U.S. women’s national team F Alex Morgan has "become known as much for her off-field celebrity as for her on-field performances," having been "featured in McDonald's and ChapStick commercials, posed for Coca-Cola advertisements and twice modeled" for the SI swimsuit edition, according to Jamie Goldberg of the Portland OREGONIAN. Morgan has more than 1.67 million Twitter followers, "and a typical day includes at least one interview, event or photo shoot." But she "finds little joy reveling in her off-field success." Morgan said, "I don't want to focus on the things I do off the field because there wouldn't be a reason for that unless I performed on the field." Goldberg noted Morgan's life "changed dramatically" after scoring two goals in the '11 FIFA Women's World Cup as the youngest player on the U.S. team. It was "irrelevant that Morgan hadn't been a starter." Corporate brands and organizations were "already clamoring for the attractive and talented forward's services, and she found herself being overwhelmed by invitations to events and appearances." Since the '12 London Games, Morgan has "not only grown into a mainstay in the national team lineup, but has become the most visible face of U.S. women's soccer." While it is a role that Morgan "has willingly embraced," her off-field commitments "will always rank as secondary to her training." Morgan admits that posing for magazine covers or attending events "can be fun," but her "sincere aspiration is that by being out in the public eye, she can get more and more fans interested in women's soccer." U.S. MF Tobin Heath: "Alex is our ambassador. She has kind of led the way for us since the last World Cup in propelling women's soccer" (Portland OREGONIAN, 5/8).
DON'T TOUCH THAT DIAL: The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Hilary Lewis reported Amazon Studios "has greenlit" a TV show "based on a book series" by Morgan. "The Kicks" is about a "star soccer player who switches schools and has to rally her new team." The series, which will debut this summer, "was adapted for the pilot" by producer and writer David Babcock (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 5/11). Morgan was "Simpsonized" as part of Fox' efforts to promote the '15 FIFA World Cup (THE DAILY).
