Sports

Dear Katie,

I was saving up this column to write about how the Giants rekindled my childhood love for the Dodgers, but fate obviously didn’t want to hear another sports fan chronicling how he came to love some team.

First, I want to say I am sorry about your season-ending injury; fate put an end to your Cal career in the most messed up way possible.

Hopefully you are reading this somewhere, whether it be from a hospital in San Francisco or your home in Berkeley. Perhaps right now, your mind has been replaying the injury nonstop, thinking of the what-ifs and what-nows.

I cannot fathom the emotional and physical pains you must currently be feeling. But perhaps like you, I have some resonating memories about you that have been replaying in my head ever since breaking the news about your injury.

You were the first women’s soccer player I interviewed. I had no clue as to who any of the players were that day, so I decided to let the media relations person choose who I should interview.

She picked you out from the pack of huddled soccer players and I can remember you ran towards us, your usual wide smile now stretching ear to ear, saying:

“Oh wow, I’ve never been interviewed by the newspaper before!”

It is no surprise that other beat writers never interviewed you before. In your first three years, you were recuperating from injuries and playing limited time behind Alex Morgan. You only scored three goals during that time span.

Nobody would have imagined that this unknown, injury-prone striker would ever score 10 goals in the first 10 games of her last season at Cal.

Another resonating memory is when you scored your third goal against Denver to complete your hat-trick. I was at the top row of Edwards Stadium, but I could still see a sense of euphoria on your face after you scored that goal. To me, that goal was my favorite moment covering the team.

After the match, I jotted down the title “The Girl That Can’t Be Stopped” in my notebook, hoping to build a future article around that line. But unfortunately, you were stopped by — of all things — injury.

Thanks to your 10 goals, the Bears have gotten to their first eight-game winning streak for the first time since 2000. Cal began the season far and away from the national rankings; now the team is ranked No. 17.

Needless to say, the team is going to miss you on the field.

I wish I can say that you’ll have a chance to come back, but that seems near impossible. The injury came so far into the season. You have a broken leg that required immediate surgery. For you to come back in this storybook season is just too scripted to believe.

But this doesn’t mean that you should give up. Who says you won’t come back and play at some point, someday?

Perhaps this might be the road to an incredible climax to your storybook season, about the girl that can’t be stopped.

Funnier things have happened.

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