever took the field for Pittsburgh and every Angel who hasn’t done it yet. And back home, there is a huge community supporting them as they have supported us, not just as athletes but as complete people. How could I not look on such a group with fondness? It is no accident that this team has the nickname Angels. As you take the pitch next weekend, I’ll be back here with my fish bell, ringing my heart out (Miles likes loud noises) to give you wings!