PULLMAN, Wash. — Waving Ol' Crimson on College GameDay is certainly an honor and this past weekend the person bestowed with the opportunity was none other than former Washington State University soccer standout and current Portland Thorns player Morgan Weaver.
"It was so fun. It was so exciting. It was really hard to wake up in the morning. I did not want to get up," she said with a laugh.
The early alarm was definitely worth it for Weaver.
"I loved it. It was great exposure. Everyone gets to see where I get to play with the Portland Thorns so that was really exciting, and I got to rep Washington State more, because why wouldn’t I want to?" said Weaver.
The Morgan Weaver repping continued throughout the day, as WSU football head coach Nick Rolovich wore her jersey throughout practice.
"He’s also not just supporting me but women’s soccer, especially at Washington State, because I think women’s soccer has been on the rise completely," said Morgan on what Rolovich wearing her jersey meant to her. "He’s showing people that they need to get into other sports and not just the football team."
So when a Huskies football fan decided to talk a little smack and throw some shade on the moment, Morgan decided to stand up for herself and thousands of other women.
"I just was thinking that this is a great thing that our football coach has done. Saying great things about a women’s soccer player, not just me, but anyone out there watching like, ‘Wow, he’s complimenting a different sport. That’s awesome.’ This guy’s wanting to hate on that and that’s not okay! I had to bring him back to reality a little bit," said Weaver.
Morgan’s reality currently is being one of the best soccer players in the world. She just wrapped up her first season with the Portland Thorns in the NWSL and credits WSU’s coaching staff for preparing her for this moment.
"I just bring the Washington State mentality of you’re going to fight, you’re going to grind, you’re going to work as hard as you can no matter what. I think the coaching staff over there did a really good job of that," said Weaver.
Morgan is now solidly one of the faces of WSU athletics. That means a lot to her.
"I mean it’s huge. I love Wazzu. Once you get to be cheering for Wazzu at a game it’s like, ‘Wow.’ It’s truly a community and a family and it’s amazing," said Weaver.