It's Our Secret

Chapter 11 - Exclusives

The next day we ended up doing a media day for the Lionesses. It was mostly videos, rather than photos, as we had already taken our squad pictures earlier in the year. The videos are meant to be for PR purposes, as to draw in fans and viewers, which is a good thing, as to grow the game of women's football in England.

I was told earlier that Keira and I would be doing an exclusive interview, talking about what it was like growing up and playing football as twins, and quizzing each other in between. Due to Keira and my unique story, we gained quite a bit of attention when Keira debuted for the Lionesses as we were both on the pitch at the same time. We weren't the first sisters to do this, but first twins, which was an amazing experience for both of us.

As we sat in front of the camera, I was slightly nervous, but knew I had to do it. It was part of the job. Keira looked at me, and gave me a slight smile, as to make sure I was alright. I smiled back, and with that, we were ready to record.

"Hey, I'm Keira Walsh."
"And I'm Ettie Walsh, and this is our story."

The first question we had to answer was about what it was like growing up playing youth football together.

"I think that, at least for us, we knew of nothing else. I grew up playing football with Ettie and so, we never knew anything different," Keira said first.
"Yeah, I agree. I mean, growing up, we did everything together and football was nothing different. Keira roped me into playing, and we both just loved it."

We then had a quiz question, and I asked Keira first.

"How old was I when I debuted for England?" I asked her, smiling, knowing she has a shocking memory.
"Uh," she said, trying to rack her brain, "we were still in school, so either 17 or 18. I think we were still 17." She looked at me, hoping it was correct.
"That is correct."
"Yes!" Keira said, proud of herself.

The next question was whether football has made us closer.

"I think most twins are similar to us. You sort of have this telepathic bond and connection, and Keira is my person, you know? So, football didn't necessarily make us closer, because we were always close and always going to be close, but being able to experience this life with Keira, and representing our club and our country, with her, is something neither of us will ever be able to even articulate."
"Totally agree. Representing your country, for starters, is an amazing achievement, but being able to do it with my twin, and as Ett said, my person, is just even more amazing. Also, growing up and spending so much time together between home, practice and school, meant we had this connection that no one could falter, in a sense."

Keira then asked me a quiz question.

"When was I first called up for the English senior squad?" As she said this, I knew the answer right away.
"Do you want month and year? Or just year?"
"The more detail the better," Keira replied, laughing.
"November 2017," I said, confidently, "because I remember your debut so clearly."
"If you didn't know," Keira said, into the camera, "Ett has the best memory. She remembers everything and I remember nothing."
"That means we work well together," I added in, laughing.
"That we do."

The next question was how do we feel now that we play for different clubs.

"I know that Ettie put a lot of thought into her decision and obviously I only want what's best for her, and I really do think that she is a player that can make a difference wherever she is. Definitely one of our strongest players for England and I know, personally, I'd rather have her on my team than not, but now that she isn't, I just savour every moment we get to play together here for England."
"Um, yeah, obviously Keira was a huge factor in my decision to stay with Manchester for so long, and I love playing with her, and respect her so much as a player and as my sister. So, when I did decide to finally take that step, it was very hard for both of us. We both didn't know what it would be like to play without each other, so it was a challenge in that aspect. But, as Kie just said, it means that playing together for England is just that bit more special."