Samantha "Sam" Gordon (born February 21, 2003) is an American football and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player from the Salt Lake City area. After Youtube videos of her skills were uploaded by her father, they went viral and led to her making several media appearances.

Achievements and viral popularity

In 2012, while regularly playing against all-male teams (competing with some players who were up to twice her weight), Gordon compiled 25 touchdowns and 10 extra point conversions on 232 carries for 1,911 rushing yards in a single season, averaging 8.2 yards per carry. In addition, Gordon recorded 65 tackles for the season while playing defense. 2012 was her first year playing football. On November 6, 2012, Gordon's father uploaded a highlight video to YouTube that by Thursday of that week had generated nearly 5 million views. His recording of her football prowess garnered attention from various news outlets, as well as the National Football League.

Media and sporting appearances

Gordon has appeared on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

'', tackled

Marshall Faulk Marshall William Faulk (born February 26, 1973) is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams. He is widely regarded as one of the grea ...

on the set of the NFL Network, huddled up with the San Francisco 49ers at practice, and gained the attention and praise of U.S. soccer stars

Abby Wambach Mary Abigail Wambach (born June 2, 1980) is an American retired soccer player, coach, and member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. A six-time winner of the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year award, Wambach was a regular on the U.S. women's natio ...

and Mia Hamm. 49ers running back LaMichael James and former NFL player,

Super Bowl MVP The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football League's (NFL) championship game. The winner is chosen by a panel of 16 football writers a ...

, and

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

winner Desmond Howard both jokingly stated that she should win the Heisman Trophy. She was featured on a Wheaties cereal box, the company stating that she was chosen because she is an inspiration to young girls. She is the first female football player to appear on a Wheaties box. Gordon was invited to attend Super Bowl XLVII by the NFL as the guest of NFL Commissioner

Roger Goodell Roger Stokoe Goodell (born February 19, 1959) is an American businessman who is currently the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). On August 8, 2006, Goodell was chosen to succeed retiring commissioner Paul Tagliabue. He was chosen ...

. During the Super Bowl weekend, Gordon was a guest blogger for espnW, performed a skit during the NFL Honors award show with

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nichol ...

, attended the Commissioner's press conference and media day, and watched the game in the Commissioner's suite with high ranking political figures and well-known football personalities. Gordon was also featured in an NFL Evolution commercial that aired during the game. Following the Super Bowl, Gordon attended the

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

Hall of Game Awards The ''Hall of Game Awards'' was an award show held by Cartoon Network. The inaugural show was hosted by Tony Hawk and aired on February 25, 2011. There were four installments of the awards, the last being held in 2014. 2011 The 2011 Hall of Game a ...

show during which she won a Game trophy for Most Viral Player. Gordon's football story and the experiences she had following the posting of her YouTube highlight video were the inspiration for the NFL's Together We Make Football contest. Gordon was featured in an NFL commercial that kicked off the contest by asking football fans to share their football stories with the NFL.

Book

With the help of her neighbor, Gordon wrote a book, ''Sweet Feet: Samantha Gordon's Winning Season'', about her football season and the experiences she had following the season, appearing on '' Conan'' and '' Fox and Friends'' to promote the book.

Utah Girls Football League

In 2015, the first known all-girls tackle football league in America, the

Utah Girls Tackle Football League The Utah Girls Tackle Football League (GFL) is the first all-girls youth American football league in the world, founded as a nonprofit in March 2015. The league is currently in its season. The GFL consists of three age divisions: elementary (g ...

, was formed; Gordon was a founding member. As of 2019, the league has 446 girls, ranging from fourth grade to twelfth grade, on 24 teams; 35% of the girls are minorities.This Football League Was Built For Girls Who Love To Hit
/ref> In June 2017, Gordon and her father joined together with five other Utah Girls Tackle Football League players to sue three different school districts in the Salt Lake City area and force them to offer female American football as a varsity sport. The Title IX-based lawsuit was filed June 23.

Soccer

In 2021, Gordon began playing

as a defender for the Lions of Columbia University.

References