A Quick Chat with Players at the Armory Kick-Off

On Saturday, February 17, 2024, The Armory and STL CITY SC hosted a kick-off event for the upcoming season. It was a massive event with giveaways from sponsors, a celebration of the new away kit, representation from the various supporters groups, an area for kids to play soccer through City Futures, comments from Diego Gigliani, Bradley Carnell, Captain Roman Bürki & Vice-Captain Tim Parker, and much, much more.

After the official event had concluded, some lucky fans were able to go to the autograph tables, where the whole CITY team was available to sign, as well as staff such as Coach Carnell and Sporting Director Lutz Pfannenstiel. I had a chance to talk to the players during the autograph signing, and ask a few questions.

Indiana Vassilev and Célio Pompeu were sitting next to each other in the autograph lines. They had comically switched their name tags so Célio's was in front of Indy, and vice versa. I wished Indiana a happy birthday and asked how he spent his day. He beamed, put an arm around Célio, and said he had spent time with "this guy!" Both were laughing and seeming to have a great time while interacting with the fans, reflecting the excitement everyone at the Kick-Off had for the upcoming season.

 As we all know, STL CITY SC is not just another sports team: it's the only women majority-owned team in MLS, and one of very few women-owned men's teams in professional sports. To celebrate this fact, I've decided to make it a point this season to highlight the top 3 women in sports our players, staff, and others involved in STL CITY SC admire. 

I had some time to speak to Vice-Captain Tim Parker. When asked who were his top 3 women in sport he admired, Parker first listed off tennis mega-star Serena Williams. His second pick was champion swimmer Katie Ledecky, and his last was STL CTIY SC's owner, Carolyn Kindle. 

Kyle Hiebert, who was next to Tim, went with two phenomenal women in USA Soccer for his first two picks: Carli Lloyd and Mia Hamm. His last pick was Danica Patrick from NASCAR - although he made it clear that he was not a NASCAR fan!

    by Annamaria Lu