Breaking the Mold (Alex Morgan x OC)

I love the game. I love the league. I love my team.

"There's 7 Stingers out there. Out of the 7 Stingers that are in the Hall of Fame, they need a scout, an assistant coach, and a head coach, and a commissioner, general manager, and an owner. Today, they get the best. He walks down that stadium, the crowd cheers, the announcer says simply, 'From the Stingers. Al Stevens.' He can't be denied. His dream today, becomes reality. Al Stevens." John says, inducting Al into the Hall of Fame. I would've been over in Texas with some of the girls, and some of the former players from the Stingers, but all of the players who were away for the World Cup didn't have enough time to book accommodation and all of that stuff.

Ellie right now is back up in Calgary, dealing with more family trouble. Turns out, Bruce, Alice and Rachel were leaking lawyers documents to the WWE to strengthen their counter suit against the rest of the family. Her mom, Elizabeth, was doing okay so far which eased Ellie's mind. After our Victory Parade in New York, the two of us were originally going to tag along with Allie and Jeff and go for a trip to Hawaii for a well deserved break, but that fell through unfortunately.

After Al shook hands with John, he stood up to the podium, his red hall of fame jacket on as he cleared his throat, "Thank you, John Miller." He began, "As someone pointed out, John Miller was a brilliant coach. He's a loyal friend, a Stinger. His record is self-explanatory, and it parallels the best in the history of the league. We're all so proud of John. John Miller will take his rightful place in the Hall of Fame in the very near future. We think so much alike that I think he stole my speech. Or at least he took most of it last night."

He then thanked the Hall of Fame selection committee, and continued with his speech, "The enshrinement is a reflection of a life's work, a reflection of a love affair with the greatest game the world has ever known. But this honor is a testament to a great organization and to all the capable people who have poured their talent, enthusiasm, and loyalty into the greatness of the Stingers and the Stingers legend and mystique."

He then went on about how his parents raised him and his brother with strong discipline, hard work, dedication, commitment, loyalty, and respect before going on to thanking them, and his brother. Then he talked about his childhood, how he started to admire the greatest teams in soccer history, and about his dream to someday build and maintain the finest organization in the history of sports, an organization that would be the most imitated, the most respected, and the most feared organization in its field. He shared his long journey, and all of the previous jobs he held throughout different teams and leagues, before heading to Oakland and becoming the Head Coach and General Manager of the Stingers at 33 years old. Eventually, he started to talk about his wife and he thanked her, and his son, Mark, who works on the team as one of our equipment managers.

"Aside from my will to win, my commitment to excellence, the fire that burns brightest in me is the great love and enthusiasm that I had and have for the game of football and for everyone and everything connected with it. I love the game. I love the league. I love my team. But more importantly, I wanted to embellish all of them to agree never surpassed and seldom have ever equaled. I think that I've known every facet of this game, whether from the inside or outside, whether in collaboration or in opposition when it was necessary. I have labored in this vineyard, this cradle, to create for myself a working combination of both discipline and freedom. I shall always believe that great people inspire in others the will to be great. I shall cherish this honor for the rest of my life. I thank you very much."

******

Ellie's POV

"This shit is fucked up," Brian said as we both were sitting in the living room together, "What the fuck is happening with our family?"