I need a life outside of soccer. So I very much welcome, you know, new love interests and dating and friends and family.

My father was never around. But I glorified my father, and I was always daddy's little girl. He was my first soccer coach.

Unfortunately, people think I'm negative and bitter all the time, and that's not the case.

All my life, since the time I was little, has been a long distraction. At least that is the way some people want to perceive it, but for me, it's given me a lot of strength.

Of course Seattle loves soccer. You can see from the men's Seattle Sounders team.

I never felt the same passion for the game in the States and there were a lot of headaches, a lot of obstacles to overcome - it didn't just run itself for the love of the game because soccer is not the No. 1 sport as it is in Europe.

L.A. is a bit strange. It doesn't seem like the real world.