While I was flying...
What an interesting morning to be jet-lagged and trans!
Progress update: I’m writing to you from my second train of the day, on my way to the first match of the trip. I missed what should have been my second train due to some chaotic last minute changes I made to my schedule and a slight delay, so I got to spend about an hour in Stoke on my way. I was tickled in London to find myself on one of the underground trains that doesn’t have doors between cars. Instead you can see all the way to either end, but due to the repeated structure of many cars linked together, it appears almost like a funhouse mirror illusion. I didn’t get a picture or video, but hopefully it’s not my last one of the trip.
A lot happened while I was in the air. I was going to wait until I had at least one match under my belt before I sent another newsletter, but I need to tell you about some things that happened while I was flying.
On one side of the coin, the ugly side, there was an unfortunate Supreme Court verdict in the country in which I’m currently traveling which ruled that legally trans women are not women. This is terrible on so many levels, and I won’t really go into it, because I suspect I’ll be preaching to the choir. But if you’re curious what this ruling means, there’s more in this article. (If anyone does not believe that trans women are women, and is subscribed to my newsletter, I’d be curious to hear why. Why they are subscribed, that is. I don’t really care to hear why they’re a bigot.)
Of course, this court battle was funded by the Terf Wizard herself, J.K. Rowling. Her commitment to this cause will never cease to be a painful disappointment to me. I grew up loving her books and try as I might to just write her and her books off, just forget about it entirely, I can’t stop hating her for what she’s done, said, and become.
On the side of the coin, the amazing side, we had history happen as the Canadian Northern Super League had their first match. I can't watch it because even my VPN isn't fooling ESPN+, but I've found clips and read through the match report.
Apparently the Canadian WoSo discord was in full reverie for the occasion and, from a friend who was in attendance, it sounds like the league kicked off with plenty of well-deserved fanfare.
I’m not going to unpack the whole league and what good news its successful inauguration is, that’s too much for now. But I have to take a moment to delve into the match, which was won by a goal to nil and what it means to me. The only goal of the match, the first goal of the NSL was a penalty in the 22 minute. And it was scored by Quinn.
If you aren't familiar, Quinn is a trans nonbinary footballer, a long-time Canadian national team member, the reason why they are styled as “CANXNT” instead of “CANWNT”, and an incredible advocate for trans people in sports. Prior to this very predictable move, they spent almost their entire career with Seattle Reign FC just south of their new Cascadian team. At Seattle Reign FC, they were an integral part of the team, but often overshadowed by stars like Megan Rapinoe and other USWNT players.
I loved their move to Vancouver for a few reasons. First, I love any opportunity for trans people to get out to the US right now, but especially a trans athlete. Second, Vancouver seems to be building this team around Quinn. No longer is Quinn a supporting cast member, now they are the well-deserved star and a veteran leader. Third, the team is co-owned by the Canadian great Christine Sinclair, who spent her whole NWSL career with Portland Thorns, most bitter rivals of the Reign. I like the idea of this Cascadian rivalry duo moving up north together to create a third, great Cascadian team. It tickles me from a lore perspective. I hope they eventually can arrange for some cross-border matches between all three teams. Lastly, I can’t help but notice that the NSL doesn’t contain “Women” or some other gender qualifier in the name. All the other major football leagues for non-men have “Women” or “Female” in the league name (allowing for my poor translation), but not the NSL, something that I have to imagine is no accident.
When the transfer window opened in November, at the end of the NWSL season, I honestly assumed Quinn would announce they were going to Vancouver immediately, it seemed like a total no brainer. I expected they would announce Quinn as their first signing. But it wasn't announced until January, 4 days before Trump's inauguration, and after a number of other players had been announced. I believe I posted something on Bluesky to the effect of “it's about time.”
Since then, though, Quinn has been the central spoke in the wheels of much of the league’s and team’s promotion. In most imagery from the team, Quinn is centered or highlighted, and from the league as well. If a picture calls for one player from each team, Quinn will be the player representing Vancouver. This means a lot to me. The fact that, in a time when trans athletes are particularly under fire, Vancouver and the NSL are confidently and clearly centering a trans athlete means a lot. It's a type of representation that doesn't feel tokenizing or half-baked.
Which brings us to last night's match, in which Vancouver was awarded a penalty, and Quinn stepped up to take it. For context, Quinn is a defensive midfielder. They are not a goal scorer, historically. Their last, and only, goal in their club career came in 2023 with the Reign. They have scored 6 goals for Canada in a decade of matches. But at Vancouver, they and the club have the confidence in Quinn’s ability, and leadership, to step up in that kind of moment. To possibly score the first goal ever in the league. That's a lot of pressure.
And they did just that. Quinn set the ball on the spot and put it coolly in the bottom right corner, sending the keeper the wrong way in the process, and writing their name in the history books. The first goal scored in the new Canadian league was scored by a trans person.
When so much negative news around trans people clogs my feed, this feels like a bright spot vibrant enough to chase away the doom and gloom, even if only for a moment.