The Beginning by Julie Wicher, Sirens Half Back Perspectives Editorial Volume 1, Issue 1 August 27, 2002 At 6:00 p.m. on a typical Tuesday or Thursday evening, most working class women are punching out on the clock or stuck in rush hour traffic. Stay at home mom's are preparing dinner, washing dishes and doing laundry. Still others are working out at the gym or socializing over a margarita at happy hour. Not so typical are the women who are putting on shoulder pads, helmets and mouthguards. These are the women of professional football, and I am proud to say I am one of them. We are the Sacramento Sirens, and out on the field are the working class women, the stay at home moms, the gym goers and happy-hour socializers. At first, the thought of playing women's tackle football seemed crazy. "How serious are the people out there," I thought to myself. "Will this be a waste of time and how serious will people take us?" Unless you were a returning player from the previous season (the Sacramento Sirens played their inaugural season in 2001), more than likely you had never played organized tackle football before. There were some that had played rugby or flag football. I had actually played tackle football in 7th grade (on the jr. high boys team), but at that age we were still all the same size and the killer instinct had not quite sunk in. It only took me one practice to realize what an opportunity I had before me. Every single person out there was out to succeed, from the owners to the coaches to the players. Those that could not make the commitment or had no drive did not last. Those of us that know what a great group of women are out there, that realize what an amazing opportunity we have, that can imagine the future possibilities and are willing to make sacrifices; we are the ones out on that field at 6:00 p.m.     Back