In non-important soccer news, online trolls shamed Carrie Underwood for snapping a selfie on the sidelines of her three-year-old son’s soccer game.
Why? Apparently the country singer, who was cheering on and supporting her son, was wearing too much makeup for the occasion. Allow me, another soccer mom, to clap back on her behalf.
I’ve been a soccer mom since my son, Jack, was 3 years old. He’s 11 now, and plays for a private elite club in North New Jersey. It’s competitive. It’s hardcore. It’s fantastic. I never thought I could enjoy a sport so much, but I’ve fallen in love with soccer.
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I spend my fall weekends on the sidelines, cheering on my right back defender. My outfits vary depending on if we are heading out at 7 a.m. — yawn — or have a game at 5 p.m.
Sometimes you’ll catch me in ripped skinny jeans, light-pink checkered Vans and the team hoodie or T-shirt. The hoodie is navy blue and oversized so I can layer. And by layer, I mean a denim shirt underneath or a bright scarf wrapped around my neck. Other times, I’ll wear a leather jacket and red lipstick. There’s no dress code.
I can also say without reserve that I wear makeup to my kid’s games. I do a five-minute face as Jack warns from the living room, “We’re going to be late, Mom.” We’re never late.
My soccer mom makeup regime is concealer under my eyes, mineral powder, mineral blush, eyebrow filler, mascara, and a quick allover swipe of highlighter. I sometimes opt for a bright lip to wake up my face, other times I use a nude matte lipstick with a little gloss. Sometimes, tried and true cherry chapstick. My goal is to look put together and represent our family. Yes, I wear oversized sunglasses and often use my navy blue crossbody Gucci bag because it matches best with my hoodie. However, my Marc Jacobs backpack is very convenient for toting snacks and lunch. No one to my knowledge has ever dissed my makeup or outfits.
I can’t believe the nasty comments on Carrie’s insta:
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“Show up like most other soccer mom’s [sic], messy hair don’t care, no makeup and a coffee mug in hand,” said one. “I hate to judge but damn those eyebrows. Yikes.”
Wait what? Her brows are to die for? Maybe that commenter is jealous, but I love that full youthful look.
Another wrote: “Well that is a crap ton of makeup for a soccer game.”
Why? Why is it too much? Is anyone else writing nasty comments about the messy hair don’t care moms with their coffee mugs? Not only is this mom-shaming, but this is mom-shaming behind a screen centered around a youth sporting event. Youth. Aren’t we teaching our kids about sticks and stones anymore? Here we have women, presumably some moms, dissing another mom for looking pretty at her little boy’s game. Come on, women, show some solidarity! Soccer mommying is hard work. Who mom-shames a soccer mom? We, soccer moms, usually have hundreds of responsibilities beyond being at this game, but still we show up.
We are in an unofficial sorority. We are tired, we are the cutters and peelers of orange slices, we are the water bottle fillers and deknotters of cleat shoelaces, caked with mud and sopping wet.
Be the mom that offers to make the coffee run, or like the mom at my son’s last soccer game, who gave me a hair tie when my mine snapped. Don’t be cruel, be cool. We’re not there for a fashion show, regardless of how we show up — skinny jeans, college sweats, fresh face or full-on glam. We’re there to cheer our kids on, have fun, and socialize with each other, not scorn one another.