Roanoke Star player Grace Baldridge is attending the World Cup 2010 in South Africa by virtue of entering her name in a contest and winning the trip.
“We were at the Adidas store in New York City looking for a soccer jersey for my brother, John. We could not find his size, but we saw a contest where you could enter your name to be a flag bearer at a World Cup game. My sister and I entered and we got a call about a month ago that my name was drawn,” explains Grace.
Grace will be spending three days in Johannesburg with Adidas. She will be having dinner with the Adidas representatives, a practice for the game, and then will be carrying the FIFA banner onto the field before the US vs. Slovenia game on Friday June 18th at 10:00 a.m. ET on ESPN. After that, she will be touring South Africa with her father which will include visiting Cape Town and going on a safari.
Grace has been playing soccer most of her life and this will be her second year with Roanoke Star. She is not only a player but a true soccer fan. Grace will be supporting her country in their quest to win the World Cup but she is also a supporter of the world renowned Chelsea Football Club.
The players that she enjoys watching are Jonathan Spector, Tim Howard, and Landon Donovan. Grace says that the biggest thing that she will be looking forward to is walking onto the World Cup Field in a FIFA jersey. Also, she hopes to meet some of the United States’ players.
Grace already thinks she knows the outcome of the game as she says, “I think the US will win 2-1.” This will not be the first World Cup game that she has attended. Grace went to the Women’s World Cup in Landover, Maryland in 1999. The US team beat Germany 3-2 and went on to win the World Cup that year. If you’re reading this before June 18th,
Tune in to the United States game June 18th and watch Grace carry the FIFA banner!
