The following is part of a weekly series in which writer Todd Civin presents the lighter side of the Boston Breakers of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS). The league is built based on the down-to-earth nature and approachability of its athletes. “Getting Silly with the Breakers” is a fun-filled way to create a comfortable bond between the fans and the professional athletes who are the Boston Breakers.
A special thanks to Erica Hunt, the communications director for the team, as well as the players themselves for making this approach possible.
For those who have followed the ongoing series entitled, Getting Silly…I assume you have noticed my frequent attempts at humor as a vehicle to break down the professional athletes from the Boston Breakers.
In each episode I’ve tried to use my relatively dry sense of humor to get playful with the ladies from the WPS who make Harvard Stadium their home. My goal has been to pick on a character trait of each player and poke a little fun, strike a nerve, pick a scab. So, when I wrote about Alex Scott who hails from Britain, I, of course, used the Monty Python motif, and when sharing an interview with Kasey Moore who went to school in Texas, I predictably went with the cowgirl spoof.
In each case, the athlete being featured played back with me but ultimately became victim to be sense of sarcasm and buckled under the pressure of my Gitmo-like interview techniques.
And then I met Alli Lipsher, goal keeper for the Breakers. Born and raised in Honolulu, Lipsher needed to wade through an array of hula girl, Don Ho, Hawaii-5-0 and more. Since this is a family show I did stop short of any jokes containing the word lei.
Well if I can dish it out, I gotta be able to take it and to my surprise Lipsher matched me barb for barb and jab for jab like one of Vince McMahon’s Diva’s from the WWE. Every time I threw an uppercut, Lipsher ducked. Each time I threw a roundhouse, Lipsher got me in a sleeper hold.
I’m not sure if it is due to all the time she spends by her lonesome as keeper for the Breakers or her passion for mowing grass skirts, but Lipsher had me at Aloha, while spewing pineapple juice out my nose with each of her pithy answers.
So sit back, put down your ukelele and enjoy Alli Lipsher, the subject of this week’s Getting Silly with The Breakers’ interview.
Todd Civin: You were born and raised in Hawaii, can you hula?
Ali Lipsher: Not even a little bit, but I did ride dolphins to school and we just got flushing toilets in our huts.
TC: Have you ever been to the Hukilau Cafe from the movie 50 First Dates?
AL: Nope, but keep the stereotypes coming!
TC: Which has better surfing Haleiwa or the Charles?
AL: Depends if you’re on a surfboard or a sailboat. Oh, wait. No it doesn’t. Haleiwa.
TC: Do you ever feel left out since your uniform doesn’t match the rest of the team? Any thoughts why the goalie uniform is different?
AL: Yes I’ve actually written a couple of letters to the commissioner expressing my feelings of loneliness due to the fact that our uniforms are different. She hasn’t gotten back to me yet. I guess she’s busy. I think the uniforms are different because the sport recognizes the fact that keepers are pretty special people and anyone who watches the sport should be made aware of that fact. The WPS was nice enough to
highlight this by putting us in bright pinks and yellows.
TC: Your WPS bio states that if you weren’t playing soccer you’d like to be a stunt woman. Is that what you studied at Duke?
AL: There may or may not have been a few attempts at stunt woman-like activities. I can’t really go into specifics. One of my earliest memories is me deciding I could fly and jumping face-first off a wall when my aunt was watching me. I was about three-years- old and she thought she had killed me. I still think the flying part was fine it was just the landing that went awry.
TC: Did the Cameron crazies ever attend the Lady Blue Devils soccer games?
AL: I wish. They are pretty crazy. I think I attended more basketball games than they did soccer games. We still had some pretty rowdy fans, though.
TC: Your favorite Cameron Crazies chant?
AL: Hmmmm. Pretty much anything against UNC. Like when they would chant “Tar
Heels”, we’d correct the end of the cheer by reminding them it was “Tar Holes.”
TC: Can you spell the name of Duke’s basketball coach without looking it up?
AL: Kreanmfskdufnsdlfsky. I’m pretty sure that’s spot on.
TC: Best dancer ever on “So You Think you Can Dance”?
AL: Sabra and Neal’s table dance to “Sweet Dreams”. No question about it. Maybe I’ll do a reenactment of it at a halftime show this year. See if they can work that into my contract.
TC: Your oddest pre-game ritual?
AL: Is oddest a word?
TC: Coolest place you’ve been as a result of being a professional soccer player?
AL: I’m from Hawaii. Nuff said.
TC: Most fluke goal you’ve ever allowed?
AL: Every goal is a fluke. Ha ha. The one against Sky Blue this year was not good. I was WAY out of position. I think they replayed me hitting the post out of frustration about a million times. Thanks a lot Fox Soccer.
TC: What was the name of the mascot at Punahou High?
AL: Ha, ha, We don’t have a mascot we have colors and a tree. The colors are
buff (read: gold/yellow) and blue and the tree is the hala tree.
TC: Your favorite condiment is ketchup. What is the most unusual food you use it on?
AL: Cold macaroni and cheese and ketchup is pretty amazing. Don’t knock it til you try it.
TC: Heinz or Hunts?
AL: Uh, Heinz. Duh?
TC: You hold the Duke record for not allowing a goal in 603.33 minutes. Will the record ever be broken and what word did you say when you finally allowed one behind you?
AL: I’m sure it’ll be broken and I probably said something like shucks…or something along those lines.
TC: You were the 2004 Gatorade Player of the Year. What is your favorite Gatorade flavor?
AL: Orange G2.
TC: Who is your soccer idol?
AL: You
TC: If there was an Allison Lipsher Fan Club, what would it be called?
AL: Probably something like the Allison Lipsher Fan Club.
Todd Civin is a freelance writer who writes for Bleacher Report, Sports, Then and Now, and Seamheads. He also shares his top stories on his blog The ‘xoxo’ of Sports. He is a supporter of Team Hoyt, the father/son marathon and triathlon team of Dick and Rick Hoyt. He encourages you to support their movement of “Yes, I Can” by visiting their Web site at www.teamhoyt.com
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