Mother’s Day weekend started off normally enough for the USWNT. The demands of their profession kept them away from their families, a regular but no less unfortunate occurrence for a group of professional athletes. They partook in a collective well wishing video, courtesy of the U.S. Soccer, which would be uploaded to YouTube and sent around the world, but the universality of that still lacked any real pay off.
But again, these women are professionals, and their mothers all understand that their daughters couldn’t be with them because they are preparing for the greatest honor afforded to an athlete: representing their country.
So, the women of the USWNT went about their business with knowing that this was just another holiday that had to take a backseat to chasing their dreams.
Little did they know of the surprise that awaited them Saturday night.
Fox Sports, the broadcaster of the 2015 Women’s World Cup, had paid for every single one of the USWNT’s mothers to be flown out and eat dinner with the team the Saturday night before Mother’s day.
And they even got to watch their daughters play against Ireland the day after.
High fives all around! Great to have all the #USWNT players' moms here for today's match! #HappyMothersDay #USAvIRL http://t.co/ftpfFjKXg7
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) May 10, 2015
What a way to start off the Send-Off Series.