When Orlando City fan and Seminole State College student Catherine Salamone turned on the World Cup this summer, she was inspired.
Seeing the Lions’ own Yoshimar Yotún representing Orlando on the world stage prompted her to enter the Orlando City Scholarship presented by Seminole State College after seeing the contest on the Seminole State Facebook page.
For the contest, entrants had to submit an essay on the significance of Major League Soccer and why Orlando is such a great soccer city.
A panel of judges selected Salamone, who is a nursing student, as the winner and
she’ll enjoy a year of free education at Seminole State College. Her hope is to one-day work at Winnie Palmer Hospital when she graduates in the spring of 2020.
“Seminole State has been a huge help”, said Salamone. “They’ve given me a lot of opportunities. It would be a struggle to do this without the scholarship, so it’s a huge help.”
You can read the winning essay below:
Soccer is the most popular sport across the globe. While other sports, such as American
Football, are played predominantly in one country, soccer is played worldwide, making it the
most consistently played sport around the world. Soccer brings the world together every four
years to connect through the FIFA World Cup. Major League Soccer specifically brings the
United States together every year to connect with each other from all over the country. Major
League Soccer has a huge significance in the World’s game. In 2018 alone, nineteen players
from Major League Soccer played on international World Cup teams. For example, Los Angeles
Football Club (LAFC) forward, Carlos Vela, played on the Mexico National Soccer Team
representing in the World Cup this year. Furthermore, the Costa Rica National Soccer Team
recruited six active Major League Soccer players, including team captains Francisco Calvo and
Kendall Waston. In fact, Orlando City Soccer Club’s own midfielder, Yoshi Yotun and defender,
Amro Tarek were recruited to play in this year’s FIFA World Cup for Peru and Egypt,
respectively. Conversely, players from all over the world are recruited to play on Major League
Soccer teams for the United States. The United States has a very diverse population consisting
of many people from all around the world. Therefore, these diverse players are positioned to
play for Major League Soccer teams because they are citizens and live in the United States.
Major League Soccer is so important because it allows teamwork and alliances to be built
and/or strengthened with countries around the world through a friendly game of sports, not
only through the game itself, but through the players as well.
Orlando is definitely an amazing soccer city. Orlando is located at a very central
destination between North and South America, allowing for an incredibly diverse population
and community. There is much to do in the City Beautiful. For example, many renowned theme
parks, such as Walt Disney World and Universal Studios are located in Orlando. This brings in an
abundance of tourism every year, 68 million tourists a year to be exact, according to the
Orlando Sentinel. Therefore, not only do United States citizens know about Orlando and what it
has to offer, but many people from all around the world do as well. Orlando is also a hotspot
for beautiful weather. Year round, Orlando has an average high of around 78 degrees
Fahrenheit and an average low of 62 degrees Fahrenheit. This not only makes Orlando an ideal
city to play soccer, but for the fans to sit in a stadium and watch it being played as well.
Furthermore, Orlando is a great soccer city because of its’ fans. Orlando natives are a very
outgoing and energetic crowd. An Orlando City Soccer match is not complete without its’
supporter section of excited and proud fans cheering at the top of their lungs. The stadium is
always in an uproar with every goal scored by the Lions, as the cannons shoot out purple
smoke. The fans make the soccer team and in Orlando City Soccer’s case, they do an incredible
job. Lastly, Orlando is a great soccer city because it is very inclusive. Orlando is a city that takes
cares of its’ people. For example, when disaster happens, the Orlando community comes
together to help one another out or to mourn together and support each other through these
tough times. One example of this would be the Pulse shooting that occurred in June 2016.
Orlando Health hospital took in all of the victims of the Pulse shooting and cared for them at no
charge to the families or victims. Blood donation centers all across Orlando such as OneBlood,
came together to work harder and collect the needed blood for the Pulse shooting victims.
Lastly, citizens came together to help those in their community that needed it the most by
going out of their way to donate their blood to the victims that immediately needed it. Every
year, a memorial is done in honor of the victims of the Pulse shooting. This is a time when the
entire Orlando community comes together to mourn for those innocent lives lost. Overall,
Orlando is a very loving, accepting, and proud city. This is what makes the greatest soccer city
and this is why we are called the Orlando Pride.
