US sports couple set for Super Sunday
City’s new signing is set for a nervous night as her boyfriend hopes to play role in beating Kansas City Chiefs
PEYTON PEREA did not have to wait long before being pitched in to one of Glasgow City’s biggest games of the season following a spell in the US where first-team minutes were few and far between.
A few days after arriving in Scotland and being unveiled as a City player, the midfielder found herself playing 90 minutes in a top-of-the-table clash with her new team’s title rivals.
Perea’s debut ended in disappointment as Rangers ran out 3-1 winners, taking a significant step towards their first league title.
A few days after that, another huge test: Celtic. Perea clambered off the bench with 20 minutes to go to see out a 2-0 win for Eileen Gleeson’s side and today, there is a cup tie against Hamilton to contend with.
The big games are coming thick and fast for Perea and the 24-year-old is focusing on the task at hand. After the full-time whistle, though, her attention will swing back towards the States.
Perea’s partner, Scotty Washington, also has a big day ahead. A fellow athlete, the pair met at Wake Forest College, where Washington played for the school’s American football team. Later today, after suffering his fair share of setbacks, he is hoping to be involved as the Cincinnati Bengals attempt to win their first Super Bowl championship by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs.
“It’s very surreal,” Perea said. “The first day I got here I was asked about NFL and what American football is like. At the time, they hadn’t won their playoff game for the Super Bowl. I’m not a huge fan of NFL. Obviously I’m a fan of my boyfriend and his team, and that’s when I pay attention, but apart from that I don’t care too much.
“It’s funny. Every day the girls are coming up to me and saying ‘ I heard your boyfriend is going to be in the Super Bowl’. It’s really cool and I’m really excited for him. I’m probably going to be a nervous wreck on Sunday evening. I probably won’t watch it because it’s on quite late but hopefully I wake up on Monday morning to good news.
“It’ll probably start around 11pm here, that’s a little late for me. I might watch a quarter of it, a half goes on for a little too long. I’ll probably have to watch highlights in the morning – depending on the result!”
There is a curious contrast in the recent career paths of the pair, even if they have a foundation of shared experiences to fall back on. Both struggled to make a first-team impression until not too long ago but their respective teams could hardly be more different. The Bengals are the plucky underdog attempting to upset the odds; Glasgow City are a relentless behemoth aiming for a 15th successive title as they fend off a new challenger.
“I hadn’t noticed that but I will say that our careers have been similar in the sense that they have been very up and down,” Perea said. “He had a pretty hard year. He went through their pre-season camp and he was cut from the team, so he was away for a few months. Then in December they called him back in and he made the reserve squad – there’s about 20 guys on the team.
“But now they’ve made the Super Bowl and there’s a sense of everything coming around full circle. He’s about to be playing on the biggest stage. It’s amazing, honestly.
I’m praying and hoping they win. It would make everything he’s been through over the last year worth it.
“At my first year playing professionally with my former club, I was more of a practice player. They did end up winning a championship but I didn’t feel like I was super involved in winning that.
“It’s a weird thing – you’re with the team and you’re training with them but the game time wasn’t there. But here I feel like I already got an opportunity to make an impact and help the team in any way I can. It does mean a little bit more when you’re directly involved.”
The lure of first-team football was a notable attraction for Perea, who joined from North Carolina Courage at the tail end of last month, and the chance to shine on the biggest stage in Europe.
“One of the attractions was definitely Scotland, I’d heard great things about it, and then obviously with City being one of the top teams I knew I was going to play good football and I was going to be playing with really good players as we fight for a championship,” she said.
“It’s what you want, you want to play at the highest level you can. And the Champions League: that’s been a dream of mine. With this club having an opportunity to qualify, I just felt that was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.
“Anytime you can play on a stage like that, it’s just great exposure. And it’s good to see how you compare to other types of players from different countries, it makes you better and [helps you to] understand the game a bit differently.”