When Andrea Martinez tested out for a spot on a Mexican college football team as an extra point kicker, she wasn’t entirely sure what she was getting herself into.
She speculated that perhaps it was a role on a women’s team, or at the very least, that there would be other female athletes on the roster. However, once she was selected for the position, Andrea Martinez was informed that she would make history by becoming the first woman to compete in college football against men in the highest level of amateur competition in the country.
Andrea Martinez said in an interview with the Associated Press that she did not initially completely comprehend that she was going to be the first woman in the position. “At first one did not dimension it properly since I did not even fully understand that I was going to be the first woman,” Andrea Martinez said. “I was under the impression that there would be a women’s team or at least a larger number of female participants.”
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Since she was 12 years old, Marta Martinez, who is currently a law student at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), has been playing soccer. She went through the process of trying out to play professionally in the Liga Femenil MX, but she was not selected.
She kept playing soccer at her school up until a few months ago, when the UNAM football team, the Pumas CU, made the decision to organize auditions for a place-kicker.
“My choice was to participate in a sport that I had never done before. Nothing else, just an exploratory mission to find out what the whole affair was about “Martínez said. “When I found out that I had been chosen as the female for the role, I was overjoyed,” you might say.
The 21-year-old Martinez stated that prior to playing football, she did not watch a lot of NFL games, but the fact that her brother was a fan of the sport was helpful.
As interest in the American sport continues to grow in Mexico, she is one of the many Mexicans who has begun to refer to football by its American name, football. The Mexican administration of the National Football League estimates that there are approximately 48 million football supporters in the country.
There have been multiple women in the United States who have competed on male sports teams as place-kickers. In 1997, while playing for the Willamette Bearcats in the NAIA, Liz Heaston was the first person to accomplish this feat. In 2001, while playing for Jacksonville State, Ashley Martin was the first person to score in a game that was being played at the NCAA Division 1 level.
Although Martinez has her own locker room, she participates in all of the other team activities with the male members of the squad.
“Coexistence is conducted in the same manner as with females. But the way that we interact with one another, the way that we joke around with one another, the way that we encourage one another, and the way that we live together are all the same “Martínez stated. “Not only in the weight room, but also out here on the playing field, I’ve had plenty of time to get to know the other players, so we get along swimmingly. My family tree currently has 67 more siblings than that.”
Since Martinez joined the team, he has participated in around 80 interviews. Her image has been published in the most widely circulated publications in the nation, and she has even landed spots on national television, something that Mexican college football players do not often achieve.
Martnez has become a symbol of women’s emancipation in a country that is perceived to be behind in matters relating to inclusiveness, despite the fact that this was not her intention. It should come as no surprise that a lot of girls ask to take a picture with her before and after the events.
“There are little girls and boys that come up to me and ask me for a photo or come up and say very kind words to me,” Martinez added. “There are also tiny girls and boys who come and ask me for a photo.” “Being able to recognize that, perhaps I’m influencing them a little bit, is the most wonderful thing I’ve ever felt. It’s the most gratifying thing I’ve ever felt.”
Perhaps also by accident, Martnez’s narrative is playing a role in increasing the number of people in Mexico who follow the National Football League.
Al Guido, the president of the San Francisco 49ers, recently stated in an interview with local media that going to play a regular season game next November is part of a larger campaign to win over supporters across the country.
Guido remarked of soccer, “We don’t want them to leave their ball behind.” “We want them to throw ours as well, with our branding on the chest.”
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