SUNSHINE

fifty-six

Casey, Alex, and Emily landed in Pittsburgh that afternoon, the flight only about two hours. Casey had told Alex about the interview, but she also had no idea what it was about. From what she had gathered from Neil in the email, she was the only one getting interviewed, and she was nervous. Whenever she did interviews, it was usually with some teammates, no matter if it was for club or country. She had never done one alone, and Alex gave her some pointers that would work for any situation. They arrived at the hotel, Neil meeting with her as soon as she walked into the lobby of the hotel.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Radcliffe." He greeted, and she shook his hand. Alex gave her the other roomkey before she went upstairs, taking both of their stuff with her for her. "Are you ready?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so. I don't have to change, do I?" She asked.

"No, you should be fine. If they want you to change, they'll have you change." He told her, and she nodded, leaving the hotel to go with him to wherever they were going. She assumed it would be a Fox studio in the Pittsburgh region, and she was right as they pulled into the parking garage of a large building in downtown Pittsburgh. She got out of the car, getting out and following Neil inside, where they were instantly met by someone from the studio. She shook her hand then followed her to another room, and she sat down in a chair to get her hair done. They left her makeup alone, for it looked good and they did not want to mess with it. They straightened her dark brown hair, adding a little length to her already long hair. After she was given the all clear, she was led through the studio and into a room with bright lights and a few people setting up. The man that requested her smiled when she walked into the room.

"Casey Radcliffe, Rob Stone, very nice to meet you." He greeted with a smile on his face, shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Stone." She answered with a smile of her own.

"Oh Rob is fine, Casey. Come, sit. I bet you're wondering why you're here." He said as the one and only Julie Foudy came into the room, and she felt her legs turn to jello. She sat down in the chair, and it was not like the normal set of FOX Sports. It just seemed like a one on one living room, with two chairs facing each other.

"So, what am I doing here?" She asked with a light tone in her voice.

"We've been wanting to get an interview with you for a while, do a little one-on-one spotlight, and since you're heading to your first World Cup, we figured it would be the best time to do it now." Rob explained to her as Julie sat down in the seat in front of her, and now she was nervous. She sort of froze as she extended her hand out to her, and Casey took it, giving her a firm handshake.

"Nice to meet you." Julie said, and she smiled.

"I'm sorry, I'm just a little star struck right now." Casey responded with a small chuckle.

"Actually, same." She told her truthfully, which caused her jaw to drop.

"Well you two wanna get started? I'm sure you have a lot to talk about." Rob asked, and they both nodded. "Alright, cameras will be rolling, but don't even worry about them. You both look perfect and we'll edit anything we need to." He told them as they got the camera rolling. Julie was the first to say anything, getting things kicked off.

"I am here with twenty-one year old wonder goalkeeper Casey Radcliffe, who is about to embark on a journey to her first FIFA Women's World Cup in the coming weeks. Casey, glad you could come by."

"Thank you for having me, I'm happy to be here."

"So, let's dive right in here. So, you're heading to your first World Cup, one of the only players without any World Cup experience. You just missed the cut for the 2019 World Cup. How did that fuel you to where you are now?"