In the first edition of the ‘Pride in our Community’ series, Rise FC’s very own supporters group, the Crow Collective, sat down with Rise FC to discuss why it’s important about celebrating Pride at our upcoming match and what they hope attending fans can take away from it. 

Q: What does the Pride Match mean to the Crows?

CC: It's all about inclusivity for us. We started the Crow Collective, first of all, for the love of soccer. Secondly, to kind of grow support a culture in Vancouver, where we've all been historically members of various supporters groups. Many of us come from the UK or Scotland, and that's our background, and we just love it. 

We want everybody to get excited about women's professional football. But most of us, in fact, are actually queer. We identify as queer. We felt, I think, at various times, that we've been put out of spaces and places where we’ve not felt safe. That's the opposite of the culture that we want to create. So Pride and this Pride match reminds us that it's not just about having a good time and hosting a party. Of course, that's important. But it's also a political act, and it's about making sure that people who aren't seen, who aren't included, get invited to be a part of Crow Collective support, culture and our support for Rise FC. 

Q: What does it mean to the Crows to see and cheer on queer athletes on the pitch?

CC: It's really powerful. We know that there are queer male athletes that exist, but unfortunately, because of the male soccer culture, it’s incredibly difficult for those guys to come out. There is so much toxic masculinity and hatred online in that sphere, so the risks are real for people. We know being queer is just one piece of who you are as a person. But for some people, it's like it's everything you know, and it makes you feel really exposed to be out. But we also know that representation matters, that you cannot be what you can't see. 

So having women athletes performing at this level, elite football players, like it just inspires not only the next group of women and young girls, but also for trans and non-binary kids coming forward. To have representation and have an athlete like Quinn be there on the pitch and saying ‘this is who I am, I make no apologies and I’ll just show up on the field’, is incredible. They do their magic and people are absolutely spellbound by it, and then they have no questions about who they might be. It gets beyond labels, and it allows people to just be into football and enjoy it.

Q: What are you hoping fans can take away from the Pride Match?

CC: That visibility matters. A lot of times when you have, like, queer stories being told, it's like TV or movies. And a lot of times it gets focused on the romance side of it. where you don't just get to see queer people just being normal. And I think that's the most powerful thing, because when you focus on the romance side of it, you get the other kind of people that maybe are against it. 

But when you see people just being normal and doing normal people things, it brings a level of normalization to it. So having representation in a scenario where it's not focused on those themes is really powerful because it's like it humanizes more. It's even more important to create those spaces that feel safe and where people feel like they can be authentically themselves. And it's not just about acceptance, so it's about embracing it and celebrating what's unique and special and different about all of us.

Q: What about what they can take away from the Crows?

For us, our intention really is to invite others to come and join the party! To get on board, to see us and think ‘oh, okay, that looks fun, I want to go over to the south side of the field and be a part of what's going on over there’. And so that's doing things like getting young voices and kids on the microphone and singing our chants, and drawing people in who might otherwise be left out and move them to the front and get them involved. 

At the end of the day, it's all about love, really. It's all about love. It's all about loving the game. It's about loving the players. It's about loving the soccer culture. It's about loving being outside, being at Swangard, our incredible stadium. It's about looking up at the mountains and knowing that there's an ancient place that we're privileged to live, work and play on and thinking that all the Indigenous people are the stewards of this land. It's about it all, isn't it? It's about everything. And that's what we want to celebrate every time we come.