Home—That’s how Christen Press described her reaction on social media after seeing Angel City FC’s performance center. Indeed, the perfect word to capture her joy at finally training in one of the top facilities in NWSL. But beyond her excitement lies a deeper, more ‘profound‘ message, connecting to her teammate Ali Riley’s heartbreaking story of losing her home in the LA wildfires.
There’s no place like home, they say. Similar is the feeling for Press and her teammates the moment they cut the ribbon at California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks. “I’ve been completely overwhelmed with joy,” began the forward in the latest episode of the Re—Inc podcast. “Because we got to see our Angel City brand-new training facility for the very first time. It brought up a lot of feelings.”
But with joy, this moment also carried a deeper emotional weight that she was able to embrace. “Ali Riley, one of my teammates. She lost her family home in the fire. And on the very first day, she spoke about the importance of a house. It was really profound because we were standing in our new house, our new workhouse.”
Beyond the excitement of working with each other in their new playground, Press and her teammates were able to discover both joy and deep emotion. Of course, their new space symbolized growth and stability. However, Riley’s loss of her family home in the tragic LA incident adds an extra poignant contrast. The defender’s words about the importance of the house must have made that particular moment even more meaningful.
The post Christen Press Recalls Emotional Angel City Revelation, Days After Teammate’s Tragic LA Wildfires Loss: “Completely Overwhelmed” appeared first on EssentiallySports.
