Brigid and friends at the Illini Women's Football Camp

	Did we mention that Brigid is not only a football player, she's also a model? Photo Courtesy of Brigid Mullen
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By Brigid Mullen

Picture this: It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon and you're in full uniform. The coach has given his motivational locker room speech, and as you run out of the tunnel to start the game, you're greeted by a chorus of screaming fans that is barely audible over your team's fight song. Suddenly, a rush of pride and excitement comes over you. Welcome to the Illini Women's Gridiron Football Camp.

This past Saturday, after a Friday night of bartending, I decided to bypass sleep to get a 3:30 a.m. jumpstart on my journey to the University of Illinois. What should have been a harmless four-to-five hour drive turned into seven long hours of pouring rain, road construction and an accidental detour through downtown Chicago during the morning rush-hour (which I highly recommend avoiding). The only things that kept me going were my new Kanye West CD and just being excited about going to my first women's football camp!

When I did finally get there, I was a bit surprised. I expected to walk into a room of big burly dames dressed for a football workout. Instead, I found 120 women of all ages (we're talking 17-80 years old here) who were covered head-to-toe in orange and the Illini Insignia. I felt a bit out of place as I strolled past in my Wisconsin sweatpants, but as soon as I sat down, the other ladies said hi and we immediately jumped into a Q&A session with some of the Illini football team. There had been other activities that morning, including a rules seminar, uniform and equipment demonstration, strength and conditioning presentation, and a coaches' wives panel, but I missed it all due to my unexpected detour. 

The Illini players were hilarious as they answered questions about everything from their majors to their pre-game eating habits, who they idolize and if they have girlfriends (that was my question ... just kidding, sort of). I got the chance to speak with them for a minute afterwards, and after establishing that no, I could not go out with them that night, and I wasn't scouting for the Badgers, the guys were super-genuine and appreciative towards all of the women who came out that day. Such support helps the ladies feel like all of their hard work and the crap they go through all year pays off.